My 20 Month Old Has Suddenly Stopped Sleeping Through the Night

first thing i thought too was 2 year molars..i have a 2 year old and last month we had some trouble w/ sleeping...i think it was the 2 year molars..also he was getting a cold..can you cover one nostril at a time and see how she's breathing? if one or both sides are plugged up then she could be having trouble breathing from a cold..my son has a light cold right now so i use Xlear..it's a natural nose spray you can get it at Whole Foods..i have to use it before he naps or we won't get a nap these days.

Hi,
My son did exactly the same thing. He was 25 months old when he started waking up in the night. He would come and get in our bed. I would let him fall back to sleep and put him in his bed. I was also pregnant and the last couple of months of my pregnancy he slept with me because I was too tired to deal with it. My husband started sleeping in the guest room. He didn't wake up as long as he was near me. Now my baby is 5 weeks old and my 2 year old still wakes up in the night to come in our room. We let him sleep on the floor by our bed, but not in the bed. If you can deal with it now, I would not give in. Keep returning her to her bed. We are still trying to figure out what to do. Last night was the first night he slept in his bed all night. He was exhausted. Our baby is sleeping well, but our two year old is keeping us up. He also won't go to bed now unless we are going to bed. I have put him in his room and he will cry for hours. I think he has had a hard adjustment to the baby, but now is in the habit of waking in the night and being with us. If you can do it. Give her comfort and then let her know that she needs to sleep in her bed.

Hi C.,
We are going through something very similar with my 25 month old son. He has always been a great sleeper at night. All four of his two-year molars came in at the same time. He would wake up every two hours at night. Once my husband and I realized that there was not much we could do for him, we let him cry it out in his crib. Going in there to comfort him made the situation MUCH worse. Maybe your daughter is getting molars? My son was always a pretty mellow teether, but the molars were really hard for him. If it's not molars, it looks like you have received really good advice from other moms. Good luck to you. Stay strong!

"My 20 month old has pretty much been sleeping from 8 pm to 8 am since she was about 4 months old "

Well you've been lucky - babies aren't designed to sleep through the night. Their stomachs are too small and they are designed to wake easily so that a stuffy nose doesn't suffocate them or so they don't sleep through danger.

You mention not giving in - this isn't a power struggle, this is a *baby*. She's not plotting on how to "get away" with anything, she has a need. Does she nurse at night? She could be in a growth spurt, have you tried feeding her?

Most babies wake several times a night; they are not designed for schedules. A baby can't want what it doesn't need, especially when it's asleep.

I recommend www.askdrsears.com for some good nighttime advice.

You have descsribed my 10 month old to a T!!!!
My bed situation was because of a nasty cold that was reacuring. She also had an ear infection a few months ago.
She wakes up a bunch of times during the night, even when healthy. Generally, I can go in there and lay her back down and she'll go back to sleep.(with the exception of feeding time) She hates a wet diaper at night..lucky me. Nap time for me is a little more difficult then your situation.(lucky you) She will cry in her crib and then I need to go in there about 3-4 times to lay her back down and stand there for a few minutes.
I am looking forward to seeing what suggestions people have for you. Unfortunatly, it's good to see that I am not the only one.
I feel for you. It's hard not getting a good night sleep.
I'm lucky if I get a 5 hour stretch of sleep. The husband is no help either...he say's "just let her cry".
I would like to email directly to you, so we can talk.
Here is my email address.
____@____.com
Hope to talk to you soon,
Good luck!
M.

I would say unless she is sick, do not go check or diaper or go to her at all. You can't reinforce the waking or she might continue to do it indefinitely. Adding a second baby is very stressful (my first two are 21 months apart and it is tough going in the beginning) and the last thing you need is the oldest waking up along with a newborn. You will be tag teamed by them all day long (I sum up the first six months of having two that close together with the sentence, "Everyone always needed something." There was never a break, between feeding a newborn and wrangling a toddler, so concentrate on getting her sleep back on track before you deliver.

in my experience, during the last month of my pregnancy with my second child, my daughter seemed to sense that the baby was coming. she started being more clingy and more needy overall. this may be what your daughter is going through. my daughter was also a really good sleeper - unfortunately, my son is not as great of a sleeper....

