Oh gosh, where to begin? My 13 MO DS has been on EASY basically since birth. He's my second DS and was always a little emotionally needier than his big brother but he's been sleeping independently and through the night since about 6 months. There have been hiccups along the way but any night wakings since that point were generally OT related (travel, nap adjustments etc) and were generally handled with a quick shush/pat (no more than 15 minutes but usually 3-5). I have barely if ever had to pick him up out of his crib to help him settle.
He transitioned to 1 nap at just around his first birthday. He had refused morning naps for weeks before I finally gave in and tried one nap. He took to 1 nap VERY well. Usually sleeping 2-3 hours in the afternoon with no daytime crankiness, smooth bedtimes, and appropriate AM wake-ups. Honestly, I thought I'd hit the jackpot. Then last week it all went sidedways.
He has started waking about 4 hours after going to be at night. I can see him on the monitor: he'll cry out briefly, toss, turn, perhaps sit up and then settle back down for a minute or two and then do it again. This will continue for up to 30 minutes until he sits up and continues to cry out and shriek. Its at this point that I go in to lay him back down and place my hand on his back with his reassuring words. If I go in quick enough, he settles quickly as soon as I lay my hand on him. I can even hear his breathing slow and he'll seem to be calm and sleepy enough leave him. But sure enough with in minutes he'll wake again. On one of the nights I did succeed s/p him back to sleep after about 45 minutes only for him to wake at 3 am the same way. The other nights even after 45 minutes of s/p he was still unsettled so out of sheer exhaustion I simply held him for an hour or so and then laid him to bed already asleep. At which point he sleeps until 8 am the next morning.
The whole situation is so confusing because he goes down happily for naps and bedtime and once he finally does go back to sleep after his night waking spell he stays asleep for 4-5 hours.
I shall add that he is cutting 4 teeth (at least) and drooling like crazy, however, Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen have proven to made no difference in the timing or the length of his wakefullness. So I'm beginning to think its a separation anxiety thing.
Any advice or guidance would be incredibly helpful! (Schedule below)
7:30-8:00 Wake up and 5 oz Milk
8:00-9:00 Get dressed, play, etc.
9:00-9:30 Breakfast of Yogurt, cereal, fresh fruit
9:30-11:30 Play, outing, etc.
11:30-12:15 Lunch of Various finger foods (veg, eggs, fruit etc)
12:30-3:00 NAP
3:00-3:30 Milk 6-8oz + finger food snacks
3:30-6:00 Playtime etc.
6:00-6:30 Dinner of finger foods (veg, pasta, fish, fruit etc)
7:00-7:30 Bath and Milk 8 oz
7:45 Stories, cuddles, songs, and Bed
