18 mo sleeping at 2-3 am!?

[shotmama]

still BFing, and will do it if she asks for it at night.

co-sleeping as well. 

i'm a stay at home mother and she is VERY attached to me, and i to her, so naturally we spend a lot of time together during the day (some say TOO much time. is there really such thing? serious question).

here is our schedule:

wakes up to start her day at 10am to 12 pm (she used to wake up much earlier, not sure what happened)

takes a nap anywhere from 2-4 pm for 1-2 hours

then sleeps at 2-3 am every day for the past week.

we know teething may have something to do with it, because she sits up a gajillion times a night to complain about the discomfort and then lies back down into sleep (or does she!?) and tries several positions, kicking and whining sometimes while in a daze..

i know when she is having some sort of discomfort the shift in sleeping schedule is expected, but recently i feel it could be anxiety-related. DH and i do show her a LOT of frustration when we try EVERYTHING to get to sleep (when she asks to be put to sleep) and it takes so long (plus DH gets up super early, and is running on 3-4 hours of sleep a day, and me being the same since she wakes me at least 10-20 times a night, but i've more or less come to terms with it since.. well i kinda have no choice, hehe!).

i feel showing our frustration could be feeding the possible anxiety? any input would be appreciated.

[katelove]

I would try (and in fact have tried  ) dropping the afternoon nap for a few days. If she is falling asleep at 4pm for 2 hours then I'm not surprised she is not wanting to go to sleep until 2 am. Can you do some sort of fun activity around that time and then start the bedtime routine at 6pm? Aim to have her in bed and asleep between 7 and 8 and, hopefully, she'll wake at between 5 and 6am. You can then do a nap around 10 or 11 ish.

As far as the frustration, I totally understand it but yes, I think it could possibly be causing some of her anxiety. If she associates going to sleep with mummy and daddy being upset with her 

Why is getting her to sleep taking so long? Are you starting before she's tired enough to sleep? Is she in pain from the teething? Are their other distractions? Noise etc? For the first, dropping the nap for a few days may help get into a better pattern so she is tired earlier. Pain? I know it's not popular around here but we have no problem giving neurofen when our babe has teething pain. She sleeps much better when she is pain free.

As far as expressing your frustrations can you just make a decision not to? Tell yourself that she is sleep-deprived and in pain and not doing it on purpose. Maybe you and your DH can take it in turns to be with her so you each get a break when the other is starting to get worn down. Maybe he could sleep in another room for a couple of nights and then give you a break to have an afternoon nap so you can each regain some sleep. Or can someone else mind her for a couple of hours during the day so you can sleep? when you're with her practice deep breathing and relaxation exercises. Consciously relax your muscles and take slow deep breaths. Or repeat a mantra. "This too shall pass" perhaps 

All the best. My LO is only 11 months old but I have been there with the hourly wakings (and I couldn't sleep through feeds) and the staying up late, getting up early. It is awful.