About to start CC with a 17 month old, any tips or advice welcome. Dreading it!

[TheHeartGoesLast]

DD has never slept through, but she has been getting progressively worse. She now refuses to sleep until 10-11pm, wakes every half hour - hour, and will be awake for 2 or 3 hours solid in the middle of the night. I am so exhausted and beginning to feel really down. We've always co slept, but I think we just wake each other up now, so I've been transitioning her to the cot. No night feeds since I weaned her at a year.

Honestly I would prefer not to cc, but I'm really at my wits end now and need a quick solution. Does anyone have any tips? Those with older children, were they constantly woken up? I'm dreading it, I'm too tired tbh!

Is she still napping?

If it goes against your gut don’t do it it’s totally and completely unnecessary

Stick with it. You're not just doing it for yourself, you're doing t for her. She needs to learn how to sleep, it's incredibly important for development etc. You will all be much happier and healthier. Steel yourself for a bit of shouting but hang in there

If it goes against your gut don’t do it it’s totally and completely unnecessary

🙄

I think the way baby is sleeping at moment its totally necessary in my opinion. They must be exhausted

I did this with my 2 year old ( now 9). I started with sitting on bed, then by bed, then middle of room, then by door, in open door, other side of door, on stairs etc etc etc. Told I would stay till they were asleep- but would leave if they played up, talked etc. Spend a few nights at each station. Worked within 2 weeks. Before she was taking hours to go to sleep and getting up frequently. Had to do same for every wake up- but they disappeared quick. It’s a kindness to help them to learn to sleep.

Stick with it. It is so worth it. I child who sleeps well isn't exhausted in the day and is much happier.
And you will be happier and more able to cope too.

Mine was a terrible sleeper, I did nothing and at 20 months she slept through and has ever since (she’s now 3!) CC is a waste of time and traumatic for the child way more than the parents

I did it around the same age with both of min for the same reason. I really didn't want to but couldn't function as i was so tired. I put them in bed and told them it was time to sleep. I then went in every 10 mins or so and said shhhh I love you night night as many times as it took. When they woke up in the night I did the same. It wasn't fun but I didn't lift them up or do eye contact, just quietly let them know I was nearby and went away again. Honestly by Night 3 they had cracked it. It feels awful but if you have a child who hasn't grasped that if they wake briefly they CAN just go back to sleep without Mummy, it really doesn't take them long at all to get it. At that age their brains are so malleable they won't remember the old habits after a few nights and you will all feel much better for some reasonable sleep.

Practice with some dolly's together first. I did it with my terrible sleeper at about 14 months old when I saw her put her dolly to bed. She said night night to it and walked off!
I thought it was going to be terrible as the 'gentle' methods we were trying meant up to an hour of crying with me patting but not picking her up. It took 8 minutes!! Totally changed my life.