My 23 month old son Declan has been sleeping in the crib for about 10 months now, and self-weaned from nursing a few months ago. Once he tried out the crib, he refused to co-sleep with us, even for naps.
Over time, he has frequently woken sometime during the night, but I have been able to get him to fall back to sleep after a diaper change and refilling his bottle. Over the past few weeks, however, this no longer works. He is consistently wiiiide awake after only 3 or 4 hours of sleep. After a diaper change and new bottle, he now refuses to go back to sleep, and freaks out if I try to leave the room. At this point, even though he is awake, he looks tired and sometimes has his eyes half-closed with the bottle, yawns, etc. I've tried various approaches such as giving him more than one bottle, rubbing his back, sitting in a chair in the room to let him know I'm here, standing next to him in the crib until he falls asleep, and even trying to take him into bed with us, which he really doesn't like anymore. Generally he gets upset and quite vocal after he's emptied the bottle, and I eventually have to take him downstairs (I am a stay at home mom right now, and my husband works, so this is entirely my responsibility).
In the past I've tried waiting awhile to tire him out again, but for the most part Declan won't crash until 8 or 9am after many hours of crankiness, and then it's only for about an hour. He used to consistently nap for a few hours in the afternoon, but this is no longer the case. All in all, the two of us have been getting no more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep total each 24 hour period. He seems to be surviving just fine, but over time, this is beginning to take its toll on me. I've always been one of those people who has needed more sleep than others, and this is hitting me pretty hard. What's worse is that I am pregnant now, and this pregnancy is taking a lot out of me physically. When I was pregnant with Declan I felt exhausted the entire time and had to nap for several hours each afternoon. Now I feel tired and cranky all the time, and have found myself several times feeling like I'm going to fall asleep at the wheel while driving.
I don't believe that teething is an issue right now, as it has been very apparent in the past when Declan's been going through that. I've wondered if night terrors could be a factor because of his age. Declan has recently begun to show fear or a state of being upset/uncomfortable at various phenomena like seeing shadows, and I've wondered if this is why he may not be comfortable going back to sleep during the middle of the night. His room has a soothing environment with soft music and a nightlight (one of those Himalayan salt lamps), and nothing here has changed since he has been sleeping on his own.
I'm at wit's end here, and any advice would surely be appreciated. Thanks.
Over time, he has frequently woken sometime during the night, but I have been able to get him to fall back to sleep after a diaper change and refilling his bottle. Over the past few weeks, however, this no longer works. He is consistently wiiiide awake after only 3 or 4 hours of sleep. After a diaper change and new bottle, he now refuses to go back to sleep, and freaks out if I try to leave the room. At this point, even though he is awake, he looks tired and sometimes has his eyes half-closed with the bottle, yawns, etc. I've tried various approaches such as giving him more than one bottle, rubbing his back, sitting in a chair in the room to let him know I'm here, standing next to him in the crib until he falls asleep, and even trying to take him into bed with us, which he really doesn't like anymore. Generally he gets upset and quite vocal after he's emptied the bottle, and I eventually have to take him downstairs (I am a stay at home mom right now, and my husband works, so this is entirely my responsibility).
In the past I've tried waiting awhile to tire him out again, but for the most part Declan won't crash until 8 or 9am after many hours of crankiness, and then it's only for about an hour. He used to consistently nap for a few hours in the afternoon, but this is no longer the case. All in all, the two of us have been getting no more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep total each 24 hour period. He seems to be surviving just fine, but over time, this is beginning to take its toll on me. I've always been one of those people who has needed more sleep than others, and this is hitting me pretty hard. What's worse is that I am pregnant now, and this pregnancy is taking a lot out of me physically. When I was pregnant with Declan I felt exhausted the entire time and had to nap for several hours each afternoon. Now I feel tired and cranky all the time, and have found myself several times feeling like I'm going to fall asleep at the wheel while driving.
I don't believe that teething is an issue right now, as it has been very apparent in the past when Declan's been going through that. I've wondered if night terrors could be a factor because of his age. Declan has recently begun to show fear or a state of being upset/uncomfortable at various phenomena like seeing shadows, and I've wondered if this is why he may not be comfortable going back to sleep during the middle of the night. His room has a soothing environment with soft music and a nightlight (one of those Himalayan salt lamps), and nothing here has changed since he has been sleeping on his own.
I'm at wit's end here, and any advice would surely be appreciated. Thanks.
