18 month sleep regression support thread

[cath~]

If only they didn't have teething/illness etc so we could actually work it all out! The scientist in me longs for fewer variables and a nice controlled condition in which to experiment

LOL Trimbler - I am EXACTLY this too! If only it were that simple!

[ZacsMumme]

Sigh, so ladies I think we have hit this
Z started waking with sore teeth, and around the same time I stopped BF. we did a dumb thing by giving him a bottle a few times in the night and now he is NW for one!
We've slowly had more frequent NW too over the last 3 weeks. It's time to stop. dH and I are knackered.

Soooo, sleep training starts tonight. I know it's going to a be, Z is so determined and boy can he scream!

Do any of you have NW or just EW and nap/BT refusals

[clairebear79]

We didn't really have NW Sara, just BT resistance & EW.  Hoping your first night of sleep training went ok?

We're off the scales with sleep this week - O's been poorly so back to 2hr naps & 11-11.5hr nights, which is far more than he's been doing for the last 2 months now.  Yesterday he woke coughing at 1hr into his nap, last night was 12hrs & he was pooped & asleep this morning after just 4hrs A when he usually does 6 so I know the wee man aint right.  Taking each day as it comes until he's feeling better but am also secretly hoping we're finally through this awful phase & settling into a new routine of 6hr A / 1.75-2hr nap / 5-5.25hr A & 11hr night. 

[cath~]

Sara - we had NW too, as well as trouble at BT. Ended up co-sleeping when she NW. We're stopping that now and re-training to fall asleep indep at BT, but it's tough. With hindsight, I'd of course say try not to start doing anything it might be hard to stop, but I'm not actually sure we'd do anything different if we went through it again... At least with the co-sleeping we got to sleep!

[ZacsMumme]

Well we didnt do WI/WO Zwoke hysterical, like he was having a night terror, or pain but I had already medicated. I just cuddled him for 20 mins then he went into the cot and slept Theresa of the night I can't do WI/WO when he is I that state but he didn't wanna bottle so that was good - I wish Z would do-sleep. He only sleeps in his cot

Hugs Claire, I hope your over it too. so typical, we enter as you exit it lol.

I've been reading this regression can last up to 2 monts!

[clairebear79]

Oh bless him.  Def did the right thing, WIWO prob would just upset him more.  Could it be his teeth Sometimes I wish O would cosleep too!  Although he did take his nap on my knee today but that was after vomiting, no way he'd do it otherwise.

Hope this phase doesn't last too long for you.xx

[ZacsMumme]

I orig thought teeth, but it's now too well timed - always sometime between 10.30-11.30 and I medicated before BT - ibuprofen so should last till at least 12. I do medicate with pamol just incase as I know he is cutting....I'm starting to wonder about NT actually but I know the screaming murder NW at this age are just part of the regression so maybe that's just our thing YK? W are having no BT/nap battles or EW either

[lily528]

awe so sorry you are all having such a tough time..especially those of you with NW's I'd be besides myself if we had that.  I don't know what happened but out of nowhere she went back to her old schedule..for now anyway...I know it's a lot of sleep for her age but I'm certainly not going to intervene.  I believe if she didn't need it she would be doing it so going to let it go as long as she does it.  so for the most part this past week we are back to 8pm-8am night sleep with naps ranging between 2-3 hrs (mostly 2 hrs...3 hrs just the one day) 

I'm not complaining just afraid to get use to it and have it ripped away again :/ but I'll take it as long as she is willing to give it   I have no idea if it will last but....

her teeth are FINALLY poking through the gums so hoping she's feeling more comfortable allowing her to get the rest she needs again...

[trimbler]

Sounds lovely, Melissa

(((hugs))) Sara and Claire - poor LOs sounds horrible... Hope O gets well and back on track soon and that this doesn't last too long for Z.

Well M seems to have got his energy back now after the tonsillitis, which thankfully didn't last too long. Still suffering with canines, but they still seem to be some way off cutting yet... Hope this thing doesn't last much more than 2 months - I think we're coming up to that now! Still taking ages to get to sleep at BT, I've tried cutting his nap the last couple of days but it doesn't seem to have made any difference - still doing PD at 8pm, possibly seems a little more tired than before due to 15mins less nap, but still doesn't get to sleep until 8:30-8:45 and then can have a slightly OT unsettled evening... But if I PD earlier he still doesn't get to sleep until the same time, so maybe I just have to PD a little later in the hope that he actually ends up falling asleep earlier

[clairebear79]

Yay Melissa!  Glad all is working out ok for you. IDK where we are atm, we think O is possibly cutting his 2yr molars but can't be sure as he won't let me look!  But he is very definitely more sleepy than he has been in ages!
Before all the upset of the last 2 months we were doing: up 7am, nap 12.30-2.30 & BT 7.30.  
Now we are doing up 7-7.15am, Nap: 1-2.45/3pm BT: 8pm

Today we let him sleep in til he was done, he was up at 7.30am (11.5hr night).  But he still seemed sleepy this morning so I put him down at usual naptime 1pm instead of 30mins later.  He went straight to sleep, I woke him at 2hrs, and then paid for it at bedtime b/c he wasn't ready for bed at 8pm, asleep 8.20-25ish.  We have to wake him at 7am tomorrow for work so its a shorter night for him.  Lesson learned - he def needs that AM A time to be nearer to 6hrs if he's going to take a 2hr nap - 5.5hrs is too short now, unless he has a much shorter nap, or he is UT at BT.

xx

[trimbler]

Interesting - was also thinking we need to stretch that first A time... Forgot to set my alarm this morning (ok as it was bank holiday!) so he woke us at 7:30 rather than us waking him at 7:15. Then did 12:45-2:30 (I woke) but possibly UT at BT?? Didn't get to sleep until around 8:40.

