Help! 18mth old MAJOR sleep issues!!!

[Jaxritch]

Please someone give some advice!  We have 'Baby Whispered' since our little one was 3 weeks old and it's all been great... except he has just got his molars and then got a cold on top of it.  We spent a few nights getting up and giving him a quick cuddle and sometimes a bottle (thinking he may be hungry as had not eaten much during the day), and now is waking at night and absolutely screaming the house down if we leave the room.  It's a very angry cry!  I tried sleeping on his bedroom floor with him last night, but it didn't make a difference, he just kept saying 'down, down' and trying to climb out of his cot.  This has gone on a few nights now, and I've also got a cold and a bladder infection so I'm very tired and finding it hard to sort this one out.  He's never been afraid of his cot before, but now really dislikes going to bed!  Please help!!!

[Jess-J&E]

I am so sorry you are having such  a horrible time.  I have been going through something similar for quite a while now so I know how hard sleep deprivation can be when you are tired and not feeling well.
My feeling is that he might still have a little pain from the teeth and that it takes much longer than we would like for a little one to recover from a cold.  He might have some residual stuffiness at night that is making it hard to breath and is therefore disrupting his sleep.  I know that it takes me a week to get Ethan back on track after it looks like a cold is all gone.  Not fun I know!!

The molars are tough too.  The pain is the worst when they lay down so he might remember how it felt and now is a little nervous to sleep at night.  We gave Ethan a bottle at night too when he was getting molars and eye teeth because he wasn't eating a thing during the day.  You know your little one the best,  but for us it didn't create a habit.  He was genuinly hungry so when his eating returned to normal during the day he didn't want the milk at night anymore and we didn't have to offer it.   How are his naps? Is he getting rest then?

I will let others give you advice on getting him back to sleep when he is well but for now I would still give him some cuddles and reassurance for a few days.  Can anyone give you some help while you recover?

Jess

[Diegos Mama]

Do you feel comfortable giving pain medications (ie, Motrin) at night?  I used to wake my boys up before *I* went to bed to give them a dose. They were sleepy, but would take it, then go right back to sleep.  This way the eight hours of pain relief would come while I was sleeping too. It usually worked well.  It can cause tummy discomfort though, so if he's on an empty stomach you may  need to consider that.

Molars STINK!  We are awaiting two year molars with my younger.  During his bouts of sep. anxiety I lay on the floor next to his crib and he eeeeeeeeeventually goes back to sleep.  Takes a while though.  Your little on may not be resettling if he's in pain, so try the Motrin or Tylenol if you haven't and think it would be appropriate.