1 year old sleeping 2hr stretches

[RichTeaCheddars]

My 13 month old baby has never slept through the night, she wakes up every 2 hours and I have to feed her back to sleep. Occasionally it's 3 hours, sometimes 1 hour. If her Dad goes in, she screams and screams until I go in for her. She'll scream for hours if we let her, nothing he can do to calm her.

Quite frequently now, after I've settled her and she's asleep again, she wakes up as soon as I put her in the cot or start to move from chair to cot. She clings so tightly I'd have to prise her off me to lay her down.

I'm exhausted!

What can I do? She will not accept not being fed back to sleep or sleep training. When we've tried these things she will cry and then end up falling asleep standing up in the cot by the door. It's heartbreaking. She needs a lot of reassurance and comfort in the night. It's so at odds to what she's like in the daytime!!

So, my ideas....

1. I put a mattress on floor in her room and hope my precense is enough?
2. Co-sleep in our bed - how does this work? Do I put a bed guard up to stop her falling out or does she sleep between me and her dad?
3. some sort of floor bed for me and baby?
4. make a side cot like you have for newborns but big enough for a 1yr old?

A sidecar cot is a full sized cot with one side removed, so would be big enough through the toddler years.

Out of your options, I would set up a sidecar cot then you have the option of cosleeping with baby on the side near the cot if needed. Aim to get her asleep while lying down cuddled up to her (rather than you sat up with her in your arms) and then roll away once asleep.

Thanks, yes I'm thinking that's the best long term option too.

Last night I made a bed for us in our play pen downstairs and once I'd settled her she did sleep better. I really don't know what's causing it, as last night I was laying with her and she was clinging to me so so tightly and her heart pounding. My Mum suggested could she be scared of the dark? It's not something I'd thought of.

For the sidecar cot, is it possible/necessary for them to have the mattress lowered right down so they can't climb out or wobble over the edge?

I'm looking at an IKEA cot that is regularly recommended.

It's unlikely yo be scared of the dark at this age. It's much much more likely that she hasn't learnt any method to find comfort independently and so she needs you. Now she's older, she doesn't settle as deeply to sleep in your arms do wakes when put down. In waking, because she knows nothing but you as her comfort, that's all she wants.

The Answers are either
(a) Teach her how to self comfort
(b) embrace attachment parenting full time and cosleep.

You're going for b.

For a sidecar cot at this age, you need to treat it like cosleeping. So that means if you don't feel confident baby is safe on the raised surface, don't leave unattended.

You can teach baby how to get off the bed safely (crawl backwards to edge, dangle legs over first then drop onto feet). Then aim to be with baby if awake. There is only a risk of climbing and falling from the cot if baby is alone and awake.