At 12mo my DD started waking up once per night, either at 12am or at 4am, for 1-2 hours of intermittent crying/snoozing. She had been sleep trained successfully at 10mo (Ferber) so we were disappointed when she regressed. For the past two months I have been breastfeeding her during these wakeful periods, but the night wakings soon increased to two or three per night, and she would cry vigorously when I returned her to the crib.
My DH took on the role of re-Ferberising her last week. First two nights were rough. One wake-up with close to 2 hours of crying. By night 4 she was sleeping 11h uninterrupted through the night. Night 6, however, saw another regression to 1.5 hours of wakeful crying. We're wondering whether this is the dreaded "extinction burst" or a sign that the sleep training isn't working and something else is going on.
We would appreciate any advice or similar experiences.
More background:
Goes down easily at 7pm after a calming sleep routine of bath, books, and breastfeeding (not to sleep though). Dropped down from 2 naps to 1 nap (1.5-2 hours) at 10mo, which we thought at first might be causing the night waking. But two months later, not sure. She wakes up at 7:30am very happy and is usually in good spirits for most of the day, though she is spirited. She displays some signs of separation anxiety with me, crying when I leave the room, but is quickly comforted wither by DH and nanny (3 afternoons per week).
Is it odd for her to wake up only once per night? Is this a sign that sleep onset problems are not to blame?