Oh my, how our little one has changed at 18 months. So, we're going from 3 hour naps to 1 1/2 some days to 3 hours others. From sleeping through the night since he was teeny tiny, to waking up screaming almost every night like he's had a bad dream. I don't understand. I'm writing now because I'm getting frustrated and I don't want to be frustrated. I googled, "18 month sleep" and many parent comments came up about sleep issues at 18 months. Why is this? He also went from waking up and just rolling around talking to himself to now standing and calling, "mommy" "daddy" even "Na Na" right away. I'm looking at the monitor now and he's laying down but I've already gone in there twice to put everything back in his crib. Now, I'm just leaving it out because I don't want him to use that as his fishing technique to reel me back into his room. I just don't understand what's going on!?! Some nights he cries briefly and goes back down on his own. Other nights he screams uncontrollably and we have to go in there. He's great while we're holding him but then clings to us and begins to scream when we try to lay him back down. Moms and dad's out there, any similar experiences? Should we be doing something differently? Is it just a growth spurt? Fortunately, I read that he will get through this and go back to his normal amazing habits. I just hate going to bed at night dreading what the night holds and also that his 12 hours of good sleep is being disrupted.
This is a first from yesterday...Asher has never fallen asleep while eating lunch! After I cleaned him up and changed his diaper, he slept for more than three hours. So obviously, there are still good days.
I think you are doing all of the right things! MK periodically does this same thing every 3-4 months. Sometimes we chalk it up to teething, sometimes to growth spurts and bad dreams, and other times we realize it's probably just part of being her. She is a lot like Asher and loves her sleep. Some nights we just let her cry herself to sleep. I'm not a big fan of crying it out, but I can tell the difference between a "Something is wrong cry" and a "I just need attention". Other nights we rock her and on occasion we even put her in the bed with us. (Gasp!) We just do whatever works and whatever means we can all get some sleep!
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