Hi Mike! don't panic there's a lot we can do.
your son is in a particularly tough age. For us, that was the age when he popped 6 teeth at once!! is bill teething? it causes a lot of discomfort, pain and night wakings.
Also, he's in the exact age when mobility starts to be an issue, that is, he's learing to stand up and move around. Some little ones stand up while sleeping and then suddenly wake and freak out cause they can't understand how did they get there.
Also is the beginning of separation anxiety. HE's starting to discover that he and mom/dad are different persons and they can leave. He doesn't have the skills to know that when you leave, you're coming back. So he wakes, sees you're not there and freaks.
So as you can see, there's a lot in the mix that can be causing this. I think that by letting him "sort it out" you might be reinforcing his fears of being left alone. The thing that has worked best for me when talking about night wakings is going into his room (rule of gold: always go to him NEVER let him come to you) and very low key, shing or telling him "nighty night, time to sleep" something like that. Reassure him that you're there and he should go back to sleep. This should settle him and you should be able to leave the room soon. In case he's not easily settled you might have to try the "walk in/ walk out" approach. But let's try this first. If you want to learn more about walk in/walk out, go to the Sleep for Toddlers section or PM jessicaandemmilysmom who is "the guru" for that LOL...
In case you notice that teething is part of the equation, you can try some pain releifs as a prevention during your bedtime ritual, like rubbing oraljel to his gums and giving some tylenol/motrin to prevent him from waking. Big hit here, I've noticed that if i give the pain aid once my ds is in pain, it's helpless. I ahve to give him BEFORE the pain kicks.
A lot of night wakings are also due to overstimulation/overtired baby. As i told you before, he's starting to be more mobile and hence, getting more tired due to more activity during the day. A low key set of activity during the 3 hours prior bedtime, next to a long wind down should be enough to relax him and let him ready to go to bed without much fuss.
Please feel free to PM in caseyou need further info or explanations about this. Good luck!
