17 month old stopped sleeping - WHY?!

[JacquiDaytona]

My little boy has been reliably sleeping 7-7 most nights for months (after terrible sleep as a baby!) When he did wake, he’d settle quickly with a cuddle and we’d be back in bed in half an hour.

He’s just gone 17months and hasn’t slept properly for three weeks now. Awake crying every couple of hours most nights and just will not go back to sleep, even lying next to one of us. Sometimes wide awake and playful, sometimes crying. If he wakes it can be 2-3 hrs now to get him back to sleep. Then he’s up again within a couple of hours.

Is it just a regression? Will it ever end? I’m losing my mind!!! My husbands been in with him since 10 and there’s still no sign of settling.

Any tips at all? WE ARE STILL UP. argh!

Children train us, the same way we raise us.

He has learned that if he cries or moans, he'll be picked up and have attention and play.

Sleep train.

Could he be teething?

@Sweetestp He had all four canines pop through a couple of weeks ago - but possibly, seems never ending!

We all had norovirus a few weeks back and since he got better, sleep seems to have gone to pot. He’s also then had a cold and a
mild cough which seems to have unsettled him more than noro.

@Outliers We don’t play/get him up in the night usually, but hours in we’ve been having him next to us getting him back to sleep. If he’s woken past 4 he comes in with us and usually goes back to sleep (but I don’t!) Never really needed sleep training but maybe if it doesn’t sort itself out it might be worth it.

I wasn't saying you play with him, I was saying he gets up to play (Sometimes wide awake and playful).

My DC (19 months) did this recently following a regression. Cause she was so good at sleeping I comforted her back to sleep thinking her routine would settle back after a while. It actually got worse.

Two days of CIO and now she's back to sleeping through the night.

Good luck whatever you decide.

7-7 is a long night sleep for this age. Average is 10-11hrs with 12 hours also being possible but usually when there are minimal daytime naps or higher sleep needs. What are their daytime naps like? It's possible their sleep needs have reduced and so sticking to their same routine won't work anymore and they need to be more tired to sleep through. There's also a lot of developmental stuff at this age. Secondstartotheright sleep consultant has a blog on this age range. Have seen it noted that at this age they are much more stubborn and able to stay awake longer so the crying could be much longer and more intense if you chose to sleep train. Unsure if this is true but something to think about, I guess it may depend what method you chose. We have never sleep trained, sleep has been developmental for us and adjusted with new routines or alongside illness/teething which we've just needed to ride out.

@Petrie99 thank you! Never considered that. Naps for about an hour after an early lunch, very rarely longer.

I agree, I feel very much that there will be ebbs and flows of sleep with development so ‘training’ is a bit redundant - I’m sure it works for some though! He’s has an explosion of new words this week so may have been that! Slept through beautifully last night 😂

Up again, 2hrs so far. Last night we didn’t go to bed until 2am as he woke before we came to bed at 10:30.

at the moment, he won’t go to sleep unless he’s next to one of us, and even that takes an hour plus. Then when we go to put him in his cot, he wakes, screams and the whole process starts again.

Any tips for getting him to go to sleep in his cot again? I am absolutely dying of lack of sleep.

This happened with my little girl, almost word for word how I could write it, and it turned out to be an 18m sleep regression just a bit early. It’s hideous but it does end. (Saying that she’s 20m now and awake, hence my reply at this time 😂, but I just roll with it these days given rough nights are fewer and fewer.)

The best thing I did was learn to leave her, and 9/10 times she will just sit up for however long she wants to be awake and go back to sleep herself. I only go in if she is really crying, not just whingeing. Not great advice I know as every parent and child is different but if they see you’re not going to fuss them when they are awake/playful, they soon learn. Then you can at least sleep through the wake periods!

@Samanthaaah thank you - it’s good to know it might have an end!!

at the moment he’s screaming when he wakes which is really unusual. But is also much more shouty and crying in the day time, prob because he’s tired!

we’ll keep pushing through.

My 13 month old just went through something similar - his sleep has never been great but became better and all of a sudden he was incredibly unsettled in the day and harder to settle at night with wake ups. These times are so hard to try and understand - is it illness, teeth, over stimulation, under stimulation, developmental leaps, hungry etc etc etc and having patience is such a challenge!
today he was less grumpy and willing to play on his own a bit more so hoping whatever it was is gone now..

at the end of the day the most we can do is be there and comfort them through it while they go through whatever it is their going through, while finding ways to cope ourselves!