12 month old PITA will not be soothed

[WifeofAnt]

Well I can't completely say 'will not' but it takes a half hour or more every time he wakes up (2-3 hours of crying a night).  In the morning we're both tired and cranky and I want nothing to do with him.  He's also completely opposed to napping.  I've been nearly ready to wean him so I can spend more time pawning him off on my husband.  I don't want to feed him, I don't want to nurse him, I don't want to play with him, I don't even want to look at him.  We tried a little NCSS because his sleep was erratic (annoying but tolerable) and he got better for a week or two only to get a million times worse.  I just don't know what to do anymore, if we don't start getting some decent sleep I'm sure our overall relationship is going to go out the window.

(He sleeps in his own bed in his own room and moves into our bed later in the night but behaves the same in both beds)

[WifeofAnt]

I went back and started reading some Dr Sears again.  I came across something about night time crying being about separation anxiety and just had to close the book and walk away.  That seriously does not explain why/how he can lay right on top of me and cry, how he can (of his own free will) unlatch from nursing and start crying.  I swear if I had a tape recorder and recorded portions his crying to play back to myself a week later I wouldn't know whether he was with me, with his father, or alone in his bed because it all sounds about the same.  Separation anxiety my butt.

[mamazee]

Well separation anxiety does happen at that age, but so does teething. Have you tried giving him some pain reliever?

[bec428]

You sound exhausted and at your wits end. Understandably, you must be so sleep deprived. Is there anyone who can watch your son for the night/day while you rest, take care of yourself, pamper yourself a bit? You might have more energy to take care of what is bothering your baby after you have taken care of yourself.

[WifeofAnt]

Originally Posted by mamazee 

Well separation anxiety does happen at that age, but so does teething. Have you tried giving him some pain reliever?

We've tried teething tablets, an amber necklace, and Tylenol.  Even all three at once.  It doesn't seem to change anything.

[Bokonon]

I'm so sorry.  My second was/is high needs and it's definitely not fun.

Is it possible that he is sensitive to something he's been eating?  

[Gracecody]

First of all, big hugs to you. I know that end of the rope feeling and it totally sucks. I'm not sure if I can be of any help but I'd like to try.

Just so I understand, when he first wakes up, does he immediately start crying, or do you nurse him and he pulls away and starts crying? How long has he been doing this crying - is this a recent thing? does he ever unlatch and cry during the day?

Since he is unlatching and crying I have to wonder if the nursing is bothering him at all - could he be experiencing some discomfort while nursing? My experience with my first was that Motrin seemed to be a lot more effective than Tylenol during the worst of the teething, have you tried that?

Do you have any reason to suspect any food intolerance issues?

[wp135]

I feel your pain.  I am in the exact same position and was coming here to write the exact same post.  My DS is 7mo.  He doesn't unlatch and cry but bedsharing was longer working for me because I was always uncomfortable so the nighttime perma-latch isn't an option for us.  Right now he has been crying for 45 minutes in my husbands arms with no signs of stopping anytime soon.  He's also been crying all day long (we've tried meds incase he was in pain).

I have no advice but just thought I'd let you know you're not alone.

[Altair]

12 months is when we did dr jay Gordon night weaning (I slept out on the couch during those hours and dad soothed) in combo with NCSS putting him in the crib next to our bed slowly over the course of a month or so. In that time we went from 5-6 night wake ups to 0 with only crying in dad's arms a bit the first few nights. It was a long few weeks/months, but the results have been amazing and we didn't have to do any CIO.

[blackannis]

It sounds like there's got to be something else going on. Have you tried contacting your pediatrician about this? The "lying on you and crying" sounds like more than emotional issues, though I can say that just before we decided to wean, my son (at 22 months or so) was crying any time I tried to unlatch him and give him his paci. That was why we decided to wean, actually. It caused anger and sadness for a few nights, but we worked through it.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by WifeofAnt 

We've tried teething tablets, an amber necklace, and Tylenol.  Even all three at once.  It doesn't seem to change anything.

Just so you know, none of those 3 touched teething pain for my DS.  Ibuprofen was the only thing that did.  And then he would sleep.

Does he have gas?  How are his stools?  I know if my guy is gassy or constipated, sleep goes out the window.  Which may very well be caused by a food allergy.