18m old awake for 3/4 hours at night

[TiredMum01]

Please tell me I’m not alone on this and it will pass soon. Really Starting to struggle. My little one is 18 months and for the last couple of months the nights are really hit and miss. She either sleeps all night or she is awake for 3-4 hours in the middle of the night.
She can self settle, naps between 11-1 or 12-2. On the days she’s up vs sleeps through nothings different.
She goes to bed at 7, normally falls asleep around 7:30. On the night she wakes it can be anywhere between 11-12 and then she will not go back to sleep til 3/4 am. She’s not wide awake, chatting or trying to play. Just seems restless and trying to go back to sleep but can’t. She tends to cry after a while and isn’t happy. If I go in her room and lay down on floor she will lay down but tosses and turns, same if I bring her in bed. Nothing I do will get her back to sleep it’s like she just needs to be awake for the 3/4 hours then goes back to sleep. We’ve had this the last 3 nights, also starting to worry that she’s must be shattered as only getting about 6/7 hours at night.

On nights she is awake a lot in the night, especially if this is happening on consecutive nights, then unless you allow for more sleep in the daytime for catch-up, you are going to end up in an over tired cycle where nights gets harder and harder. So be flexible with daytime naps. On days when she's had hardly any sleep at night, allow for a 2-nap day with a morning and lunchtime nap.

As for what to do - is she in a bed or a cot?

We went through this. I despaired. It lasted about 6 weeks and then stopped as suddenly as it started.

We likened it to restless leg syndrome - lying down trying to sleep but randomly kicking or rolling and just never quite dropping off.