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Attachment Parenting
Sally J
member
Seriously...18 month sleep regression is the worst so far
Sally J
member
I'm not sure I will make it through this one with DS. The regressions at 4 month, 6 month, and 9 month, then 12 month teething hell, were all pretty bad but doable...the 18 month regression takes the cake. Sleep deprivation is awful for everyone involved. It makes me feel like I've somehow failed as parent and it also makes me very, very angry (which is irrational, I know)!
After sleeping 7 pm to 5 am, nurse once and back to sleep til 7 am for several months, I don't know if I can do the waking every 45 min - 2 hr, crying with what sounds like a fear cry. Sometimes he just wants a hug and kiss from DH, sometimes he wants to nurse, sometimes he just wants a witness while he sits and plays.
It takes longer and longer to put him to sleep either during the nap or bedtime routine, as well as after the night wakings. I just keep telling myself this is a stage, it will pass. My empathy is wearing thin! We stopped cosleeping (room sharing) at 14 months, but I'm seriously considering going back just to get more sleep.
Anyone else with older children remember how long the 18 month regression lasted?!? Anyone used Toddler No Cry Solution (we used NCSS when he was younger and had great results)?
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Re: Seriously...18 month sleep regression is the worst so far
*fingers in ears* lalala I can't hear you! Babies STTN after the first year!
Sorry, I'm entering the second month of the 4 month wakeful and am a little loopy and sad over this dream-crushing post. I don't have anything helpful to offer since my son is so much younger than yours, but I wanted to tell you I'm sorry you're having a rough time. Him not sleeping well does NOT mean you've failed as a parent. I hope someone can give you advice and that this ends quickly for you. GL.
We've had a million ups and downs with sleep. I'm sure there was a 'down' around 18 months. Can't remember specifics (too tired? lol.)
NCSS for Toddlers and Preschoolers is VERY good. I wanted to like the original NCSS but I didn't find it all that useful.
But the 'sequel' is divine. Really helped me reform my thinking on kids and sleep... and gave some great suggestions to make nights better. Get it get it get it.
It wasn't as bad as the earlier ones for either of mine.
I would get the book, put a mattress on the floor in his room and do what you have to do to get through it.
I think the 18 month one is especially bad specifically because it makes you feel like an incompetant parent and you really feel like you should be done with this cr*p by now! My anecdotal opinion is that the 18 month one is primarily about separation anxiety. We were lucky in that we only had sporadic overnight waking (although when she woke, the only way to get her back to sleep was to bring her to our bed). But, for about 3 weeks, it took between 1 and 2 hours to get her to sleep *every* night. At the end of 3 weeks, it was down to 1 hour, and over the next two weeks the time that we had to spend rocking/singing/etc gradually got shorter and shorter. Around 19 1/2 months we had our formerly good sleeper back and we haven't had another really bad stretch of sleep since.
*knock on wood*
We've had a few short bursts of overnight wake-ups and bedsharing, but they've all been explained by 2 year molars, new baby or colds, and they haven't been nearly as bad as the 18 month period.
It IS a stage and it WILL pass. Just get through it and you'll come out the other side. In our case, at the other side DD had a HUGE language explosion and her rate of tantrum went down because she could communicate better. That was definitely the silver lining for us!