What is wrong with my 13.5 month old?

[mermaid101]

My DD has been a pretty good sleeper since she was very young (I know - very lucky). However for the last week or so, she has been having real trouble sleeping. At first she was waking about 10.30pm until about 1 am. However, tonight she went down at 6.30 as usual and woke up about 7.30 and now she is screaming. She stops if one of us goes in and picks her up, but starts again if we even shift our position let alone put her down. My husband has just tried to lie her in her cot and she is yelling so loudly I'm scared the neighbors will think there is something amiss!

She doesn't appear to be teething, doesn't have a temperature, has been in good form all day and has eaten well.

What could be the problem?

[QTPie]

We had bad sleep disruption from 13 to 19 months (4/5 nights in 7 were disrupted once or twice a night) after him previously sleeping through from 12 weeks. It was all teething (canines/molars). Sometimes the most painful bit can be before you actually see much sign of it...

We got round it by putting a spare mattress, duvet and pillow next to DS's cot - he just wanted a lot of comfort (ie hand holding through the bars tended to do) and we stayed reasonably comfortable and could get some sleep. We took it in turns.

Alternatively it could be that she is coming down with something.

[mermaid101]

Thanks for this QTPie. That sound like a long stretch! Was there any sign of the teething during the day? Did calpol or anything like that help?

I think we might need to do something similar to your mattress idea.

I think we've been a bit spoiled with her previous good sleeping and it feels so stressful. We're both feeling pretty ropey just now (sore throats, colds etc.) so i guess its very probable she isn't feeling that great, although she doesn't appear to be unwell. Apart from this sleeping problem, she seems very well in herself.

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I'm desperate for ideas/advice!

[QTPie]

It might just be her having a cold or something... If it lasts for more than a week or so or she does it on and of over some weeks/months then it is most likely teething (generally much grumpiness, agitation and whinginess can be out down to teething for some time!)

I know exactly what you mean: I thought that once they slept through the night, then the always would...

No, we did use Calpol, but didn't find that it particularly helpful at improving sleep. It may or may not have helped him to get to sleep, but wouldn't help throughout the whole night. Funnily enough DS still napped, during the day, very well - just his night sleeps were disrupted.

I think that teething is just a nasty time for them: we couldn't have contemplated "sleep training" at that time, but wanted to "comfort him whilst staying sane ourselves". We kept him in his room (and set up the spare bedding there) because if we brought him into our bed, then no-one got any sleep (he thought it was playtime...). Also some times you could sneak back to your own bed :). Keeping him in his room meant that he stayed consistent and comfortable and secure in his room. I am happy that we handled it in a gentle and supportive way (whilst staying fairly sane).

The good news is that once he finished teething (at 19 months on he dot), he started consistently sleeping through again. We have had a few nights of disruption since 19 months (illness, jet lag, second set of molars mainly), but not many at all and he is almost 34 months now. So those teething months are not much in the grander scheme of things :)

[wanderingalbatross]

I also wonder if it is teething. 18mo DD has never been a great sleeper but we've had a rough 3-4 months with the canines and molars. The last canine is just about to pop through, but it's all nighttime sleep that's disrupted, never in the day. We've done ok with nurofen to help, but often it only delays the waking as she wakes at 3-4am when the bedtime dose has worn off! We are doing a lot of cosleeping so we all get some rest, because I figure that there's no point trying to train her out of it if it's teeth pain.

[ash979]

Yep I would agree, teething. We have random weeks of it, which tend to last about a week at a time and she does what you festive. The only thing that soothes her is extra formula which she fizzles by the gallon when she's teething. My lo is 13 months next week and we're onto second molar this week. We co sleep if necessary, but she tends to stay up till about ten rather than her usual six pm!

[ash979]

Blooming phone! Describe not festive and guzzles not fizzles!!!!!!

[mermaid101]

Thanks so much for all these. It's going from bad to worse. She was up from 10pm - 3.30am last night. I gave her calpol, but that obviously hasn't worked. I suppose we just need to ride it out.

Does anyone know much about "wonder weeks"? I mentioned the non sleeping thing to a colleague today and she said her one of her children had gone through periods of being unsettled just before developmental leaps. This was reassuring because she said it only lasted for a week or so. However, another colleague overheard the conversation and told me her son has slept beautifully for his first year and then didn't sleep for a full night until he was 6! I wanted to cry!

[QTPie]

Don't worry about what anyone else says: all babies and all parents are different...

... Your little one could be disturbed because of any one of a number of things, it could last a few nights or a week or on and off for a few months (what we found with the teething). How you handle it is probably the most important thing, but only you can decide how to handle it.

What we did (above) worked brilliantly for us, but may not work for others (all any of us have is personal experience...). DS (34 months) has got some sort of fever/virus at the moment - so I am back in his room sleeping either in his cotbed (no side in it any more) or on a mattress next to it - he is distressed because he is ill. He WILL get through it and will start sleeping through again very soon. All you/I can do in the mean time is work through it and have faith.