Janie Grace Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Ds (18 mos) had suddenly decided he doesn't want to sleep when it's his bedtime. SCREAMS like a little maniac, throws animals out of his crib, etc. Finally settles an hour and a half after his normal bedtime when I get very firm with him, but not without tears. This has gone on for 3 nights. Last night, he awoke at 1am, screaming in the same way. It doesn't seem like pain, it is more anger or indignance that he is in his bed! I tried Tylenol, rocking, etc. but he continued to stand up, throw animals out (one of which is a blanket he NEEDS to sleep), scream, etc. til I brought him to bed with me. I hardly slept at all. He sometimes would wake and cry for a second until he realized I was right there and then flop on top of me, pulling my hair and kicking me (in love!). He was awake at 6:00am. We haven't had sleep issues til now except that he has been a lighter sleeper. Co-slept when he was a little baby, easy transition to a crib, good napper/sleeper at night. I don't think I can function with him in my bed, and I feel like this is a battle of the wills. He is starting to exert his will on lots of fronts, testing my authority and what he can/can't get away with, etc. It feels like he is staging a little sleeptime revolution. ;) WWYD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Could he be teething? DD is generally an awesome sleeper, but when she is teething, she'll have around a week of really, really rough nights. A lot of times, she doesn't seem like she's in pain. She got four molars within two weeks a couple of months ago. We had no idea she was teething, because she wasn't doing any of the normal teething stuff like drooling or sticking things in her mouth or acting like she was in pain. She just had two weeks of a really foul mood and of putting up a fight every single time she was put down to sleep. Then the molars popped through, and she was back to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 We're going through about the same. I don't think he's testing my authority (at this age, he still believes he rules the roost, lol, and he's not exactly a clear thinker anyway). He is getting in at least two molars and just went through a growth spurt. The tylenol only helps if it's done before bath. By bedtime he's not interested in waiting for it to take effect. Dh and I have an air mattress on the floor of his room so after he goes in his crib or if he wakes up at night one of us will lay there until he falls asleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy in Australia Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I don't really have any answers for you, but when my now 21-month old baby was about 17 months old this started. I happened to Google it one day and lo and behold, wham! A ton of hits for "18 month old sleep regression". I also vaguely remember my older ones doing something similar. My personal opinion is that a "sleeptime revolution" is exactly what it is (unless there are obvious reasons like teething or illness) and it seems pretty common. I just persisted with DD, didn't change any of her routines, kept putting her down in her cot and walking out (sometimes many times a night :toetap05:). She's now back to normal :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 We're going through about the same. I don't think he's testing my authority (at this age, he still believes he rules the roost, lol, and he's not exactly a clear thinker anyway). He is getting in at least two molars and just went through a growth spurt. The tylenol only helps if it's done before bath. By bedtime he's not interested in waiting for it to take effect. Dh and I have an air mattress on the floor of his room so after he goes in his crib or if he wakes up at night one of us will lay there until he falls asleep. That's helpful about the Tylenol before bath... I will try that tonight, thanks. He has been a miserable teether (seems to be really bothered by it, whereas my other kids weren't so much) -- maybe it's more teeth after all. He seems to teethe constantly! Didn't get one til 13 months so I guess he's making up for lost time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 I don't really have any answers for you, but when my now 21-month old baby was about 17 months old this started. I happened to Google it one day and lo and behold, wham! A ton of hits for "18 month old sleep regression". I also vaguely remember my older ones doing something similar. My personal opinion is that a "sleeptime revolution" is exactly what it is (unless there are obvious reasons like teething or illness) and it seems pretty common. I just persisted with DD, didn't change any of her routines, kept putting her down in her cot and walking out (sometimes many times a night :toetap05:). She's now back to normal :) Interesting that there's a pattern of 18 month-olds doing this... what a lovely developmental stage. ;) It wouldn't be so hard if he didn't throw his blanket out... once he does that, I KNOW he cannot sleep even if he decides to try. So I have to go in, retrieve blanket and NOT pick him, which seems to make him madder. Sigh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleWMN Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 My newly 16 month old is doing this too ( down to the pillow and blanky throwing!). It looks like he's getting 4 molars at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtroad Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 My first thought was teething. My tot (21mos) goes through spells of waking angry. I go check her and she is pulling her ears.... and sometimes mad as heck. I don't take her to bed with me b/c I think it rewards her. I have given her pain reliever. She is getting 3 canine teeth. Sometimes I just comfort her... a time ro 2 I have rocked her. If I have done all that I can, I just have to let her fuss and check back to comfort her. She sleeps and wakes... over & over. Last time, it took several days of this behavior, but soon... few days later (with first canine was coming through the gum) she went right back to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 My guy started doing this a couple of nights ago. He's 29 months, but a late teether. Those last 4 molars are coming in and he's miserable at night. Tylenol helps. I know you're not supposed to, but I put baby orejel on one night, because I needed sleep and it helped him. Slightly later naps and bedtimes have helped too. The Tylenol kicks and he's a bit sleepier, so he fights less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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