Author Topic: 22mo old sleep regression?  (Read 3039 times)

jeromedawg

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22mo old sleep regression?
« on: June 20, 2017, 11:30:26 AM »
Hey all,

Was wondering if anyone has gone through a 'sleep regression' with toddlers who are nearing the 2yr mark. For the longest time, after many struggles, our toddler could sleep through the nights and would occasionally wake up. But for the past week or two, he has been waking up once in the middle of the night (and will bawl until we get him) and then will wake up again earlier than normal and stands in his crib, bawling again, until we get him.

His normal bedtime routine was that he goes down anywhere between 9:30-10pm and sleeps through the night until anywhere from 8:30am to 9:30am. And it has been this way even after moving him to one nap. Lately, he's been going down at the same time but will wake up anywhere between 2am-4am bawling until we get him, comfort him, and put him back down. And then he has been waking up anywhere between 7-8am. We're not quite sure what the cause of this could be but it's starting to push us back to 'hell weeks' considering we have a 3-4mo old who also appears to be going through some sleep regression. With her my wife has just been co-sleeping but it's a PITA when he wakes up in the middle of all that. I'm pretty sure it's not because she's waking him up from her cries either, as they are in different rooms.

I'm pretty sure he's not waking up in a very "happy and content" mood - usually he wakes up and lays there for 5-10 minutes then stands up and starts wailing for someone to get him. Any ideas on what we can do to get him to sleep longer without waking up and going nuts?


Vindicated

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Re: 22mo old sleep regression?
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2017, 11:42:49 AM »
My Son is right around 30mo now, so I have some recent experience.

He has mostly been a solid sleeper, 7:30pm - 6:00am daily for as long as I remember.  However, recently, he's been crying in bed until 9pm some nights.  It seems to really depend how active he was that day.  We try to wear him out more in the evening by taking a walk around the block.  We bought a little bubble blowing mower he likes to push.  We also moved bedtime back to 8:00pm and that could be helping.

How long have you ignored him to see if he'll just lay back down?  Perhaps you could wait it out and try to break the habit that way.

Have you introduced any new foods recently?  Something could be upsetting his stomach, or giving him cramps.

If none of that works, try moving bedtime back 30 minutes.  It cuts into your personal time, but it could help get you back to a full-night's sleep.

Good luck!

okits

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Re: 22mo old sleep regression?
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2017, 02:52:33 PM »
You've ruled out nightmares/night terrors, teething (molars), issues adjusting to the new baby, needing an earlier bedtime?  Adding a night light, comfort item, toys he will quietly and happily play with if it's not time to get up, yet?  (So many things have messed with our toddler's sleep.  Some things helped, sometimes we just had to wait for the phase to pass.)

parkette

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22mo old sleep regression?
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2017, 03:06:34 PM »
Yup, we definitely did... with twins! We didn't know what was going on- impossible to get to bed, waking up in the middle of the night etc.

We just survived it. For awhile they slept in our bed, that seemed to be the easiest way to get through it. Then one transitioned back to his own bed easily. The other did not and we had a lot of trouble getting him back to his bed. I kid you not, for a couple of weeks I laid down in his crib with him until he fell asleep. Then I bit the bullet and just sat next to the crib while he cried himself to sleep. After a week he was back to normal.

It went on a long time, sadly. We probably could have stomached doing it more quickly but we were exhausted and the first 2 years was all about survival!

So all that to say that there didn't seem to be an easy fix. But get to the other side and it all does go back to normal! They're 2.5 now and great sleepers.


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AZDude

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Re: 22mo old sleep regression?
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2017, 07:13:20 PM »
Quote
But for the past week or two, he has been waking up once in the middle of the night (and will bawl until we get him) and then will wake up again earlier than normal and stands in his crib, bawling again, until we get him.

There is your mistake. Get a camera in the room so you can see that he is OK, and then do no enter the room again once the door closes for the night until the morning(5am was our limit). It also could be time to move from a crib to a toddler bed. Just baby proof the room, and get a lock for the outside of the door so he doesn't get into trouble in the middle of the night. My daughter would cry almost every night at bedtime for a long time before finally sleeping all night like a "normal" child.

Zero Degrees

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Re: 22mo old sleep regression?
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2017, 07:55:13 PM »
I have three kids and they are all mostly grown now.  Hard to say if it is teething, behavior, growth spurt, or a million other things. 

I will share that my youngest had trouble sleeping around this age and it sounds similar.  I never allowed him in my room, but he would wake just screaming and not really wake up and settle until I held him for a couple of minutes. 

When he was almost 3 we took him to the dentist for the first time.  The dentist asked, "how is this child sleeping?" We told him it was awful, and that he wakes up screaming several times a night for many months.  I was shocked when the "dentist" said he needs to go to the ENT urgently, that his tonsils were huge and he most likely is having obstructive sleep apnea and can't breath. He is waking up in a terror catching his breath.  I felt like the worlds worst mother.

The dentist called the pediatrician and within 3 days he had surgery. They took out his tonsils, adenoids and put in ear tubs.  That child slept like a dream from that day forward. The point of my story is that it could be something medical that you're not even thinking of.

Good luck to you, I feel your pain. I know it's not fun especially when you're dealing with night time infant care.

Cranky

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Re: 22mo old sleep regression?
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2017, 06:27:11 AM »
This too shall pass (although I realize that's no comfort when you are stumbling down the hall at 2 AM.)

It's the truth, though. Kids sometimes sleep well, and sometimes they don't. I promise you that when he's a teenager, you won't be able to get him out of bed, though he may continue to see 2 AM.

Anatidae V

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Re: 22mo old sleep regression?
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2017, 06:57:18 AM »
I have three kids and they are all mostly grown now.  Hard to say if it is teething, behavior, growth spurt, or a million other things. 

I will share that my youngest had trouble sleeping around this age and it sounds similar.  I never allowed him in my room, but he would wake just screaming and not really wake up and settle until I held him for a couple of minutes. 

When he was almost 3 we took him to the dentist for the first time.  The dentist asked, "how is this child sleeping?" We told him it was awful, and that he wakes up screaming several times a night for many months.  I was shocked when the "dentist" said he needs to go to the ENT urgently, that his tonsils were huge and he most likely is having obstructive sleep apnea and can't breath. He is waking up in a terror catching his breath.  I felt like the worlds worst mother.

The dentist called the pediatrician and within 3 days he had surgery. They took out his tonsils, adenoids and put in ear tubs.  That child slept like a dream from that day forward. The point of my story is that it could be something medical that you're not even thinking of.

Good luck to you, I feel your pain. I know it's not fun especially when you're dealing with night time infant care.
Not saying it is a medical thing, but little kids are terrible at letting you know they're sick - they just don't have the ability to tell you. One of my managers whined about his fussy, tantrum-throwing little girl for a couple of weeks... And then it turned out she had an ear infection or something similar. Whoops...