does your young toddler wake up?
My (almost) 14 month old is back to at least three times a night for several weeks and its killing me. Just wondering how I should adjust my expectations.
Also, I'm so, so sad to be on sleep boards again 
You might also enjoy...
-
Hugs mama! Could she be teething? Or about to do something new developmentally? That sounds like such an extreme shift that it makes me think that something is going on!
I will say that when we nap trained at 13.5 months (not MOTN but still sleep related) it took ONE day for like 20 minutes of crying. So if you do end up needing to retrain in some way, it may be much easier/faster than it had been!
-
@hilsy85: I'm trying to psych myself up for it....
We had her down to one wake up a night, and then she got a molar, and then she got sick....and since then its been pretty bad. Its possible she is getting another molar, but I can't see anything and when I've given her advil there wasn't a real change.
Part of the obvious problem is that I just nurse her whenever she wakes up because I'm tired and just want to go back to sleep ASAP.Her room gets kind of warm at night- she's been naked in just a cotton sleep sack, but she often wants water when she wakes up. My husband thinks she has diabetes (thirsty all the time)- so he's not very helpful.
-
*normally* none for my almost 13 month old. But normal doesn't seem to happen that often, KWIM? There's teething, or sickness, or me going back to work and throwing off her routine... In the last two months we've had periods of up to four wakeups per night.
-
@NurseMommy: i feel like this is what happened to us- she was once a night pretty consistently for awhile...and then the teeth, and then the sickness, and now she's just used to a little drink or some comfort nursing every few hours. Ugggggh.
-
Xander's 15 months and at the moment, none. But when he was sick on Thursday, he probably woke up 6-7 times during the night, which was so rough. I hope your little one gets some good sleep soon (and you too)!!!!
-
LO is 14m and he sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night because he is thirsty. Usually he'll go back to sleep once he's had enough to drink. I have sometimes put the sippy cup of water in the crib with him if it's a super hot night (we have no AC). Maybe that would help in your case too?
-
@Pumuckl: We've been thinking about that- we don't have AC in her room either, so it gets quite warm and stuffy even with the windows open (there are black out curtains that kind of prohibit air flow, you know?). But she drinks out of a straw cup- and I'm worried it would leak everywhere somehow, and she'd be soaking wet. I guess she'd probably let me know if that happened....
-
@Adira: thanks buddy. I've been MIA from the birth month thread because I'm so tired! Oy!
-
We were doing pretty good and then daycare started in March and it has been downhill ever since. We average 2-3 wake ups. First because of one sickness after the other, now the dreaded molars!
I'm like you too and nurse because it is quicker and easier and half the time I think now he wakes up out of habit. But when I have to work I can't be up half the night.
-
@ALV91711: I'm going back to work 3 days a week the first week in August, and we have to figure this out before then. I'm a therapist and cannot be this tired at work- I will zone out on my clients (not to mention I will be driving about two hours a day to get to childcare / work, and quite frankly- its just dangerous at this point for me to be on the road that much!)
I feel totally frozen though- like I know I need to do something, but I just keep hoping it will magically get better. I'm just too tired to think of a strategy and implement it!
-
@Silva: what about a fan in the room?
Also, when LO finally started STTN, we didn't do any real sleep training, but I did let him fuss/whine for up to 10-15 min before going in. I know in the MOTN you just want to get it over worth and get back to sleep as soon as possible...but maybe if she has a few nights of fussing a bit, she'll cut down on the wakeups? Just a thought, I know how tough it is! Or what if your DH goes in instead of you? she might get upset, but if he's consistent, she'll quickly learn that there's no milk coming.
-
15 months and usually none. Or she whins/cries in her sleep and goes back to sleep on her own.
She is teething again so Sat she was up 4 times but we only had to go in there once.
-
@Smurfette: how long do you wait to see if she will go back down?
part of my problem is that I worry about my husband's sleep- he works such long days in a stressful environment, and so when she cries I jump up and run in there to quiet her. He says its okay, but I martyr myself a bit, I guess.
