Will we ever sleep again?

[UpToMyElbowsInDiapers]

8-month old had been down to 1 night feed, 25 minutes start to finish. It was bliss. However, in the past week, he has

• learned to crawl
• learned to pull himself up on furniture
• learned to clap
• learned to wave hello and goodbye
• grown his first tooth
• caught a nasty cold

He’s now up 2-3 times a night for an hour each time and can only sleep on us for naps and from about 4:30am onwards.

So... all things considered... when can we expect sleep to go back to normal? Are we likely to need to repeat our gentle sleep training or are things likely to settle back on their own once he’s healthy and has fully mastered all his exciting new skills...?

Help!

I’ll take the radio silence as a sign that no one wants to be the bearer of bad news. 😂

The things above will all probably mean a bit of crazy sleep, it's also prime separation anxiety at that age. I would say that how you react may be the decider in if it continues. If you don't talk, keep it SUPER boring they are unlikely to want to be awake.

Teething and being ill can have an affect on sleeping patterns, just keep with your routine and it should go back to normal soon fingers crossed!

At age 20 months my DC was still up about 6/7 times a night so...
It sucks.
We only started to get some sleep when he turned 2.

I think most kids are fairly good sleepers by the time they are 3. Illness/teething/big life events aside anyway.

Eek! So if I’m lucky, two or three days. But if not, I can hold out for two or three years. 😳

Don't forget that sleep regressions happen. You will sleep again 😁

Cosleep?

I used to bring mine in bed, I needed the sleep. As soon as they were big enough to have a single bed they had one and that ended the co sleeping.

I'm up for the fourth time tonight with DS 3yo. Sleep... what's that?! will I ever sleep again?!

Oh this sounds tough and I completely empathise! Going back the way always feels slightly soul destroying.

Our 9 month old was also down to one feed at 4am and for the first time we had a delightful wee routine. He now has the cold, conjunctivitis, teething, has started very nearly crawling and developed an amazing ability to just scream in the night, it's pretty rough and I've actually just moved into his room temporarily and exhausted spotify's lullaby baby options (not much of a singer) this has been going on for a week now and I've decided the only way to tackle this is...

• treat baba like its the newborn stage (buy in multiple snacks, have water in every room, stock up on all the tea, commit fully to jammys)
• extend to a lengthy bedtime routine (bath, massage, quiet talking, bedtime book, cosy room, night lights) - hours before bed
• stop looking at the clock.

I realise that these are luxuries you cant always afford if your already back to work, I have a few more months but just so you know your not alone
. I doubt any of this will work but I am trying to think of our sleep now as pockets of sleep which if I can piece together 5/6 hours in total when they are squashed together I will be able.to function as a human. I never stop being in awe of mamas with multiple babies x

We’re just starting to sleep now. The youngest will be 3 at Christmas. We’ve basically had no sleep for the last 7 years...

In that case I'm off to invest in some decent eye cream

I think if he was sleeping well before then this is blip - a sleep regression. It won’t last years, just a few days!
Gawd I remember it all so well though - horrific! Wishing you strength and sleep, OP!

Update! He’s back to sleeping 8-10 hour stretches! Hurrah! But his 2.5-year-old sister is having nightmares every night about a “mean cat in the closet”. No idea where that is coming from but the poor dear is distraught, and we’re still exhausted. Oh well, someday they’ll both sleep. Someday...