16 Month old sleep pattern breaking us!

[user1491985670]

I've read a lot of threads on mumsnet but never posted myself before....but things have gotten to the point where we just don't know what to try or do with our 16 month old and her terrible sleep pattern.

For the last 3- 4 months she has been waking anywhere between 12 and 2 am and staying awake for up to 3 hours. prior to this she was a good sleeper and no trouble with naps - pretty standard, has always settled in her cot, never been interested in sleeping in our bed even if ive tried as a last resort - she likes her own space and always has done.

She has always had a solid bedtime routine and goes to sleep beautifully when you put her down. We have tried anything we can think of to change the pattern of waking - less sleep in the day, later bed time, porridge for supper instead of milk, warmer room, cooler room, sleeping bag, no sleeping bag, quiet time in her room, no blue light, controlled crying/sleep training when she wakes, getting her up, changing her nappy....anything we can think of, but it has been the same for months.

I think part of the problem is she had a really hard time in response to her MMR vaccination - we had just come back from a month long trip to NZ and she was straight back into nursery and had vaccinations to catch up up. she reacted badly with swollen glands, rash, ear infection, sore eyes, and became really run down with molars emerging (she is a terrible teether) and suddenly developing eczema having never had it before. She didn't sleep well and I wonder whether this has now influenced her sleep pattern and night time waking has become her routine. She is also late to walk, we are still a little way off at 16 months as she didn't crawl at all until she was 1....I wonder whether processing that is also taking its toll, not to mention maybe just not being physically exhausted by the end of the day. She wakes at around 6:30 irrespective of the night she has had and only has 1 nap during the day, usually 12:30 -2:30 max but generally an hour and a half.

She's a strong willed little beast and quite demanding at times, a great eater and drinker, very sociable and chatty and does very well at nursery (now she is over the constant snotty nose phase).....but when it comes to sleep we survive and hope for the best the next day...

Any words of wisdom or support greatly appreciated.....we feel like we are doing something wrong....doesn't help that all our friends have wonderful contented sleeping babies!

I'm in a similar position. My son is 17 months and has been breast fed since birth, he still feeds now with no sign of weaning himself off. Every night he feeds to sleep at 7 and wakes up between 11 and 12 and then between 3 and 4, I feed him again as it's the quickest way of getting him to go back to sleep otherwise he's awake for 2 hours plus. I work full time and have a 4yo who doesn't like sleeping in her own bed. I'm at my wits end, any advice on cc or other ideas gratefully accepted.

It sounds like she's had quite an unsettled time of late, with the move to new New Zealand for a month, then just as she got used to it there moving back, then her jabs and being poorly, teething....

That's a very lot to happen in a short space of time for a baby.

So I would suggest the problems quite simply come down to needing extra reassurance help her feel settled and contented.

I would either have a travel cot up in your bedroom for her, bring her cot back into your bedroom or set yp a bed for yourself in her room.

Not long term, just until she is feeling more reassured and settled. I would suggest that once she does, once she knows that you are right there to reassure immediately if she wakes, that she'll stop needing to wake.

Thank you for your comment FATEdestiny it makes me very sad to think that she is that unsettled. We debated whether NZ would be too much for a 1 year old but took the plunge - she was fantastic on the trip and cruised the flights. I wonder whether it is coming back being unwell and back to the nursery routine and not having us both with her 24/7 again has made her a little anxious - especially being more aware the older she gets, nursery say she has settled back in very well and is a happy girl but they did suggest it could be night terrors or nightmares keeping her up......she has never been a very cuddly snuggly baby but I have taken to going in and sitting her on my knee and reading her fave books a few times to calm her down and try a bit of a 'reset' I will try and go into it with the mindset that she is just seeking a bit of support and see if we can be more consistent in our approach.