18 month old erratic sleep problems

[bltglark]

My little boy (hes 18 months) is having problems sleeping through.  Basically 3 nights a week he sleeps through, 2 he needs reassurance to go off and 2 he is awake from 3 to 5 am. 
His routine is:
7am up  1.5 weetabix
11.30 Lunch
12.20 – sleep (1.5-2 hours)
2.30-3- snack
5pm- tea
630 supper
7 bath and books
7.30bed

if he has a bad night he has a morning nap to insure he doesn't get over tired

He seems to be worse on the days he’s in nursery or with grandparents so I wonder if it is separation anxiety.  although i have no problems dropping him off at nursery.

It is frustrating as he used to be a lot better then this.  When we camped for 3 weeks in Italy (he had a section with a cot in it) he slept brilliantly.

Has anyone else gone through this?  And is it just something he’ll grow out off?
Does anyone have advice on what to do when he wakes up? At the moment I reassure him (stroke his head) and lie him down if hes stood up then walk out.  On the bad night I do this for 2 hours!  when he wakes up he seems tired so i don't think hes getting too much sleep.

thanks

[Layla]

How does he sleep at grandparetns/nursery? Do they follow the same type of schedule? Is the nap just as long or shorter?

Also you said if he's had a bad night, you give him a morning nap.. .does he then have another catnap or is he awake until bedtime?

How long has this been going on? Do you think he might be teething?

Layla

[bltglark]

Thank you for responding so quickly. 

He generally has about 1.5 hours in nursery and the same with grandparents (which is similar to the other days).  They both follow the same schedule as we do, the only difference being in nursery he sleeps in a bed instead of a cot but they have said he goes to sleep ok like this. 

When has a bad night, like last night, he goes to sleep for half and hour at 8.30 until 9 and then has his main nap at about 1.30pm which is still a hour and a half. 

He did have teeth coming through (incisors) a month ago but they seem to have stopped.  He doesn't seem to be teething at the moment he's not chewing toys or dribbling like he sometime does. 

thanks

[Layla]

I am a little stumped . I thought it might be related to him not sleeping well when at nursery or grandparents...

Does he seem clingy when with you? That would be an indication of SA. All you can do really is reassure him & leave.
I am sorry I probably haven't helped much - maybe someone else who's been through similar can help

You might also want to try a slightly earlier bedtime (20mins) just in case he is not sleeping too well when not home

[brightside]

I don't have any answers I'm afraid but my DS is just the same. I think it has a lot to do with teething and SA. Bedtime might also be a bit late. If your LO is only sleeping for 1.5 hours then he might not be able to last from 2-7.30. Having said that I often try for an earlier bedtime with DS but he doesn't always go and sometimes its 7.30 before he goes to sleep  Then we get earlier wakings etc. He also sometimes wakes in the night, for 1.5 hours. I'm pretty certain he is going through SA so I tend to stay with him until he sleeps. I have found it helps to give him a cuddle for 10 mins and then put him back in the cot and sometimes hold his hand. I've no doubt that I will regret this AP in due course but if we don't sit with him he gets worse and if it is SA then I'm probably better staying with him. I'm praying it is just a phase.

[mumofoscar]

I have had a similar problem with my ds, on the days my MIL looks after him(at my house). This has taken me months to work out. He always woke at 5-530 on the day after MIL looked after him. We tried shorter naps for a while, then leaving him to wake on his own from naps for a while, nothing made a difference. What I realised is that he was doing so much more with MIL, as she doesnt have anything else to do all day except play with him etc, that he was getting much more tired. So I tried putting him to bed earlier on these days (which seems weird as he usually sleeps longer for her in the day also!). Only 20-30 minutes earlier, and I got a normal wake up. I hope this helps, as it drove me nuts for months, and poor MIL had a real complex about it.