Sleep hell

[citrusfruit]

Please help. My 16 month old has always been a horrific sleeper. She used to wake up 3 times a night for feeds, then stopped that and moved to waking once but waking really early for the day, and now we are seemingly in a new phase where she just wakes up and screams if we aren't holding her. She has just been screaming for nearly 3 hours and I have just screamed at my husband and cried in exhaustion. I feel like a real failure, I can't get her into a good nap routine, she really needs to be on one nap but often has two which doesn't really work. She won't go down to sleep by herself for naps or bedtime. My first was a terrible sleeper but he came through it at a year, this just feels never ending. Just really looking for some support as I feel so so sad with it now.

 

[noon_child]

It's horrible isn't it? I wish I could say do x,y,z and it'll be over but all I can offer is solidarity. There's nothing you've done or not done, it's just how her brain is developing right now. She may be about to have a huge leap in speaking? It could be teething? Dreams? I never worked out what it was for my daughter...she was definitely tired and angry as hell that she was awake but could't calm down and settle back to sleep. We just did whatever we could to minimise the screaming. It does end. Look after yourself during this phase - whether that means napping when she naps or going to bed when she goes to bed, or taking it in turns with your husband to have a night with earplugs in a room far away from the screams. Sugar and caffeine will seem a great idea during the day but you'll feel better if you add water and slow release carbs, otherwise you'll have constant energy crashes.

 

[claire_leaf]

My son has just turned 17 months and was still waking at least once in the night and as i work I had got into the bad habit of giving him milk to settle back to sleep or would bring him into our bed. I had weeks of 5 am starts too. We tried watering down his milk - we gave him less each night until he was just down to about 2oz and then we switched to water for a few nights and eventually he gave up waking up for it.
Finally he's started sleeping 7-6, sometimes he still waked during the night but at least there was no crying, he just lied in his cot babbling away until he went back to sleep.