Author Topic: Low sleep needs - 17 months  (Read 2105 times)

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Offline sltpoppy

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Low sleep needs - 17 months
« on: August 01, 2019, 10:25:38 am »
My boy has always had LSN and is now 17 months. He is a very sensitive sleeper, has been majorly affected by all develomental milestones, teething, separation anxiety, noisy environments - basically everything. We’ve had a particulary bad run since he turned 1. I thought he was habit waking during his nap at 1hr 20 but turns out it was teething as he cut all 4 molars and canines in 3 months and as soon as the last one was through he started napping longer and no longer woke. He was sleeping 11.5 hours at night though to make up for it and was sometimes unsettled in the first couple of hours, this also seemed to be teething related.

He then seemed to go through a big regression at 15 months with a peak in separation anxiety and overnight seemed to drop his sleep needs from 13 hours total to 12, and with lots of fighting bedtime. I thought we had hit the 18 month regression early as he has had all other regressions come early but we still haven’t recovered. He has just turned 17 months and his sleep is getting worse. He’s back to 1 hr 20 naps (he seems to have a 40 min sleep cycle) and screams hysterically at bedtime. He’s down to 9hr45 to 10hr15 overnight and with the short nap he’s getting around - 11 or 11hr 15 total sleep!!

Bad sleep has always tended to be undertired for him, at each regression in the past it was only fixed by dropping a nap/cuttingback his daytime sleep. I have no idea what routine I should be aiming for as the last 2 months have been really bad and I can count on one hand the number of bedtimes where he actually seemed tired and fell asleep quickly without protest.

Prior to 15 months he was doing:
Wake: 645
Nap: 12:15-1:35/1:45
Bed: 7:15

The last 2 months has generally been something like
Wake: anywhere from 6-6:30
Nap: 12:15-2:00 (I wake him by 2 latest)
Bed: 7:30, asleep between 7:45/8pm after lots of protest
We have been getting sleep cries in the first few hours after going to bed, again for him this has generally meant he wasn’t tired enough when he went to sleep.

Now in the last week he’s been doing
Wake: 6-6:30
Nap: 12:15/12:30 till 1:45
Bed: 7:45, asleep after hysterical screaming by about 8:15 if I stay in the room with my hand on him.

The day is just getting too long for us, our ideal bedtime is 7:30 at the latest.

Just wondering if anyone else has had a LSN toddler and can telll me their routine around this age?



Offline LaraAndrea

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Re: Low sleep needs - 17 months
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2019, 16:16:54 pm »
Your LO sounds a lot like mine... We were on a similar routine at that age:
BT 7:00
Wake 6:30
Nap: 12:15-2:15

We had similar struggles around the 16-17 month mark. I didn't recognize the regression at the time b/c it coincided with a vacation, so I chalked it up to time change at first... I realized once we got home that it was probably a developmental regression.

It only lasted a few weeks but got better during that time. My advice is if you "had" a good independent sleeper prior try to weather the storm (don't introduce new crutches...)

I found it helpful to observe what new skills your little one is learning and really work with those skills during awake time.

My LO had resurgence of SA at that time... I would stay by her door when went down, if she got upset I would stick my head in and tell her that I was close by if she needed me but that big girls need sleep.

She eased back into that routine after a short time.