My good sleeper is not sleeping like he used to! (sorry - long)

Jen4033 · September 2013

Hi ladies - I've never posted on this board yet, but was hoping anyone might have some advice or past experiences or perhaps someone else is going through same thing?

DS is 21 mo and has always been an awesome sleeper. He started STTN around 4 mo old & has been ever since, with the exceptions of when he was sick here & there. Any time he has woken in the night otherwise, if I let him be for 5-10 mins he would just go back to sleep on his own. That is the extent of the CIO method I have been comfortable with. He has a normal bedtime routine & goes down with no issues normally. He still sleeps in a crib & we haven't decided he is ready to convert to toddler bed yet.

For the past week, he has woken up crying right around the 2am hour. Sometimes he wakes up & starts with a normal cry, but it escalates to a scream. Other times it immediately starts with a screaming cry. I don't get up right away, but for this last week I have needed to go into him to help him calm down. When I get in there he is standing up & is completely worked up.

He will usually go right back to sleep in my arms but I can tell he isn't going into a real good sleep. If I attempt to lay him back in his bed, he immediately wakes up, stands up & cries. In order for me to be able to get anymore sleep that night, I have to get him to sleep & then take him to our exta bedroom with me where I can lay by him for a few, then get up & go back to my bed. (Queen sized bed & he is in the middle with pillows on either side to keep him from rolling off.) if I don;t do this, he is completely wide awake & then there is no hope for sleep.

My first thoughts were possibly night terrors. When he is screaming, he is usually calling fo 'bubbles' or 'book' though. (2 of his favorite things in the world) So I was not sold on the bad dream part. He has also had a stuffy nose, but it really hasn't been too bad. He can still breathe through his nose really. But this did all come about when the air seemed to change around here from hot/humid to cooler/drier. I've always had a feeling he has allergies but I know they don't typically diagnose this young. It is so strange how it is has been exactly ever other night. Never 2 nights in a row. My only guess on that is he is tired enough from losing his own sleep the night before so he doesn't wake up the next.

I'm wondering of this is a usual time for a sleep regression or if anyone else has or is going through something like this? How long did it last? I'll be 25w pregnant with our 2nd child as of tomorrow so this has really been draining on me losing 2-3 hours of sleep each night. That & I have a neck injury from a car accident I had last year that flares up & gives me a constant headache when my body gets too worn out like it is lately. DH & I agreed if he is still doing this by the weekend, he will get up with him that night so I can catch up on sleep. During the week though it has to fall on me as DH works driving on the road. It would not be safe for him to be too tired.

TIA for any info you might have to share! Hoping I touched on everything to give a complete picture of what is going on.

Edit: I am just getting this post saved before I leave for the day at work, so really sorry if I don't respond to anyone until tomorrow.

YumYum2012 · September 2013

I'm sure most pediatricians do not officially diagnose toddlers this age for allergies, but they don't deny it is possible. My daughter is 19 months old and have been on mostly daily doses of claritin since she was 13 months old. It has helped SIGNIFICANTLY with her congestion, sneezing, and coughing. I pretty much self diagnosed, but went to the pediatrician for advice and confirmation. He gave me the dosage she can take (because children's claritin starts at age 2), so obviously it is common practice for children younger than 2 to take it.

Sorry I'm no help on the sleep thing, just wanted to chip in on the allergy part. Good luck!

MNmama7112 · September 2013

I've been having a hard time with my 14 month old's early waking as well and have been trying a lot of different things. I can't say for sure that any of these are necessarily "fixes" (though it worked last night!), so here's some ideas:

-Has anything in his environment changed? More/less light? Colder/warmer in his room? Used to have sound machine, now doesn't? I'd try to make sure his room is as he is used to.

-Maybe get him checked for an ear infection? It's always possible and can make sleeping really tough. Might be worth bringing him in quick just to rule it out.

-Are you giving him a snack before bed? Might help to have him go to bed with a full tummy

-Is his diaper super wet? Have you tried nighttime diapers?

Those are just a few things to think about... you may have already thought of these things, but the new nighttime diapers and adding back his music helped my son (at least last night- so praying that continues!). Good luck! Everything is better when everyone gets their rest!

TheArmadillo · September 2013

This is also a prime stage for separation anxiety (so I've been told) and thus some kids wake up and just want to know that Mom or Dad is still nearby. I think that's what's been going on with my 20-month-old. He was bad for about a month and is now back to pretty much sleeping straight through 12 hours.

Jen4033 · September 2013

Thanks all!

I hadn't been thinking he is really sick enough for that to be the cause since it never went past being a little stuffy / runny. He doesn;t act sick in the least while he is awake. Then again, when he had RSV or even Roseola when he was younger, he hardly acted sick either. He got a stomach bug a month ago or so & even then he wanted to still get up & play, but just couldn't without throwing up. (poor man!) I've recently learned that Strep is going around. I'll have to see if he will allow me to take a peek at his throat tonight.

@Nicb13 - this is exactly how I like to approach it too. I usually just roll with it when he needs me when sick. This past week has just been so out of character for him & I never would think he was really "sick" by the way he has been acting. I'm still hoping the toughing it out finds the means to the end. My biggest fear is, if not feeling well isn't the cause, I don't want this to open the door for this to possibly become a new habit for him. Especially when I am reaching a harder point in my pregnancy to physically keep it up! LOL

@YumYum2012 - I had looked at Claritin as well & everything said age 2 so I never even thought to ask his Dr about a smaller dose. To be honest, I am really pretty sure he has allergies, but for the most part they have not been terrible. They don't act up often, but when they do they seem to really give him the itchy eyes & he's rubbing his nose like it is 'twinging' as I call it.

@MNmama7112 - I am also in MN if your SN is still accurate
As far as his environment, the only thing I can think of is the weather has changed here. This all started last week when the cooler & drier air moved in. (except today which is more muggy - maybe we will see a full night sleep tonight!) We rock him to bed every night to a lullaby CD & we always leave it play to the end for him after laying him down & closing the door behind us. I really think I may have my own case of mild OCD, so keeping things in a usual constant routine is the norm for me.
I hadn't considered an ear infection given he hasn't been pulling on them & he has never had one in his life yet. There's a first for everything, right?
His eating habits are a whole other story. While things have been a little better lately, it is typically a struggle to get food into this guy. He is by no means malnourished, but often refuses to eat things I put in front of him. The last time he woke up, I DID hear his tummy growl while I was rocking him back to sleep. Whether that is coincidental or not I'm not sure, but a bedtime snack might be a good idea to at least help me pinpoint the source of this sudden change!
His diapers are not terrible in the mornings. He does have the overfilled ones every once in a while, but for the most part are only mildly wet each morning.

Thanks all for giving me a few more things to think about! Here's hopin the chain breaks soon!
Last night would have been a night I wouldn't have expected him to wake up, beign this is literally an every other night occurance. I heard him cry out at 2:09am, but that was it! He went back to sleep! Really hoping for a repeat tonight! Thanks again!

Jen4033 · September 2013

TheArmadillo said:

This is also a prime stage for separation anxiety (so I've been told) and thus some kids wake up and just want to know that Mom or Dad is still nearby. I think that's what's been going on with my 20-month-old. He was bad for about a month and is now back to pretty much sleeping straight through 12 hours.

@TheArmadillo - Thanks for this. I hadn't considered separation anxiety. These days he's all about dad so I guess that it why. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case. If not me, he might be reacting to less dad time. DH has been SUPER busy between work & work on our new house. He does cry for him at times during the day. Breaks a mom's heart!