17 month old awake all night

19 years ago

Hi everyone. My darling 17 month old son started waking in the night after his first flu. That was two weeks ago and he has not slept for more that 2-3 hours in the last 6 nights! He wakes up and is up (playing and happy as long as mom is there) for hours! Nothing that I have tried has worked. (crying it out, rocking, bringing him into our bed, bottles, etc..) I am losing my mind! To make matters worse, he only wants mommy at night so I get no break at all. Does anybody have any reccomendations on books to read or any tips? Thanks so much, happy holidays!

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Comments (6)

User
19 years ago
It's hard when they get off schedule. I would suggest getting him up early in the morning and not letting him sleep during the day. It's easier said than done. Get him out of the house during the day so he has some activity to distract him. Take him to the park, zoo, wherever and wear him out. If he falls asleep, cut his nap short.

At bedtime, give him a warm bath and dress him in his jammies. Turn the lights down low. We used to let our kids watch videos at nighttime. It worked if it was something low key that they had seen over and over. We would lay them down with their pillow and blanket. They'd fall asleep in about 15 minutes.

You may be living with Mr. Grouchy for a few days, but if you are able to stick to your guns, you should get some relief.

Also, your son may want only you, you need sleep too. Let your dh deal with him. Your dh can deal with a screaming child as well as you can.
carla35
19 years ago
Don't want to disagree, but I don't think using any type of day time sleep deprivation to get a baby to sleep more at night at this age is a good idea. It almost nevers work, and usually backfires making the baby sleep even less at night too.

They need their nap/day time sleep too and, just think, sometimes when you get too restless or over tired you can't sleep either. That is what can happen with them.

And, as long as he's not sick anymore, try to stretch out how often you get up for him. He may just be having problems getting himself back to sleep and is probably over tired so gets extra stressed. The key is to let him sleep when he wants to --repeat, do not take away naps in hoping he'll sleep more at night...it will not work and will only make matters worse. Try letting him take a nice long refreshing nap and see how much better he can sleep at night. I know it's seems illogical and almost every I tell doesn't believe me, until they try it, and it works for them.

Sleep begets sleep!
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socks
19 years ago
You have my sympathy. I agree with the above posters, mostly. You cannot cut out a nap or he will probably be hysterically tired at the end of the day, and then he won't sleep well either. But I'm not too sure about the very long nap. One thing I am sure about is keeping him physically active during the day.

What time is he going to bed? Maybe he needs to stay up 1/2 hr. or so longer (sorry for that suggestion).

Is he taking any kind of medication? Sometimes the meds given for flu symptoms can keep kids (and adults) awake.
cat3882
19 years ago
I agree with the above, you should not deprive babies of sleep. In my own experiences it DOES make the baby sooo tired that they wont go to sleep at all. I know how you are feeling... my 18 month old has recently started waking up every 2 -3 hours at night.. I almost dread going to bed at all... :o) You aren't the only one awake at night with a toddler! Keep your head up.. it will pass! :o)
christy2828
19 years ago
Maybe you need to reevaluate his daytime naps. How many naps a day does he take? If two, maybe it is time to switch to one. If it is one, maybe you should shorten the nap, and put him to bed earlier. Or, you could try waking him a little earlier in the morning. I have had similar experiences with mine, and the culprit was usually a new tooth. If it isn't a tooth, I'd suggest going in there, laying him back down, return his items (be it a pacifier, blankie, stuffed animal, etc.) and walk out of the room. Don't say a word, don't turn on the light, don't make eye contact. If/when he screams when you leave, wait around 10 minutes, and repeat. Stretch the time a little longer, maybe go in a second time, but that's it. Hopefully it will only a take a few nights. Hope this helps, and you get some sleep!!

Oh, try Amazon for books about getting babies to sleep. You can buy them new or used, and a lot cheaper than regular book stores! Christy

Here is a link that might be useful: Books for Tired Parents
socks
19 years ago
How's it going? Any better?

17 month old awake all night

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