Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Need some advice for 16mo sleep please!

3 replies

redballerina · 11/10/2026 14:36

Dd is 16 months. She was a great sleeper after the newborn stage, slept through from 7-7 at 4-7 months, then bedtime was a bit later as she wouldn’t fall asleep at 7. From 13 months she’s infrequently napped and absolutely refuses naps now, has done for two months. If I leave her for 3 minutes to try and self soothe, she gets so upset that she vomits and screams. I try taking her out in fresh air, giving her a bottle, having quiet time, having a busy morning so she’s using energy then quiet time, anything I can think of. Now she won’t nap, falls asleep about 6:20pm, wakes at 2am for a feed and is awake anything between an hour and a half- 4 hours, then up at 6:30. I’m at a loss. Dh has tried to do naps and he can’t get her too either. Even the car, which would be too expensive to do everyday, she doesn’t go to sleep. She has never fallen asleep in the pram from 3 months. What am I doing wrong? I play lots with her, read a lot, take her to groups during the week and she has virtually no screen time. If I just lie on the bed and cuddle her then she’s trying to get up and jump about. She’s very good generally but 3pm onwards is just a struggle as she’s so tired. I honestly have tried repeatedly settling her for a nap, some days I’m trying for over an hour and she just cries or babbles to me if I’m there.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Jadetheobscure1989 · 11/10/2026 15:03

This might not be helpful for you, but the best thing I did with my LO's sleep is to stop worrying about how to get it 'right' and just accept she's going to do what she wants to do. A health visitor gave me some info on sleep which basically said - your child will sleep as much as they need to so you don't need to worry about them, it's only a problem if it's a problem for you, and if it's a problem for you work out how to make it not a problem. For me it was co-sleeping - she still wakes up several times a night (mostly) but I just roll with it. I know it might not be helpful for everyone, and appreciate it is hard when they wake and refuse to go back to sleep, but it really helped me when I was in quite a bad place.

EveningSpread · 11/10/2026 15:09

No advice but didn’t want to read and run. That split might sounds awful. I can’t believe she can do 12 hours awake at that age!!!

It would work a lot better for you if she’d sleep 10pm-6am instead of 6pm-2am. But like the previous poster, I was never able to alter my daughter’s sleep schedule. She’s 24 months now and sleeps 9pm-8am (although she wakes almost every hour in the night and needs resettling). We cosleep. I wait for change!

redballerina · 11/10/2026 15:14

Thank you @EveningSpread, it’s crazy isn’t it! The split is horrendous, I’m exhausted (and I have two other dc that I need to look after as well!). fingers crossed your little one sleeps through soon!

@Jadetheobscure1989I’ve tried cosleeping but since she’s having this awful sleep schedule, in her sleep she kind of sits up and dives forward so her feet are at my face and then I can’t sleep because I’m worried she’ll wiggle her way down the bed! 😭

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page