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Original poster

Not sure how much more I can cope with

8 replies

Kmitchz · 21/11/2017 01:35

My LO is 13 months and recently has just stopped sleeping. He has one nap a day which can be anywhere between 40minutes to 2 hours.

He is up pretty much all night, screaming. We have brought him up to our bed but he just crawls about and either cries or jumps about the place thinking it’s play time. If we try to put him back in his cot, he just screams. Currently we’ve been up for 3 hours trying to get him to sleep after we put him to bed at 7 but wouldn’t go down until 8. Then woke at 10:30, had bottle, bum change and we are still trying to get him to sleep. We’ve tried contoured crying, co sleeping - nothing is working and once we get him to sleep- he will be awake again within 2 hours and it all starts again. We have a 6 year old and she hardly gets a look in as her brother takes up every ounce of our energy.

We are exhusted. Not sure how much more we can take

OP posts:
8DaysAWeek · 21/11/2017 02:35

Here with you and an almost 16 month old. I’m knackered, falling apart, struggling.

We cosleep and he needs to be attached to me (breastfeeding) to sleep for any length of time but I just can’t take it. I’m so tired I can’t fall asleep (what is that all about!?) and by the time I do it’s time for him to wake up screaming.

I think it’s a combination of a leap (he finally starting to say some words) and teething. Who bloody knows though.

crazycatlady5 · 21/11/2017 07:07

@Kmitchz how recently? I would agree that it’s probably leap related and will pass. But also possibly overtired? Sounds really tough x

Original poster
Kmitchz · 21/11/2017 07:20

He’s always been a bad sleeper, but it’s gotten worse over the past couple of months

OP posts:
LapinR0se · 21/11/2017 07:23

Overtiredness and inconsistency. Have you tried two-nap days to see if that helps?
Also bring him to gp to check ears & throat

Smarshian · 21/11/2017 07:44

Sounds overtired. What is your bedtime routine like? How often is he usually up in the night? When you tried controlled crying what happened? I've never done it but I'm not sure whether you mean cry it out/ hush pat etc etc. When you changed his bum in the night was it dirty or just wet? If just wet I'd advise not changing in night as it will just wake him more. My LO sleeps through so obviously we don't wake her to change her nappy.

Original poster
Kmitchz · 21/11/2017 07:57

Hi all, he’s had a bedtime routine since he was tiny (we learnt from our mistakes with our first). We’ve tried pushing his bedtime from 6:30-7pm. Sometimes he naps twice in the day but we still have the same problem.

Last night he was in bed by 7, screamed and managed to get him to sleep by 8. Then 10:30 he was back up and we managed to settle him in the end at 2:30am. He then woke at 3:30 but I zoomed downstairs and replaced his dummy. Then up at 7am.

Last night after trying co sleeping and him literally throwing himself around the bed and then deciding it was playtime we put him back in his cot at 2am and as he was so tired he managed to fall asleep after half hour of us letting him cry and going in every two - four minutes to ty and soothe him.

When we first did controlled crying we let him cry for 2 minutes, then 4, then 6 then 8 and within two nights he slept through. Although that lasted for about a week

OP posts:
Smarshian · 21/11/2017 08:09

What is his bedtime routine? When you settle him does he fall asleep on you or in his cot? How is his eating? When he stopped sleeping through following controlled crying what did you do? Does he have a dummy to go to bed?

What works for me is being very consistent with bedtime routine, bath bottle bed. Put her down awake and if she niggled, hush pat every few mins (she doesn't do this anymore, just falls asleep but it took her a couple of weeks to do on her own). When she used to wake in the night and I knew it wasn't hunger because she was eating very well in the day we night weaned, stopped nappy changes and were very firm with her going back to sleep. Sometimes we would get her in bed with us at this point but would hold her tight until she fell asleep. Sometimes she would thrash about or try to crawl around but I would just keep her held tight and she would eventually give up and go back to sleep. She started consistently sleeping 7-5 then we adjusted her naps and now she sleeps 7-7.
Not saying this will work for you but it might help.

Dragongirl10 · 21/11/2017 08:14

I found the Gina Ford routines fab fro helping a bad sleeper particularly the toddler years...good luck

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