Nearly 2 year olds sleep all going wrong !

[Sycamore76]

Hi all ,
My ds is nearly two and for the last 3 weeks hasn't slept through the night. Previous to this he would always go to sleep before 730am and sleep until between 630-7ish. He has been teething and has one more of his last molars to come in. He won't go down without me cuddling him to sleep and will wake between 2-3 times per night . As he us teething I give him calpol and milk and he usually goes back to sleep
After about an hour ( sometimes within half an hour ) I do have to wait around a half an hour until he is in a deep sleep to get him back in his cot. My question is , do you think it's the teething? Or have I created bad habits and he doesn't know how to self settle. He still sleeps in a cot but it's a large cotbed so he has lots of room. He is not a good napper but as he is so tired some days he will have an hour.
I am exhausted and so is he! We can't go anywhere as he is very tired and had to leave a play group the other day as he was hitting all the kids ( I think tiredness and pain trigger this) we are spending the weeks alone :-( I realm miss socialising but he is a nightmare at moment so we have to keep a low profile !

[Bumpsadaisie]

Mine is the same age and doing the same thing for the last four or five weeks or so. It started off with his second molars, but I don't think these are too bad now. He is waking and wanting to come in my bed.

My hunch is that he is ready to drop his nap. This morning he woke at 6.10am and came in my bed (I suppose that does count as sleeping through, I guess). He then had 20 mins in the car at about 11, then no more naps till bed at 7.45pm. He was fine and certainly not overtired. Will be interesting to see how he sleeps tonight!

I am also experimenting with making sure he gets plenty of time outside and to run about - I am sure more natural light helps them sleep better. Today instead of pushing him about town in his buggy I ditched the buggy and let him walk. He was chuffed about that, and also I didn't put him in a highchair in the cafe but in a proper chair.

I'm also thinking of moving him to a bed. We were reading "Peepo" and he was pointing to the sides of the baby's cot in the book and saying "uh-oh, a gate" (uh-oh is what he says when something is wrong). So I am also thinking maybe he really isn't that keen on his cot anymore (though he does settle fine at bedtime, its just when he wakes up!)

He is still in an 18mth-3 year sleeping bag but since he is hugely tall for his age I also think he can't be that comfy as he has little room in it!

My gut feeling is that he is in a transition from younger toddler (cot, buggy, naps, sleeping bags, nappies) to older toddler (no naps, potty trained, no buggy, big boy bed).

I remember from my DD that this transition phase messed everything up a bit too.

[Bumpsadaisie]

Oh yes, he has also started getting the potty when he has done a poo/wee (always after the event so not sure he is quite ready for training yet, but he's definitely in the zone!)

[CreatureRetorts]

His bedtime looks quite late - can you move it earlier if he's tired?

I think at around 2 it's common for toddlers to resist naps but actually they still need them. My ds certainly did it but at 4 after the blip, he still has one twice a week and would probably like more.

My DS's sleep also went a bit crap (well reverted to crap) at around molar time. I think it might have made his reflux flare up again so we used to give a teaspoon of peppermint tea before bedtime to settle his tummy.

[Sycamore76]

Thanks for your replies! Maybe he is getting ready for a big boy bed , he also wears a sleeping bag for up to three years but I think he has plenty of room to move about. If he doesn't have a nap I try and put him to bed at 630pm but he doesn't always fall asleep until 730pm. He had a nap today (one hour) so he didnt fall asleep until 830pm tonight. I had a really tough time regarding sleep until he was five months old so I am feeling very sad that we are experiencing problems again ! I live in hope that things will improve once the molars are all through !
Thanks again x

[Sycamore76]

So, last night he woke at 1am moaning and crying so I gave him calpol and got him back in his cot after an hour ( he fell asleep next to me ) but then he woke again at 330am, when I went into him he was talking and seemed happy and wide awake ! I didn't get him to sleep again until 5 ish and then he woke at 7. He was sleeping a good 11-12 hours per night three weeks ago ! Any suggestions? He hardly sleeps during the day so really needs his night sleep , he has dark circles he is tired :-( ( me too) now I have a cranky toddler all day again , help !

[workingmumto1]

my 16 mo DD is doing almost exactly the same thing - last night she was awake screaming from 11:30 to 4:30 with no break! even with DH and I taking it in shifts it's exhausting. I've read that its a natural sleep regression that only lasts a few weeks & that moving them on to a toddler bed sometimes helps. Apparently we should just keep up the routine! I'd love some more helpful advice too! Good luck!

[Sycamore76]

Yes , I read that there is a sleep regression at 18 months and two years. We decided to try sleep training so last night when he woke up shouting at 2am wr tried to settle him back in cot! It took 45 mins of crying and us going in and out if the room every ten mins but finally he went back to sleep in the cot and slept until 730am. It's a horrible thing to do as all I want to do is cuddle him and hate hearing him cry but we all need a good night sleep. Not looking forward to tonight !
Good luck and thx for the reply x

[workingmumto1]

At the suggestion of my mil's sister we have tried music very low in the background throughout the night for the last two night's, and its worked a treat! We played some relaxing classical on repeat, and if DD did wake up, she quickly went back to sleep on her own. Hopefully it's going to keep working!

[Sycamore76]

Thanks for that ! Ds sleeping much better now and last night slept from 7-6am , first time in weeks. The sleep training plus a night light has helped x