Sleep Issues

[TipsyJoker]

I am having an issue with my 1 year old sleeping through the night. I do all the usual stuff, bedtime routine followed, don’t nap too long or too late, room a nice temperature not too cold or hot, no screens, no toys, wind down time before bed with a book, etc. Baby sleeps in own cot in our bedroom. He will go down at 7:30pm and sleep till 4am and then BAMB! He’s awake. I’ve tried settling him back down by saying, “it’s bedtime” and putting him back down. Then I go back as many times as I have to putting him back down without saying anything. I don’t turn the lights on or anything. He just won’t go back to sleep. He’s never slept through the night. I’ve recently stopped giving him a bottle during the night because I don’t want him thinking he can wake up and have a bottle because I’m trying to train him to sleep right through. He doesn’t nap too much during the day. He will normally nap for about an hour from 12-1pm. That’s it. So he’s not really getting enough sleep as I believe he should be getting an additional 2/3 hours. I can’t keep him awake any later than 7:30pm as he will just fall asleep or be very upset. I cuddle him before bed till he’s tired and put him into his cot when he’s sleepy, then sit on my bed and read until he falls asleep. Any ideas where I’m going wrong here? I spent 2 hours trying to resettle him again this morning before giving up and just getting up. My husband was up with him from 3:30am yesterday.

Not all 1 year olds sleep through the night. Perhaps he's waking up hungry so won't fall back asleep without a bottle. I still did 1 feed in the night when mine was that age

It’s normal to not sleep through the night. I would try a later nap time and a later bedtime.

Am I missing something here because from what you've said, your child is already sleeping through? If your LO is sleeping without wake up from 7.30pm until 4am, then that is sleeping through, and there's little you can do to help them sleep any longer. It therefore unfortunately sounds like it's your expectations that need work here, not your child.

My DS is 16 months old and now wakes at 5.30am without fail (this used to be 4am). My DD spent 7 months at a similar age waking between 4am and 5am. They wake early when they're little. Some grow out of it (thankfully both of mine seem to slowly get later and later), some stay early risers. You just have to go to bed earlier to ensure you get enough sleep and ride this phase out (or, if you can get them napping a bit longer/later in the day, you could maybe push bedtime back an hour. There's no guarantee that would work though - didn't for either of mine). It's shit, but if they're sleeping solidly until that point then you've already done the hard bit and you've got as good a sleeper as you're going to get at the moment

I can’t go to bed earlier. I have an older asn child who goes to bed at 9 and then takes hours to settle, repeatedly getting up out of bed until between 11-12. If I was to go to bed when my older child goes at 9pm, he would come in and out of my bedroom and wake the baby. So I have to stay up until the eldest is settled before I can go to bed. I’ll just have to grin and bear it as you say.

What happens if you give him his morning bottle at 4am ? Hes probably waking up hungry maybe?
Other option is work on his naps and introduce a later bed time. Then he should wake up later.

Have you tried a dream feed at all? He might be waking because he's hungry... could you set your alarm for 3am and give him a bottle while he's sleepy and see if he sleeps longer doing that? I know it's not ideal but might push him past the 4am mark x

@Elisabeth3468 @chocciebiscuits if I do feed him at 3/4am he will usually sleep a little bit longer but not always. Sometimes he will only take a couple of oz as well. So I’m not sure if he’s hungry. I am hoping it’s just a phase and it’s because he’s learned to walk and has started saying a few words that he’s just wanting to get up and do his new things.

early rise can be overtired aswell. Especially if he's not napping alot.
have you actually tried an earlier bedtime?

it can be super hard to get back to sleep after 4am due to low sleep pressure so even if an early bed causing say, 3am wake, you might actually have more chance of falling back!

@TipsyJoker it really sounds tough OP. Early starts are a killer, especially when you throw in an older child in the mix, and if they have additional needs then no wonder you're desperate for more sleep. I would say then, that if you're having to stay up late anyway, I'd work towards getting your youngest to bed later in the hope they sleep a bit later. This would only work if you can sort out the nap though as otherwise they'll get overtired and things will get worse. Unfortunately it might not work anyway, but given your situation it might be worth a try at least