need advice on 18mo ds please.

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

ds is almost 18months and up until now has always been a happy boy. lately he is crying all the time, snatching, pinching, smacking etc. sleep has never been brilliant but would always self settle after re plugging the dummy but now he just stands and screams in his cot until i take him out. dummy doesn't work anymore. he refuses to lay down, throws his blankets out of the cot, just basically really bad tantrums all through the night. im exhausted. sometimes just once a night sometimes ten times.

im really struggling to differentiate between baby crying and toddler screaming. do i cuddle or discipline. how do you discipline an 18mo?? i can't cope with him the way he is.

Teething? My 19 month old is cutting his last of the pointy ones and my word, he is a grumpy wee drama llama! Every little thing is resulting in him dropping to the floor and wailing, and he's throwing stuff a lot as well. He's also waking in the night again with an ear splitting shriek, although dummy still working here thankfully.

I also think that underlying it there's a definite element of frustration, he's not very verbal yet so I imagine he loses his rag because he hasn't got the vocabulary to say "but I really WANT to post your car keys out the letterbox"

I'm enjoying this better weather and longer afternoons; a good run around the park helps us all reset our patience levels.

How long has this been going on for? I believe that, generally speaking, they don't make a fuss unless they are trying to tell us that something is wrong - most likely teething (I put everything down to teething!). Does he sleep better after Calpol?

calpol and teething gel doesn't seem to make any difference unfortunately so im not convinced it is teething

this has only been going on for about a week although it feels like months.

ds also isn't verbal. he understands instructions and his comprehension is great. will follow commands such as "fetch your shoes", he'll nod or shake for yes/no. physically ahead i think, walked/crawled early and can use cutlery fine.

is separation anxiety worse around this age? he seems to be very cuddley in the day and if dh or dd cuddle me he'll rush over and push them off so not sure if we need to nip that in the bud. if so, how?

its an awkward age. not a baby but not a proper toddler yet. roll on 2!