1 year old waking so much

[cantkeepmyeyesopen]

I have a 1 year old who has never been a good sleeper. She is a really light sleeper and wakes often and has done since she was tiny.

However things now seem to be getting even worse (which I didn't think was possible!!)

Previously she would fall asleep around 7 (most often breastfed to sleep) and maybe wake once before I went to bed and need resettled just with a dummy or occasionally with a feed. She would then sleep for another couple of hours and usually end up in our bed when I went up and feed occasionally during the night which I could handle. The longest stretch she's ever slept is 4 hours which she did once.

Now though, she's waking even more than this. Even on nights where she falls asleep without a feed, she will wake about half an hour after she falls asleep and this can continue every half hour to an hour throughout the night, even if we co-sleep. She won't fall asleep in her cot anymore either and just screams the place down as soon as she's put into it unless she's already sound asleep.

So I guess what I'm wondering is how do I fix this?! Is it a case of needing to night wean, and if so what's the best way? We were planning to put her into her own room at Christmas but I don't think I can handle having to get out of bed this many times. I'm back at work now so I'm not sure if she's just feeding more during the night because she's dropped her afternoon feed? Is there any hope for a terrible sleeper like this to sleep better??

Apologies for the long and rambling post - I hope it's actually coherent but with the amount of sleep I've had it might not be!

Bump

I was in the same boat as this 3 weeks ago. DS is one now too. It got so bad I just put him in my bed and we started Co sleeping. I started trying to stop any night feeds first and just settle him back off. But our problem was getting him off to sleep was still a nightmare. I've been working with a sleep consultant for a week now and the last 4 nights he has woken many times in night (heard on monitor) and just gone back off to sleep himself. It's been amazing!

... But.... We've been doing controlled crying in the evenings with him which lots of people don't support. I've been doing it with the sleep Consultants teaching and support so it hasn't felt quite as bad but first few nights were tough! I couldn't have done this when he was very little but we got to the point where his sleep was impacting on our family so much and we were drained.

If you don't want to do this you can try gradual retreat but you have to be so dedicated. Basically in a nutshell.... DC needs to learn to self settle because we all wake loads it's natural but they can't sleep without props at the moment.

It's so tough. Hope you get some perspectives from others too and good luck x

Thanks @doadeer. It's so hard, isn't it. Last night was another horrendous night.

I think maybe a sleep consultant might be a good idea for us as I feel like I'm not strong enough to do any of the techniques on my own, if that makes sense? I know that when I'm exhausted in the night I'll do anything to get her back to sleep and end up back at square one!

I completely sympathise. We've just had our third night where he went down with no tears and a calm restful night (well I hope! The last two have been)

It was £200 for phone consultation, filled out questionnaire, personalised sleep plan, explained the techniques and Ive spoken to her every day for a week. I couldn't have stuck to it without her.

Well worth the money

Where are you based?

How long do you let her cry before you pick her up ? Babies normally learn naturally to settle themselves but not if you pick her up the moment she makes a sound. Problem is, now she's used to being picked up and comforted, and getting to sleep in your bed if she kicks enough of a fuss, so that habit will be harder to break.

Maybe try pulling back gradually. When she wakes up next, wait 2min before you go in. Tomorrow, wait 5min. The day after, 10min, etc.

@doadeer We are in the west of Scotland. I've been having a look at sleep consultants - there seem to be quite a lot of companies out there do not sure who is best.

@Malyshek we don't tend to leave her long, mainly because we also have an older toddler who then gets woken as the sound travels easily in our house. When I have, on occasion, tried to leave her a bit longer to see if she will settle she just seems to get more upset. I know that I do need to let her learn to settle herself, so that might be an idea, thanks.