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18mo screaming at every nap and bedtime, still waking multiple times a night.

1 reply

Lavenderbluex · 04/09/2025 11:34

Hi all,

Looking for some advice. Ds2 has always been an awful sleeper. From birth he has woken up about 5 times a night and it’s only became worse.

Every night and naptime without fail, he will scream the place down for an hour or even longer. He also wakes up for milk about 3 times a night and will only drink it from a bottle.

He has been having recurrent tonsilitis over the last few months (4 courses of oral antibiotics and admitted for iv ones). The paediatrician has referred him to have them removed as commented they are really large. He also gets sleep apnea and sleeps with his mouth open. He’s a very fussy eater with textures and although he eats a lot, it has to be mashed. Any solids he usually gags on and spits out. He refuses sippy cups and coughs spits it out whenever he tries too. The paediatrician said this will most likely be down to his tonsils aswell. He’s a big boy on the 90th centiles for weight and height.

I can handle the night wakings as he goes straight back to sleep most the time but the screaming is horrendous. He will only fall asleep on my chest but will thrash around screaming. I often wonder what the hell the neighbours must think. Once he’s eventually asleep I transfer him to his cot.

If I put him in the cot to sleep directly he will scream the place down and fling himself around in it. I’ve tried gentle sleep training but this seems to infuriate him even more. As he bangs his head in frustration on the cot, I can’t really try the CC. Plus I’m in an upstairs flat so I worry about waking the neighbours.

Please any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m a lone parent with a 4 year old aswell. The exhaustion is really starting to get to me. 😭

OP posts:
Lavenderbluex · 04/09/2025 11:41

Also a rough daytime schedule.

Awake:6

7/7:30am- breakfast
7:30-10- Playing
10-11am nap (he won’t sleep more than 1 1/2 hours.
12pm lunch
12-4pm we normally go out to a playgroup or the park. He will have snacks during this time.
4:30- dinner
5-bath
6- bedtime and books. After the books finish, it’s at least an hour of screaming before he goes to bed.

He has been on antibiotics (4 daily) very regularly for the past couple of months. As he can’t eat before or after for 2 hours then they need to be spaced evenly during the day. This means I’ve been having to wake him at midnight for a dose. Thankfully he’s no longer on them since the last few days but his sleep is just as horrendous.

OP posts:
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