18 month sleep regression

StrawberryRosex · 2025-01-07T13:05:36+00:00

send help. we have been going through the final leap 10 and a sleep regression for the past 2/3 weeks does it ever end?? My baby used to sleep amazing napped well and fell asleep independently. Now I can’t even put her down unless she’s asleep or she’ll scream blue murder and shares a room with her 3 year old sister. Myself and my partner are running on fumes feels like we have a newborn all over again except worse. I don’t know what’s waking her in the night but when she does she’s awake for what seems like forever and today the day started at 4am she wouldn’t go back to sleep I got home from work at 12am so I’ve had 2 hours give or take. She has always had. A good routine and I always put that first, she has white noise and a consistent bed time routine what am I doing wrong 😭 my first didn’t experience a sleep regression at this age only one at 4 months and then 2.5 years both of which only lasted 1 week tops. Any tips/advice ?

teaandkittehs · 07/01/2025 14:49

How many naps is she on and how long are they? We had to shorten the nap at that age due to her having split nights. That solved the split nights but we had to wait longer for the night waking and early starts to end. We got very unlucky as things didn't settle down for 3 - 4 months but i gather that is very rare xx

Original poster

StrawberryRosex · 07/01/2025 20:16

@teaandkittehs she has 1 nap she was doing well with having a nap 12-2 she was getting up 630Am and going to bed 7pm recently lucky if she naps for an hour then come bedtime she’s so overtired 3-4 months doesn’t sound promising 😞

OP posts:

teaandkittehs · 07/01/2025 20:26

StrawberryRosex · 07/01/2025 20:16

@teaandkittehs she has 1 nap she was doing well with having a nap 12-2 she was getting up 630Am and going to bed 7pm recently lucky if she naps for an hour then come bedtime she’s so overtired 3-4 months doesn’t sound promising 😞

As I said its very rare to last that long. We get unlucky with sleep regressions, teething, illness, and anything developmental - she sleeps through the night whenever there is nothing going on, for weeks on end. Then. . . Nap transition? Sleep is fucked. Regression? Sleep is fucked. Teething? Learning to talk/walk/roll etc you get the picture. Plenty of them get through it more easily and plenty don't experience it at all but mine gets hit hard! Currently teething plus vomiting bug = no slept til Brooklyn, Easter, or hopefully next week 😐

Original poster

StrawberryRosex · 07/01/2025 20:38

@teaandkittehs what do you do when it happens? My partner thinks I should let her cry it out but I can’t do that sometimes though she goes stiff as a board throws her comforters and screams blue murder even if I’m trying to comfort her. Don’t know how to help her get back to sleep or if there’s anything I can be doing to get through it and back to normal

OP posts:

teaandkittehs · 08/01/2025 11:05

StrawberryRosex · 07/01/2025 20:38

@teaandkittehs what do you do when it happens? My partner thinks I should let her cry it out but I can’t do that sometimes though she goes stiff as a board throws her comforters and screams blue murder even if I’m trying to comfort her. Don’t know how to help her get back to sleep or if there’s anything I can be doing to get through it and back to normal

We hold fast with good sleep hygiene, but we don't let her cry it out - we did sleep training when she was 6.5 months old and it worked with minimal crying, it was all over in a few minutes, but when we tried it again at 18 months she got too upset for our liking so we decided to take different tactics. The main thing for us was that she always went to sleep without us in the room, sometimes it meant settling her, trying to leave the room, and having to go back to settle her again 20+ times, but she always went to sleep alone in the end and that meant that whenever the regression or teething etc finished she went back to going to sleep alone without any or much fuss again. Sometimes we had to stay with her to comfort her longer than we thought was ideal but we always walked away before she was asleep, sometimes only a matter of seconds, sometimes more. We just didn't want to end up with any parents led associations such as her expecting us to stay with her while she dropped off etc. It took a lot of commitment, mostly driven by me, as I wanted her to retain independent sleep skills. I have two pals who still have 4 years olds sleeping in bed with them who sometimes still have multiple wake ups and I am just desperate to avoid that! But as I said we can't leave her to cry anymore, her awareness and understanding is much more now than when we first sleep trained her so it's a different ball game. She's currently ill and last night was so ill we actually had to have her in bed with us but we've only done that twice in total since she was born and due to her needing monitoring. She's a lot better today and will probably be back in cot tonight and i expect some resistance and some wake ups as she is still ill but I'll hold fast as always and once she's better she will go to sleep alone without complaint again I expect.

teaandkittehs · 08/01/2025 11:12

teaandkittehs · 08/01/2025 11:05

We hold fast with good sleep hygiene, but we don't let her cry it out - we did sleep training when she was 6.5 months old and it worked with minimal crying, it was all over in a few minutes, but when we tried it again at 18 months she got too upset for our liking so we decided to take different tactics. The main thing for us was that she always went to sleep without us in the room, sometimes it meant settling her, trying to leave the room, and having to go back to settle her again 20+ times, but she always went to sleep alone in the end and that meant that whenever the regression or teething etc finished she went back to going to sleep alone without any or much fuss again. Sometimes we had to stay with her to comfort her longer than we thought was ideal but we always walked away before she was asleep, sometimes only a matter of seconds, sometimes more. We just didn't want to end up with any parents led associations such as her expecting us to stay with her while she dropped off etc. It took a lot of commitment, mostly driven by me, as I wanted her to retain independent sleep skills. I have two pals who still have 4 years olds sleeping in bed with them who sometimes still have multiple wake ups and I am just desperate to avoid that! But as I said we can't leave her to cry anymore, her awareness and understanding is much more now than when we first sleep trained her so it's a different ball game. She's currently ill and last night was so ill we actually had to have her in bed with us but we've only done that twice in total since she was born and due to her needing monitoring. She's a lot better today and will probably be back in cot tonight and i expect some resistance and some wake ups as she is still ill but I'll hold fast as always and once she's better she will go to sleep alone without complaint again I expect.

Show quote history

When I say hold fast I just mean I'll keep settling her if she cries tonight and I'll then try to leave the room,even if it goes on for ages. She's ill so needs extra comfort, that's fine. But what none of us needs is her suddenly wanting to be held or accompanied while she drops off so even if it's a long night I know it will be worth it at the other end. I expect more issues when she starts to have nightmares or fear of dark or has a bed with no sides but as always we will hold fast on the sleep hygiene and make sure she goes to sleep alone so that she doesn't need us to resettle her after every wake, as we all wake at points in the night so we just want her to keep being able to roll over and go back to sleep like she usually does.