Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

20 month old nightmare sleeper

1 reply

Mumofboys2017 · 02/08/2017 17:13

I really need some help with my gorgeous 20 month old boy.

Fundamentally the problem is he's refusing to nap or only having a 30 min short nap during the day and is waking anywhere between 3am and 5am at night and doesn't get back to sleep.

He was a reflux baby and has always woken multiple times at night. We are also seeing ENT due to enlarged adenoids and a lip tie. He is also having feeding difficulties (seeing speech and language) and therefore has a very limited diet, which decreases even more when he has a cold, ear infection etc (which is all the time). To top it off he has separation anxiety during the day and at night.

We are trying to take away the dummmy as requested by ENT, but the only way he will go down for a daytime nap is if he has it. I tried for 7 days without it and he would just cry for 2 hours in his cot. After a week of no napping, I was a broken woman!

At night he doesn't have the dummy and constantly cries himself to sleep (takes between 20 -60mins). We've tried leaving him to cry when he wakes in the night but he would just go on for ages and is now waking his older brother up. If I go in to try and settle him it upsets him more as all he wants then is for me to pick him up. He's a strong willed boy and then goes into a full on tantrum.

Some advice would be so welcome.

OP posts:
FATEdestiny · 02/08/2017 20:06

Could you bring the cot to be next to your bed? Or put a single bed in his room for you to sleep in?

Given how hard he finds sleep anyway, there is absolutely no way I'd get rid of the dummy.

He clearly needs more reassurance at bedtime, I'd give it. I'd lie on my bed as he goes to sleep in a cot in my room. I might hold his hand through the cot bars, give eye contact and stay close by right through until asleep. For wake ups I'd do the same. No massive fuss, but reassurance through touch and eye contact (while I doze in bed)

New posts on this thread. Refresh page