@hilsy85: We do have a fan, but I don't point it on her directly, it just kind of moves the air a bit (and provides a little bit of white noise). I was thinking that maybe tonight we should give her 15 minutes at every wake up just to see what happens. And then maybe offer her water first, to see if she goes to sleep without nursing. Like I mentioned to smurfette, I always feel anxious about my husband's sleep- but I guess in order for this to improve he'll probably just have to be even more tired for a few days.
Also, she and I are going away for one night this weekend, so I hesitate to do full blown sleep training since her schedule will be a disaster this weekend....but honestly, at this point its always something, so I think we just need to try and see if she works it out on her own a bit. -
None, but he doesn't have high sleep needs. Only sleeps 8-6 or 630 :(. And doesn't nap much either. He's 2.
-
@Silva: Usually 10-15 mins. But I also judge by her cries. If she is hysterical then I go in right away. Cause that rarely happens, so that means she usually has pooped.
I would give her 10-15 mins. What I do is turn the monitor off, so you can still watch her, then turn the volume on and hear the cry, turn it back off. I do that every 3-4 mins. That way it doesn't wake up your DH.
Although he might not hear it. My DH didn't hear R at all Sat night and she was up 4 times. I was so pissed! -
@Smurfette: haha- he does sometimes sleep right through wake ups (he'll wake up in the morning and say, "only two? that wasn't so bad." and I'll give him death stares).
She generally starts crying right away, but at least I know something usually isn't wrong (she never poops overnight)- although I do feel bad when we go in and give her some water and then she just passes right out....she gets so thirsty!but yeah....i think we'll have to give her 15 minutes tonight and see what happens. maybe I will be pleasantly surprised! she is getting exhausted, too- usually she goes 3 hours before her morning nap, and this morning she started asking after 2 1/4!
-
I think maybe stopping nursing in the motn might help? It's tough to do but could you offer a bottle of milk or water instead? She might decide that's not worth waking up for...
-
@Trailmix: Yeah, I agree we need to night wean (I've been putting it off because I'm tired!). Chatted with my husband and tonight I'm going to try giving her water and putting her down instead of nursing. we'll see.
-
@Silva: Yeah R rarely does but she has a virus so we had two overnight poops in the last couple months. Def. give it some time and see how it goes. I would do everything in your power to not nurse. If she is thirsty then she can drink water. I think nursing is more of a comfort thing. At this age she doesn't need to eat overnight. Keep us posted.
-
@Silva: I just did it starting last Tuesday (I think? Tues or Wed). I opted for hard core CIO bc I'm just OVER IT but after two rough nights, we've now had four nights in a row of sttn. That has never happened so I'm feeling a little hopeful and I definitely think weaning had something to do with it (although I also weaned completely, not just nighttime feedings). But I've been dealing with 2+ wake-ups for the last year so I totally feel your pain, I really hope you can figure something out, you paid your dues in the sleep deprivation department!
-
At that age, she would wake anywhere from 1-3x/night. She went in waves and the nights she woke 3x/night were killer. I hope she cools her jets and starts sleeping better again soon!
-
@Trailmix: Ha- Its kind of crazy when I think about the amount of sleep I've been functioning on for so long. Like, I might have superhero powers if I ever actually get 8 hours in a row. So glad you are getting some good sleep- I have absolutely no idea how you managed this all with two babies. I cannot wrap my brain around it- I start to try to imagine it and then I just shut down.
-
@mediagirl: It is comforting to hear that some other babies just don't get it yet. I'd be okay with one wake up, or the occasional 2+, but its been an ongoing pattern for 2+ weeks now, and I'm just over it.
-
What temp do you think the room is at? We keep ours at low 70's or so. E's a great sleeper but she seems to do best when she is on the cooler side.....she almost never wakes up
. Could it be the sleep sack bothering her a little, too?
-
None for both kids. My 13 month old was waking up once around 10.5-11 months but she got back on track.
-
@Silva: glad you're going to try night weaning, I think it will help! Can you do a window a/c? We were in a hot hotel a few weeks back and LO slept so crappy. He is 18m and typically doesn't wake and hasn't since 10 months or so (though he has been waking once and having crap sleep this past week due to a molar).
-
none usually for our 18.5 month old. but he's had a rough few weeks with ear infection, teething, and an allergic reaction to antibiotics.... he's woken up 2 times a night until he gets settled for the night and also woke up earlier than usual. he is back to his normal 730-8 schedule now.
