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Help! Sudden sleep issues.

AlisonLynnAlisonLynn
in Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
So DS was an awful sleeper the first year. He didn't start sleeping through the night until he was at least a year old. I used to have to rock him forever until he went down. Now I just tuck him in, we say a prayer, and he goes down by himself. Well starting last week he began this horrible new pattern. He no longer will just lay down and go to sleep. He screams and cries forever. Saturday I put him down for a nap and he cried so I finally rocked him for a while. He woke up when I laid him down so I decided to let him cry. Five minutes later I hear a boom. He climbed (hurled himself) out of his crib. Awesome. So now he cries when I put him down at night and I'm afraid he will try to climb out and hurt himself. I know I am probably on the path to a toddler bed, but what is with this sudden change? He also wakes up multiple times at night and is a mess. I can't handle this. Advice? Is it a phase?
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Re: Help! Sudden sleep issues.

  • AmericanInOzAmericanInOz member

    do you have a set bedtime routine - to lead up to bedtime so he has time to get used to the idea? like we do bath, pjs, books and then bed - which takes at least half an hour - so she KNOWS its bedtime after that

    but to be honest - dd is 18 months and still doesn't regularly STTN *sigh* we had about 2 months of it around 14 months, then she got sick, and ever since its off and on - its hard for sure - GL

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  • AlisonLynnAlisonLynn
    imageAmericanInOz:

    do you have a set bedtime routine - to lead up to bedtime so he has time to get used to the idea? like we do bath, pjs, books and then bed - which takes at least half an hour - so she KNOWS its bedtime after that

    but to be honest - dd is 18 months and still doesn't regularly STTN *sigh* we had about 2 months of it around 14 months, then she got sick, and ever since its off and on - its hard for sure - GL

    Thanks for the response! We do a bedtime routine. I don't give him a bath everynight since he has dry/sensitive skin, but we brush his teeth and usually read a story. He has been so good about it and understands it is bedtime. He has done fine for months and months so it is really shocking to me that this is happening all the sudden. Hopefully it is just a phase that will pass!

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  • AmericanInOzAmericanInOz member

    i find that if dd doesn't eat enough in the day she will wake at night cause she's hungry - so we started doing a sippy cup of milk before bed and she is sleeping a lot better now

    I'm still struggling with getting her to STTN consistently though - so all I can say is GL! :)

    do you think he's sleepy enough? maybe trying putting him to bed a half an hour later & see if he's calmer/ready for bed? thats the only thing I could think of that could come out of the blue like that? that or a growth spurt

    also I started limiting dd's naps - I found if she sleeps more than 2 hours in the afternoon she sleeps TERRIBLY at night!!

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  • AlisonLynnAlisonLynn
    imageAmericanInOz:

    i find that if dd doesn't eat enough in the day she will wake at night cause she's hungry - so we started doing a sippy cup of milk before bed and she is sleeping a lot better now

    I'm still struggling with getting her to STTN consistently though - so all I can say is GL! :)

    do you think he's sleepy enough? maybe trying putting him to bed a half an hour later & see if he's calmer/ready for bed? thats the only thing I could think of that could come out of the blue like that? that or a growth spurt

    also I started limiting dd's naps - I found if she sleeps more than 2 hours in the afternoon she sleeps TERRIBLY at night!!

    I was thinking about that - whether he is tired enough. I might try to start putting him down at 8:30 instead of 8:00 to see if that makes a difference. He is at daycare during the day and usually sleeps around an hour there. DS is not a good eater, so he could be hungry, especially if he is going through a growth spurt. I'll try the milk thing too! He is always too busy to eat! It makes it hard!

    Good luck with STTN! It really takes a toll, doesn't it? 

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  • j&j060708j&j060708
    It's the age.  There is something about an 18 month sleep cycle disturbance my ped was telling me about at LO's appt.  She said it is totally normal because they are working so hard on figuring out boundaries and new developments that sleep becomes all wonky!
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  • AmericanInOzAmericanInOz member
    imagej&j060708:
    It's the age.  There is something about an 18 month sleep cycle disturbance my ped was telling me about at LO's appt.  She said it is totally normal because they are working so hard on figuring out boundaries and new developments that sleep becomes all wonky!
    yea that makes a lot of sense - with all the development that's going on at this age - I often hear dd just chatting to herself with words she picked up at that day - repeating them over & over, I suppose all you can do is try a few strategies and hope for the best  - that the STTN will come back!
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  • JMH_squaredJMH_squared

    imageAlisonLynn:
    So DS was an awful sleeper the first year. He didn't start sleeping through the night until he was at least a year old. I used to have to rock him forever until he went down. Now I just tuck him in, we say a prayer, and he goes down by himself. Well starting last week he began this horrible new pattern. He no longer will just lay down and go to sleep. He screams and cries forever. Saturday I put him down for a nap and he cried so I finally rocked him for a while. He woke up when I laid him down so I decided to let him cry. Five minutes later I hear a boom. He climbed (hurled himself) out of his crib. Awesome. So now he cries when I put him down at night and I'm afraid he will try to climb out and hurt himself. I know I am probably on the path to a toddler bed, but what is with this sudden change? He also wakes up multiple times at night and is a mess. I can't handle this. Advice? Is it a phase?

    I think your DS and my DD are twins! I could have basically written this post myself! We were on such a good path and now I feel like we are taking 80 steps back... not only is she not going to sleep, she's not staying asleep anymore! It's been a battle every single night for a few weeks now. I sure hope this is a phase and is a milestone thing. I started wondering if it was that as she is now yelling (during her screaming and crying) Mommy Cuddle!! Daddy Cuddle!, plus even when she is calm she is up there like a little chatterbox. Good luck to you ... this body is not prepared to be waking up this much anymore... prayers for all of us that it passes quickly! 

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