My toddler who has slept 12-13 hours a night for the past 3 months has been waking up screaming at night. This has been going on for just over a week now but I'm pregnant again and it feels like forever.
Initially we put it down to teething (he has had 6 come through in the last couple of weeks) however he is fine in the day.
He generally goes down fine somewhere between 7 and 8pm. Previously if he woke at night, which was rare, he wouldn't really cry, he would just chat to himself and eventually fall back to sleep on his own/with his dummy. Now when he wakes, which can be any time during the night, he will scream and wail in a way I haven't heard before. He will stop if we pick him up but the moment he sees or goes near his cot it starts again.
Because we thought it was teething for the first couple of nights we brought him into bed with us. We've stopped doing this as I don't want him to think that's what happens every night! He settles eventually if one of us lies on the floor with him but equally I don't want to be doing that every night. We have tried leaving him but it just goes on and on. We have given him ibuprofen in case it's teething. He is eating and drinking fine in the day.
His daytime naps are ok. He has one around 11am (1-3 hours) and sometimes another short one later in the afternoon.
Is this separation anxiety? Developmental? Just a terrible phase? Or the new normal?! He has recently started walking. He is having temper tantrums if he doesn't get what he wants - I'm not sure if his nighttime waking is part of his plan to get what he wants (i.e. coming into bed with us).