Hi all, I have a 20 month old and need some outside perspective on sleep (or lack of!). Is this normal...
Routine has been the same since day 1, dinner, upstairs, bath, story and breastfeed to sleep around 7.30. Asleep for anytime between 7.30 and 8.15 depending on how organised I am. Cot still by my bed because of frequent night wakes.
Wake-ups more frequent when younger but now there's a pattern of one wake-up now between 10 and midnight where I need to go up, quick feed back to sleep and will settle again for another hour or two. Wake ups then happen like this all night, every two hours, sometimes less where I need to pick up and feed to sleep. If I try to soothe in other ways I just get tears and screaming. Some nights I'm so tired I started giving a sippy cup once with cows milk and now that's become a habit which does help settle, but only for the same length of time before I need to start the process again. It's exhausting.
Nap is usually 12.30-2ish, give or take 30 mins either side. 3 meals, 2 snacks a day plus breastfeeding on demand which now is before nap, breakfast and then all through the night.
Development seems fine, switched on and happy but does seem to be slower with speech compared to others. Not enough for health visitor to be worried just yet and we are seeing improvement every day
AIBU to think this level of sleep deprivation isn't normal? Newborn days were easier. What can I do to fix this without resorting to cry it out?