17mo DS2 will NOT sleep!

[Hasanyoneseenmysanity]

For the past 3 nights now my 17mo DS2 will NOT sleep through!

He goes to bed fine at 7 and stays asleep right up until I goto bed (anytime between 9 and 11). As soon as my head hits the pillow he wakes up and starts chattering/wandering around the cot and just generally being wide awake.

The last two nights I have resorted to getting up and bringing him downstairs to try and tire him out. Saturday night I was up with him until 6AM and Sunday night wasn't much better! I have DD 6 and DS1 4 who get up anytime between 6:30/7:30 so have to be up with them in the morning and I am completely and utterly exhausted!

DS2 (the nocturnal one) is still having a nap during the day which ranges from anything from 11am through til 2pm! We have always had a great routine with bedtime and sleep/naps etc but recently this just seems to have gone completely crazy! He has huge bags under his eyes and is visibly shattered and as a result extremely grumpy and clingy throughout the day!

I have tried everything from changing him to calpol (in case of teething) to soothing him and even tried co-sleeping but nothing seems to work!

He is wide awake again now and I have had to bring myself downstairs away just to try and regain a bit of sanity but can hear him chattering away loudly in his cot.

He is supposed to be sharing a room with DS1 but I am worried that by doing so he will continue to wake and as a result keep DS1 awake in the night :(.

I am getting to the end of my tether and I am not sure how much longer I can survive on little to no sleep!

Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated! Thank you :).

[waitingforsomething]

It sounds like a (highly irritating) phase if he has previously been a good sleeper. Can you shift DS1 out the room for a bit to share with DD or with you and then just leave him to it? If he's just chattering and wondering round rather than crying maybe if you just leave him rather than take him downstairs he will drop back off when he gets tired. Perhaps he's learning new language and wants to practise.

[PotofGold1186]

I find that when dd sleep becomes disrupted, it normally means I have to tweak nap times/amounts. We get a bit lax and can let her sleep too much then she is worse at night. I have to go to a strict schedule and that solves the problems.
I def wouldn't take him out of his bed. He may get over tired if you take him downstairs, 6am is mental! Also you don't want to start a habit that you don't want.
for you, hope it gets better very soon!

[Hasanyoneseenmysanity]

Thank you for your replies and advice, it's really appreciated.

I have put him in DS1's room and moved DS1 in with DD. It's a bit cramped but they seem to be enjoying their little "sleep overs" lol.

He has still been waking although not as much which is a huge improvement and I can deal with the odd wake up during the night.

I completely agree regarding not bringing him downstairs, I was just at a complete loss of what to do with him after spending almost 2 hours trying to get him to go back to sleep.

I really hope it is just a phase and he will settle back down soon so I can eventually phase DS1 back into his bedroom with DS2, although I am definitely going to be staggering their bedtimes so DS2 is asleep before DS1 goes to bed.

I've also tried to limit his nap a bit more so that may help somewhat.

Here's hoping he might sleep even better tonight but so long as I don't have another night of zero sleep then I shan't complain if he wakes a few odd times in the night.

Thank you again