Hello! I wonder if I could ask for some advice re my 18 month old DS? Tried looking up old posts but can't find anything absolutely on point.
Essentially, I have an 18 month old DS and a 5 month old DD (no, not a typo!). Due to the close age gap, I didn't go back to work and am currently a SAHM so DS has always been looked after by me. That said, we got out to lots if classes etc and he's always been very independent
We have been very lucky in that he us an ace sleeper (luck rather than design!) and sleeps from 7 - 7. He's done that since being really small so we have zero coping strategies for disrupted sleep. He has had the odd teething problem but Calpol has sorted that
Anyway, getting to the point thank God! we have recently started DS at nursery for two afternoons a week to let me spend some one on one time with DD. He seems to be enjoying it. But, on the days he goes, his sleep seems to have gone to shit. He'll scream and roar and end up not going down til about 9. Sadly, he doesn't have a long lie and the next day will be up at 6am (groan). He loves his sleep so does not cope well with this. On really bad days, it will impact on his daytime nap (usually about 3 hours) and he won't sleep at all. So the whole day is totally hellish. He has his sleep in the morning and goes to nursery in the afternoon so it's not the case that he's not sleeping at nursery and overtired. Although, obviously he is tired when he comes home.
We've tried a little bit of controlled crying (think that's what it is) where we pop back into the room ever 10 mins or so and try and reassure him but it doesn't. My husband is 6 foot 6 so DS is off the centiles for height. He has corresponding large lungs and can therefore bellow as though he is being murdered.
So we end up lying on our bed with him until he falls asleep about 9pm - something we've never had to do before as we have always just been able to dump him in the cot at 7pm and he snoozed off bar the odd teething issue.
I'm now wondering if nursery is traumatising him and actually I shouldn't send him as we don't absolutely have to. However, he seems to enjoy it plus I feel that DD needs some time with me
He has never seemed to have any sleep regressions before so don't think it's that - it seems directly related to starting nursery.
I wondered if you all had any experience of this/tips. It's certainly not a massive sleep problem - I'm very conscious that there is much worse - I'm more worried that he's unhappy and it's manifesting its self in this sleep disturbance. As he can only reliably say "car" and make barking noises, I can't ask him! Many thanks! 