26 month old sleep problems

[Hoopie1]

Hello

Our son is 26 months old. We have always struggled with sleep with him. When he was younger he had eczema (now cured), which (we think) had lead to him groaning/whining a lot during the night at times, mostly in his sleep. We have tried various methods, and have had limited success - he has slept through the night occassionally.

More recently he was going to bed, mostly with, limited fuss, he would wake at around 5 am, sit upright and cry, one of us would go in and he would generally lie back down and either go to sleep or chatter to himself until 6/6:30 and want to get up. He goes to bed around 7:15. He had been wetting through his nappies, which we have managed to solve.

More recently (last 2-3 weeks) he has been a lot more unsettled at night - waking 2-5 times between 11:30 and 5:00, generally sitting upright and crying (the intensity varies, it can often be a very upset shrieking), but re-settling very quickly.

We have spoken to various people and tried various methods but never seem to have had any long-running success. In the last week or so he appears to be in the midst of dropping his lunchtime nap.

We would welcome any input or suggestions.

[nevinsmama]

Could you post his typical day and give us some info on what else has been tried for sleep training?

[Hoopie1]

Hi - sure.

He typically wakes between 6:10 and 6:40. Gets up, has breakfast (normally cereal with some fruit and then water), has some play/activities in the house. Morning will either be nursery (two days per week, which he loves) or an activity, we like to get him outdoors as much as possible. He will have a snack during the morning. He has lunch and some water around midday, may or may not have a nap of around an hour or slightly longer, then some milk/a snack. He will then have an afternoon activity, again outdoors where possible. He has dinner around 5:30, with his bath just after 6:30, followed by a few stories and then into bed for around 7:15.

We first tried controlled crying, which didn't really work for him or us. After that we got a programme drawn up by a local sleep consultant - it would involve going into his room and trying to gently re-settle him, with the amount of contact in re-settling being withdrawn gently. This has (at times) worked better, but he has never slept through with any regularity.

[nevinsmama]

OK. So glad that you chose not to continue with the CC as it will break the bond of trust between you and LO! That said, you may need to be prepared to "camp out" ( lay down a mattress and sleep in his room, gradually moving farther and farther away, then replacing mattress with chair and moving on out the door over an extended period of time) in order to regain his trust. ABout when does he have his nap in the day? Any sign of teeth? I would watch that when he doesn't nap that you bring BT up to aim for an 11-11.5 hour day. Hope this helps and keep us posted! This may take a while but you will be giving your LO genuine sleep skills and a restored trust in you. You will get there!

[Hoopie1]

Many thanks NM.

He has pretty much a full set of teeth and teething hasn't really bothered him, apart from the first few when he was very small. When he naps it is at around 1:30 (on the occassions that he does it takes him longer to get to sleep when he naps now).

The last couple of nights he will settle with me sat outside his door. I have gradually moved further and further back - I am about 10 feet from his cot, but now I don't really have any further back to go apart from moving out of his line of sight. Should this simply be done gradually?

At night he tends to sit up and cry around twice a night - the crying is less severe than before. I will go into his room, pretty much as soon as I get to the cot he'll lie down and go back to sleep.

[nevinsmama]

Yes. Take your time and just keep working your way out the door, using you voice and presence more to help him. WRT the night crying, I would try comforting him from the door and if that doesn't help then go right up to him. I am assuming you are going as soon as you hear a genuine "I need you!" cry? Is he needing anything from you when you go to him ( water, retuck or does he use a paci?) Hope this helps!