20mo poor sleeper... when will it get better?

[668neighbour]

DS has always been a crap sleeper. In 20 months the best he's ever done has been a couple of weeks at about 15 months, where there were only 4 wake-ups. Most of the rest of the time he has gone to sleep ok at 6-7pm, slept until 11 or 12 with one or no brief wakes, then woken up every 10-20-30 minutes the rest of the night. He will go back to sleep easily but just can't seem to stay asleep. It's the same whether we co- sleep or sleep separately, give him loads of stimulation and exercise or none, feed him once, feed him every wake, don't feed him at all... etc.

Currently trying to co-sleep as he has just moved to a bed as he was too tall for the cot to be safe. He's been ill so I am feeding him on wakes where he wants it, but planning to stop all night feeds when he is better.

Anyone else had a child with this sleep pattern? Did it ever improve?

Btw daytime sleep is ok. Seems to make no difference whether he sleeps for 1 hour or 3 hours, starts at 10am or 1pm.

How are his other milestones?
I really feel for you, you must be absolutely exhausted

Fine motor and language probably a bit ahead, gross motor a bit behind. Has been talking about 6 months, in sentences about 3 months, has something of the order of a couple of thousand words he uses correctly in context. Can read a few words (Mum, Dad, [name], Gruffalo, colours, coconut, Peepo - nothing complex!) and recognize alphabet, digits and colours spontaneously and correctly. Has fine motor control to play xylophone or piano one key at a time in each hand, softly. Only just able to climb or descend stairs, can't always get up off the floor (never crawled, went straight to walking at 12mo). Tries to jump, occasionally runs without falling over. Fairly clumsy.

DS1 was not quite as extreme as your little one but a very poor sleeper, waking usually hourly after midnight until 6am, at until he was past 2.

He had his own bed ( a full size single) and would go to sleep in it, but then call me whenever he woke. I'd get into bed with ds to allow dh to sleep - ds never learned to self settle. We did try 'sooth and return' for a while, but I was too tired. I took the easy way out.

I know that by his third birthday he was sleeping through regularly - just can't remember when it started happening during that year.

Thanks - that gives me hope!

BTW while I realise the language development may look like hyperlexia, and thus some might say the sleep is linked to autistic-spectrum neurodevelopment, he doesn't seem to have any issues with comprehension or initiating conversation (the issue is more the constant wittering that prevents him from going back to sleep!). I had/have hyperlexia, and we know a kid aged 3 with very evident hyperlexia, so I know of what I speak.