16 month old suddenly not self settling for sleep and waking up 4 times a night!

[FranMa1987]

Hello!! I am new to this but I'm at my wits end and need advice! My DS self settled from 4 months after doing gradual retreat training and slept through from 6 months, however now he's 16 months and last week decided that he was going to scream every time I put him down and won't stop until I go in and stand in the corner of the room!! This happens up to 4 times a night now too! I'm shattered! He can be awake anything from 15 mins to 2 hours!
It all started last week when I tried 1 nap and he got too overtired and I had to settle him! Now he wants me in there all the time!
I think I need to just be strong and let him cry it out but I wondered if anyone had experience of letting their toddler cry it out and how long it took each night? 1 hour, 5 hours?!! I have no idea what to expect and can't bare the thought of trying it then giving up and making things worse! I feel like I need a rough idea of how long it might take! Any experiences welcome! Thanks!

[bestweet]

Oh I feel for you, it's almost worse when they sleep well for a long period of time and then regress.

What's his bedtime routine like? Any recent changes? Teething? Unwell at all?

My DS was always a terrible sleeper and I was one of the mums sat on the floor and army crawling out once he fell asleep. He gradually stopped waking in the night and when he got to around 2 he just magically grew out of it and was happy just chatting away to his Teddy before sleep. I'm not sure that helps you right now so hopefully someone can come along with better advice soon!