Anyone else experienced this~ STTNer for 1st year turned bad sleeper in toddler years?

[P.J.]

DS is 15 months old. We were so incredibly lucky in that he has always been an excellent night sleeper. From day 1 he STTN (well, until 6 months or so he would have a night feed or two, but we cosleep and neither of us would really wake up for that, so I still count it as STTN).

....until recently. For about three weeks now he's been sleeping solid from bedtime (which is anywhere from 8:15-9:30pm depending on various factors) until around 2am, then he wakes up and is hard to resettle. He either outright cries or is just really whiny and upset. He usually has about 2-3 of these wakings where he seems upset and is hard to settle ~one at about 12-2am  and the next around 5 or 6, sometimes with other times mixed in there (normal morning wake-up time is about 7:30)...but in-between he's just really tossy and turny. The result for me is that I only get a few hours sleep and then once he starts tossing and turning and waking I sleep only lightly, and I wake up in the morning feeling like a truck hit me.

I know we were lucky not to have gone through this in the first year. I know this is normal for parents and I just need to accept it. I know this is a phase as everything at this age is a phase. I am assuming his brain development is going wild and this night waking is just a side-effect. What I'm wondering is: have others gone through this too? Specifically that your LO was a very good sleeper (STTN) for a long time and then suddenly became a night waker in toddlerhood?

I was foolish enough to believe that since we'd made it this far with mostly only good sleep, that we were home free and he'd always (with exceptions of course) STTN. I've been thinking about trying to get him into his own bed, that maybe he'd sleep better if he were alone...although intuitively I don't believe that will help, and he may even sleep worse and it would be even harder for me if I had to get up to go to him, ya know. I just know this is taking a toll and I am a grumpy person most mornings and it's a real challenge.

I guess I just want to hear from someone that they've BTDT and that indeed it will pass, or at least some commiseration from those going through a similar story.

Thanks!

[P.J.]

Anyone?

[newmamalizzy]

Well, I'm unfortunately not btdt because Bea has ALWAYS been a bad sleeper.  At the moment she's having a thing where she wakes up at 3 a.m. and says "All done?," then tries to get up for the day.  I find that if the issue is developmental, she's not usually upset about being awake.  If she IS upset about being awake, there's almost always teeth involved.  Any molars making their way into your little boy's mouth? 

[P.J.]

Well, he has four molars already, which all came in without much fanfare. I've heard the canine teeth can really hurt while coming in though, and it looks like those are next. So it could be that I guess. But for nearly a month ~and still no sign of the teeth? He also doesn't show any signs of teething during the day.