[ZacsMumme]

OMG - We did W2S on the NW/NT and Z STTN Hoping it'll work again tonight as these NW are rubbish!

I know it's a lot of sleep for her age but I'm certainly not going to intervene.

I have noticed Z seems more tired ATM too, he is sleeping a bit more (even if you take the NW into account) - My guess is its teeth/developmental related

Claire - Great to see O is better and he seems to be sleeping well!

was also thinking we need to stretch that first A time

I certainly found even increasing  Z's first A by 15 mins made him more tired at BT (and he did a shorter A after nap)

[lily528]

thanks guys..yesterday she fought her nap a bit when with my sister...she always seems to do this with her..so her nap was a bit short 1.5 hrs compared to her more consistent 2+ hrs..she also woke earlier than usual again today at 7:15 a.m. rather than the 8am we were back to :/  kind of short lived but hoping this has been a fluke...we'll have to see I know it could be worse and I am going to start getting up slightly earlier in the morning in case this earlier morning becomes a regular thing for her in the end...

I honestly don't like to ever wake her in the morning or from a nap...I never really have...I just feel like if she's sleeping she needs to be...the only time I found it helped and did do it on occasion if I really had to was during a transition of dropping a nap.  Of course every child and mother are different just always how I felt about it. 

I think the fighting BT could be for so many different reasons...with my dd its not very consistent...sometimes she does other days she doesn't...I think just like ourselves, we sometimes have a tougher time going to sleep over other nights.  I think the UT/OT debate for BT usually is OT more often than not...at least in my case...my dd tends to fight bt on a short nap...I'd think they can handle a longer A in the morning after a night's rest over a longer A after nap into BT...IMO.  I hope you girls find what works for you and your little ones...and one thing i always did that made the road incredibly bumpy is try something once or twice and say this isn't working and change it up again.  If you are trying something new...give it time to set in before tossing it to the side.  Very hard to and I am incredibly guilty of it but in the end that is what worked for us getting through the 2-1 transition. 

Even through this regression I honestly more or less stayed the same through it all and she eventually fell right back into things...except in the very beginning and what really set things into a good routine was extending her nap time and BT by 30 mins...so we went from a 12:30 nap to a 1pm nap and a 7:30 BT to an 8pm BT....after a  week or so her sleep got 10x better, minus this recent bump in the road last week...

[stardust599]

I think we are hitting this too girls.  Think it's separation anxiety for us.  I am sure that we have the right A times and have a good balance of neither UT or OT!  As once she is asleep she generally stays asleep for a good 2/3hours anyway!

Tonight has been the best night in a couple of weeks.  We did some chamomile tea in her bedtime bottle and I waited until she was a bit sleepier before PD.  I also medicated an hour before BT just incase although she seems fine.  She rolled over as soon as I put her down and only cried a little as I shut the door.  I stayed outside the door shushing and reassuring then left and we had gentle crying for 30 seconds.  She also had a good nearly 3 hour nap today and has been struggling with naps recently so don't know if that helped too.  Hopefully no wakings tonight as I am exhausted from the carry on last night!  I refuse to start bad habits now that baby is less than 11 weeks away, I just can't afford to as I won't have time to fix things later :-(  I put the heating on tonight hoping it might cause less night wakings (naughty Mummy!) if she's really toasty.

I am on maternity leave and am not missing a single nap or missing the routine at BT until things are absolutely settled.  Going to sort sleeep once and for all now (haha)

I'm the same lilly528 - I never cap naps, just makes things worse for us and and causes BT resistance and NWs.  She never really fights BT on UT, just wakes a bit earlier to make up for it :-D  The only time I have woken her in the morning is for work and she's always a bit more resistant on those days!  When we hit a bad phase I like to stay consistent to what was already working and just "tweak" PD time if we have to! I find that when things are going really good she will naturally drop part of her nap for me and wake happier.

[ZacsMumme]

HUGS

Think it's separation anxiety for us.

I think this was it for us too...and a bit of teeth. We would have NT like NW and Z just wanted 20 mins of cuddles then would go back to bed.

I got myself in a tizz about the entire thing, then 4 days ago just decided - its a phase, he is an independent sleeper, he will go back. DH and I made a plan. If screaming/scared we would comfort, then PD to sleep after 20mins. If he wouldnt settle DH would do WI/WO. Guess what, the next night he settled in 10 mins then the last 2 he has STTN again We even thought we had a bottle prop starting as we fed a few times.

I guess all I am trying to say is it SUX big time, but try to remember that it will pass, and if you can try to relax a bit, and have a plan, with support thing will come right before you know it and you will feel more in control