[neaka]

Hi everyone,

My 22 months old has never been great at self settling, probably because ive always gone up and cuddled him whenver he has protested sleep. But he has never taken too long to to go down, we put him to bed at 7 and he is usually out by 7.30-8. The last month or so though he has been quiet overall but with half hourly crying stints from about 8pm-10pm before drifting off to a proper sleep.
Occasionally he will cry enough that ill have to go up and resettle him, this is usually between 8 and 9pm (give him a cuddle or a drink & tell him its bedtime and to close his eyes ect) but he seems to take 3 hours or so to actually go to sleep!

At first we thought teething....nope then we though is he sick, nope. Thirsty nope, hot nope, cold nope doesnt seem to be any of these things but there definitely seems to be something bothering him.

Does anyone elses toddler do this before he goes off to a deeper sleep? Is this normal or should i be addressing it rather than ignoring it?

thanks

[Skip to my Lou]

My first girl did this for a while and we realised it was just an attention thing. We stopped cuddling etc, just go in to make sure all is alright, tell her to lie down and left. This worked after only a couple of nights.


With my 19mo when this thing happens - only rarely though and not every night like you are experiencing - it's generally because she is over tired. This only happens on big days or late nights. I guess if your lo is not getting regular naps this could possibly be a cause???

Good luck, hope it stops soon for you

[JupitersMoon]

My dd is the same age and we often have nights like this. Always seems to coincide with when I am ready for bed!

I haven't been able to pin down a reason, so I'm really just here to sympathize

[Penguin78]

He could be going through a developmental leap, which can affect sleep.

I would only go in if you think yiur DS is distressed, then offer water (maybe just the first time) tell him to lie down in a soothing voice, then leave the room. I think its important to be consistent through these sleep changes and giving too much attention might prolong the situation.

But I do respect that sometimes they need us and if u r happy to cuddle then maybe just once, but not to sleep just to comfort.

I have found my DS to go through many sleep changes and he self settles. I just try to be consistent, respond to his needs, but not do too much.