-
@blackbird: @scg00387: The temp could definitely be part of the problem (and would explain the increased thirst, too). I think its in the upper 70s (like, close to 80 on really bad nights) on hot nights. It should be cooler today/tonight, so if that helps we might get a window unit for her room.
I did try sleep sans sleep sack, and it didn't really go so well (she kept getting her leg stuck and waking up)- I think the sleep sack is part of her routine/comfort at this point? But who knows, I only did it for one night so it could have been a bad night regardless. -
@scg00387: I did want to night wean before we start childcare in August, anyway. But then sometimes I think about how delicious she smells when we are cuddling at night and I get sad.
-
@blackbird: Agree on this. We keep our house at 19.5C overnight (67F) and K generally sleeps well. She had a few rough nights over the past week and she's had (what I think is) some heat rash, so last night I was like, "Duh...why do I still have her in a flannel zipadeezip in June?!" so I put her in a light cotton one and she slept like a rock.
-
Well, I know that I sleep pretty shitty when it's that warm.
I was wondering if she got all tangled up in the sleep sack. We dropped hers months ago when I accidentally forgot to pack it one night. Whoops
-
@Silva: Agree on the temp, in that case! My Isis sleep consultants said 68 is the ideal temp for baby sleep, and should never be higher than 72.
-
Temp is important but I don't think it's really the end-all, be-all...it was 78 degrees in our nursery last night, according to my monitor, and they still slept fine. I have a fan on for circulation and the window open (but blackout shades in front of it) and there's just not much we can do in our hot apartment!
-
LO is usually a pretty good sleeper, except when she's teething or sick, naturally. Every once and awhile she will wake up crying for a min or two but then go back to sleep.
I agree with others about the high temp of the room and trying night weaning. I think both will REALLY help. We just put a window AC in LO's room as it was getting SO hot in there, and it is worth its weight in gold. She kept tossing and turning when it got too hot and just woke up a sweaty mess, even with a fan on. So now it's comfortable for her and she sleeps MUCH better. I would try night weaning as well, I think she will catch on quickly at this age. Try offering water instead when she wakes up, and she will learn that she will not get nursed if she wakes up.
-
1 when until we sleep trained at 12.5 months when she STTN. Then we hit a travel, teeth, illness regression and it was 1-2, sometimes 3. Last week, we did a half hearted sleep training followed by CIO and she went back to STTN. I hear you on the retraining sucking. Good luck mama.
-
Its been cooler the past two nights, so that may have helped things, but we did see a pretty quick improvement. Night one she woke up at 11, we waited fifteen minutes and then my husband gave her water and she went back down easily. Woke up again at midnight, we waited about 20 minutes and she was calming down- asleep by 25. She then woke up for the day at 5AM (which is typical for her, unfortunately).
Last night she had some trouble falling asleep for the night, which is really unlike her. She was trying really hard, but just having trouble for some reason. I eventually nursed her to sleep. She slept until 4AM! I nursed her because I was terrified that she would just get up for the day if I didn't put her back down. She woke up for the day at 5 again.This morning she was ready for her AM nap super early- she started asking at like 7:30! I got her to wait until almost 8. Typically she naps for about 1.5 hours in the morning (3.5 hours after waking up), and then about an hour in the afternoon (4 hours after nap). Bedtime is between 6:30 and 7, usually depending on if my husband is going to make it home to see her or not.
Thinking maybe she has some sleep debt? We are going away on Saturday, and our routine is going to be totally screwed up all weekend, so I think I might just push through until we get home on Sunday night and then do a few nights with early bed time?
If you're still reading, and care at all about my child's sleep, what would you do?
-
Your plan sounds jolly good to me! And yay for STTN!!!
-
@Pumuckl: I slept through the night, too! usually i wake up to pee or something. I think I got almost 7 hours of consecutive sleep!
-
That is great!! Sounds like you need to invest in fans or AC for her room for when it gets hot.
I would try and stick to your routine as much as you can while you are gone. If not, then just start over when you get back.
. Could it be the sleep sack bothering her a little, too?
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
41 comments