Where has it all went wrong? :(

[sineadlo]

My lo has just turned 18 months.  Always been an angel baby who has needed a few tweaks here and there but always responded well.  Now however i dont know where it has all went wrong.  Were as before he went to sleep every nite and nap with a simple kiss and night night now we have a screaming match on our hands He finds it very distressing every time i put him in his cot and walk out of the room.  This has been going on 8 weeks now and i suspect it has something to do with starting creche.  When he sleeps in creche there is someone in the room with them and i think this is where it is all steaming from as this is when the problems started.

He is also teething which i am medicating for and has also started night wakings which has never happened before and he is also getting up slightly earlier.  I am so tired and confused and dont know where to begin with tackling this.  I have tried thw walk in walk out method which just results in screaming as soon as i walk out the door.  I also gave him a bottle in middle of the night which i new i shudnt which has now become a prop.

Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed as it is both distressing for him and me. 

His EASY is
6.15am WAKE ( used to be 7am)
12pm sleep (2-2.5 hrs)
7pm bed

PLEASE HELP!!!

[clazzat]

I wonder if he might be a bit ot - there is a growth spurt at 18 months which can lead to them needing more sleep. How long has he been on 1 nap?  Mine only went to one nap at about 17 months, so at this age still very occasionally needed it to catch up - would he sleep for say 15 minutes at 10/10.30 and then have a slightly shorter nap at 1ish (like 1h45-2h) to help him through?  The teething could also be making him more tired, so extra sleep is unlikely to do him any harm. If he won't do 2 naps, can you have him in bed earlier, like 6.15/6.30?

As for the bottle in the middle of the night, I would have thought that it wouldn't be too difficult to get rid of as it hasn't been a prop for long. Try giving him a bottle of water instead, as it won't be worth waking up for.

[sineadlo]

Hi hes been on 1 nap from 13 montsh so never does 2 naps.  I can certainly get him to bed earlier as he was usually going to bed at 6.15/6.30 but ive been keeping him up to 7 because he was getting up at 2.15.  But i will certainly give this a try! Hes been in bed now with me going in and out for the last 40 mins. Last time i sat on the floor for 5 mins then got up said nite nite and he hasnt cried yet so fingers crossed.  Hes also in bed without bottle which is good!

[clazzat]

Another thing which I worked out at this age was that often the a time for the day was the most important thing - so if he wakes early and has a long a in the morning he might only be able to manage a short a in the afternoon. So say his usual a time is 5h, so his total a time for the day is 10h, if he does 6h in the morning from waking up early, he might only manage 4h in the afternoon.

Fingers crossed that he does go to sleep without calling you back. I'm sure that you will get back on track pretty quickly, though, as he has been a good sleeper before - even the best sleepers have blips!

[sineadlo]

HI just an update! I do think we are getting somewhere just wanted a few opinions if i am doing this right.  Last nite was the third night of trying to get back on track.  First night was terrible with me going back and forth for over 3 hours and he had 2 NW.  Second night i stood at his bedroom door so he knew i was still there and the crying lasted around 1 hour and he was also up in the night i think he really wanted a bottle but he eventually went asleep.  Last night i stood outside his bedroom door out of sight and he cried for around 10 minutes.  He again had NW but was able to settle himself for the first 2 then woke at 5.40 am and refused to go back to sleep.

My question is am i always going to have the NWs or will they eventually settle when he settles down again and also am i right to just cut out his bottle completley?   I should also mention i have brought his bedtime closer to 6.30/7 thou should i aim to have him in bed earlier if its taking him a while to get to sleep.

[sharon31]

Hi
I totally understand what you are going through and know how exhausting it is. Our little boy who is 20mths has just started nursery last week and now we suddenly have night wakings which we have never since he was a tiny baby. One thing I have tried which has had some success is the wake to sleep routine as he seemed to wake around 1:30pm, so I set my alarm for 12:30am to stir him. Is your LO waking at a particular time?

[sineadlo]

Hi i just thought i would post an update on this for other mums who were in my situation.  Its now been around ten days and my lo has really setlled and is back to sleeping all nite.  I ano longer have the tantrums at bedtime or the waking crying after me so i thought i would share my experience with others.  I did try the putting him to bed earlier which just made the crying worse so i tried putting him to bed a bit later and hey presto my happy son is back i guess he just wasnt tired enough and screaming was his way of telling me.  he now goes to bed at half 7 and is sleeping through the nite to around 7/7.30am.  I must say we have the odd NW but i know this is due to his back teeth and he setlles almost immeadiatley.  His EASY is now:

7/7.30am wake

12-2.15 sleep

7.30 bed

[Roseii]

That is great, so pleased to hear that xx

[clazzat]

Great to hear that things are going better.