Please tell me you know more about sleep regression than my HV....

[Poppet45]

So DS is 55 weeks old and his sleep has gone to pot after a nasty cold and some teething, he also appears to be trying to drop his second nap so we're basically all over the place. He used to feed two or three times in the day and once at night (BF) and fall straight asleep, but last night he was up writhing around over his cot and then our bed for 50 minutes, between 3am and 4ish - some of my favourite hours for sleep.
So I asked my HV this morning about the 13 month sleep regression, and she looked at me blankly and said: "what, like past lives or something?"
Please, please can you lovely MNetters offer me something a little more constructive. Is he too young to be dropping a nap? He is the absolute king of the paddy right now, so he might be. What time should his single nap be? Is he hungry, how many times a day are extended BFers feeding their little ones? Could it still be the lingering effects of his cold? Argh... help but please I really don't want to hear he was Nero in a past life.

Hmmmm I'm so sleep deprived, and my computer so slow and crappy I've posted this three times. Sorry.

Thank you so much for your help! Have you thought of training as a health visitor?
I'm wondering if it's the nap issue too - but he's been so hard to put down these last few weeks and he just wakes up after 10 minutes or so of his second nap. He also sleeps in quite late - anywhere from 7.30am to 9am, so isn't an early riser by any means. Hmm it's like being a detective caring for a small baby.

It sounds just like the 13 month sleep regression which is linked to a developmental spurt at 55 weeks (adjust according to whether LO was early or late). Info here, here and other info on sleeping at this age here. IME many HVs have never heard of sleep regressions, even the really common ones at 4 and 9 months.

From what I understand, many HVs are trained in nursing (not always children's nursing either) rather than in developmental psychology and don't always know about the developmental stuff.

HTH

Great, great links. Just read them and am feeling less alone. Thank you so much.

My pleasure. It's always nice to have a scientific rationale to give you confidence that it will pass! :)

Nero