How long does 2yo SA last?

[koe2moe]

I hope this is the right place to post.  We're having mild SA.  Only at bedtime and at NWs.  We don't have much problem dropping off at daycare.  It took almost 2 hours one evening to put him to bed (WI/WO) but eventually we laid next to him, then he settled and fell asleep.  When he has NW, he wasn't freaking out about one of us not being there.  I'm sure OT was there because it took him so long to fall asleep. 

How long does it last and how can I get rid of it please?

[C&B&E]

Just wanted to listen in as we've been having some of this the past couple of weeks...I didn't realise it was common at this age so interested tohear other people's experiences
x

[*Becky*]

for us it happened right after Henry's second birthday and the worst of it i.e. crying at naptime and waking at night (only 2-3 nights) lasted about 7-10 days. We did end up giving him a dim night light as he was talking about the dark.

The last week he has asked me to sleep with him so hoping it is not starting up again but in our case with me being pregnant I think it will come and go.

We found he did get OT as naps were so bad and in the end I AP'd for a couple of days in the car and just took a break from it. Then when I went back to it he was fine.
bx

[Caro1]

No real advice to offer but just wanted to say that we've been going through the same thing as well with our DS who is 2 and 4 months.   We seem to be coming out of it a bit now but I would say it's probably been going on for the last month or so.  For the first couple of weeks after it started one of us was sitting with him to get him to sleep and we were getting loads of NW and EW where he would cry and call out 'Oh no, want Mummy and Daddy to come back in'.  We did some WI/WO with some success and he's now going to sleep without us needing to go back into the room (though he still has a whine and calls out for us but if he's not crying we just leave him to it and it usually only lasts about 5 minutes!).  The NWs seem to have stopped as well though he's still waking really early and calling out for us.  Bizarrely, he's also now sleeping without the nightlight that he's needed for about the last 6 months!

Anyway, I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I think we're getting back to some normality with it so hopefully it won't last too long for you either.  From reading through some threads on here it does seem to be pretty common at this age.  From a completely selfish point of view it always makes me feel a bit better to know I'm not the only one going through it!!   

[koe2moe]

Claire, do I remember correctly that you were off BW for a while?  Congrats on your pg

Becky.  We have had longer than that and nap has always been a struggle, so I didn't count that into SA   The complete darkness still doesn't bother him.  It was short for you.   I'm jealous!  

Caro1.  Thanks for your story.  We are going through that but it seemed to have been triggered by a really bad fall DS had at daycare and one of his incisors became slightly loose, lots of nose bleed and he was shocked.  This evening, I noticed that he couldn't stop talking after we put him to bed and when we're in there with him.   It's as if his mind is going so fast over the day that he couldn't settle without talking about it.  He was repeatedly saying the new words of today and what he did this evening over and over again but he got calmer and calmer and then finally quiet.  It took 30 mins but at least a peaceful, jolly 30 mins instead of screaming, crying eternity. 

I wonder if it's more developmental.  He seems tired all day.  I don't really know what to do, just hanging in there.  We're going on holidays in a weeks' time, and we will be staying in the same room, so no real point in trying to get rid of it for now.  But it's good to know that it will get better!! 

[C&B&E]

Claire, do I remember correctly that you were off BW for a while?  Congrats on your pg

Thank you  .  Yes, was off for a few months, but have gradually found myself back posting  . 

Last week we had a 2 hour screaming session before a nap (I was seriously in a state too  ), the next day 2x 1 hour screaming sessions at night and nap, the next day 45 mins, next day 30 mins, next day 10, last couple of days just a bit of protest.  It started off with him being scared of something (there were builders next door that he thought were at his window  ), and he needed extra reassurance, but then it escalated into the total screaming meltdowns which I think were more habit/SA in the end.  We did GW, which worked to a degree, and I think he did need for us to do that for him as WIWO was making things worse, but in the end I had to be really firm and I just sat by his door in his room and refused his requests to be picked up again and again.  It was hard to do, and I continually would doubt myself even though I was constantly reassuring him, but I think the consistency meant that he could get back to normal, and he is much more peaceful and now says "Mummy is always here, Mummy will come back to me" when he drops off to sleep.  He is still more nervy, but I am just always letting him know that he is safe, that he's not left on his own etc etc, and I think that's helping.  Still getting over the OT though...he slept 10 hours last night, and had a 25 minute nap today 

x

[Tao]

Hi There!

Just jumping in because my DD is turning two next month and is going through a very bad case of SA. One thing that has seemed to work in addition to WIWO is that I cuddle with her a lot longer during WD.

After our story, I sit with her in the chair and we talk about all the animals and things that are sleeping with her in the room... "look at all your friends who are sleeping with you...your dolly, bunny, mr. piggybank, giraffe, your birdy nighlight... they are all spending time with you and mommy and daddy are just outside. We are always here just right outside."

During the day, my DH is a SAHD and I've been having him tell her a lot during the day that when you sleep you can play and have more fun because you're not tired. Also, we practice laying down and pretending to sleep =).

Good luck!