It coule be seperation anxiety, or just that they become aware of more at this age and fears begin to develop. Both my sons had it, it goes away. but don't cater to it too much, try and leave them in the crib to comfort themselves we made that mistake with our first and the second it passed A LOT quicker because we didn't run in and get him. Good luck.

I hate to say it, but you may have to take away her nap. I did it to my (now) 3 year old when he was about the same age. For my long term sanity, it was the best thing!! I got to sleep at night. The 1st week of giving up the nap was TOUGH, but he was sleeping through the night and has been ever since. I also have a 5 years son, so keeping the younger one awake was easier. Do it before the baby comes, then after the baby comes hopefully you will have a new routine. You also will be able to spend more quiet time with your daughter during the baby's naps!!

Just a thought with some experience. I know it's toughto think of taking away that wonderful quiet time during the day, but trust me...we are a much happier family when MOM gets her sleep!!

Good luck,
B.

HI, C.. I am a mom to two girls, too - one is 3 yrs. old and the other, 5 months. I saw the same sign with my eldest daughter when I was pregnant with my second one. This is the time that they realize they are not the only baby anymore - that they will have to share their moms and dads with the coming baby. Just keep assuring her of your love. And the way I prepared my eldest was that I would tell her all the things she could help me with to take care of her sister when she comes, like she could hand me some wipies and diapers when the baby needs to be changed, or help me pat the baby's back to help her burp, or just anything so she would feel that she will have a part in the life of the coming baby, and not that she will not have her mom anymore because her mom will be with the baby all the time. Good luck!

I take care of twins that just turned two... they sleep from like 6:30/7:30pm-to 5:30/6:30 am and take an afternoon nap similar to yours. I am thinking she might start getting up earlier usually kids wake up and don't understand how nice it is to sleep in unless they are not feeling well. But waking up in the middle of the night could be bad dreams - getting too hot or too cold. Stick to your guns about her sleeping in her own bed.
Good luck!

I totally feel for you. I have three little ones under the age of three about 16 to 18 months apart. Your baby now could becoming anxious about what is occurring with you and the ideas of a new baby in the house. When I was pregnant with my daughter I was determined to get out middle son sleeping through the night. We accomplished it and all was well, even the first week we had the baby at home. But after the first week I guess he realized she wasn't going anywhere and he had to adjust to the already divided attention. Needless to say our baby is 4 months now and things are starting to settle down. Even our three year old that has been sleeping through the night since he was 9 m onths regressed. It seemed like both the boys were tag teaming us waking up every other hour. It was exhausting, but we just had to "dig deep" and know that they will get through it. We just took it with a grain of salt. Comforted them to let them know that with this new baby we were still going to take care of their needs and made more of an effort to make special individual time with them. I know your baby isn't here yet, but little ones are very sensitive to change and aren't able to adjust as well as we do. I wish you good health and congratulations. just hang in there. As much as we like to prepare ourselves for everything.... it never goes as anticipated with little ones.. they like to keep us on our toes!

Hi C.!

Hang in there! You're doing the right thing by putting her back in her own bed. I know its really hard, especially when you're exhausted and just want to get back yourself! I think putting her back to her own bed sets boundaries for her, even at her age. She may be a bit anxious at your growing size and the fact that you'll be having your baby soon. She probably knows that means you may be gone for a few days and that your time will be diverted to the new baby - kids are very intuitive that way! Once the baby arrives, be sure to make time for you and her be be alone - so she doesn't regress back to the "clingy" behavior. With my kids (now 10 and 13), I found that about 1 hour prior to bed time, we did quiet, wind-down activities together - puzzles, reading a book, drawing pictures, quiet verbal games while lying in bed - rather than watching videos, tv, etc., which seemed to over-stimulate them. It seemed they stopped waking up so much and calmed their nerves before settling in to sleep. My mom (their grandmother)also adds that a warm glass of milk before bed did the trick! Good luck!

Is it possible she is getting her 2 yr molars? It's about that time. Ask your dr. about giving tylenol, oragel, or the homeopathic tething tablets. It may work, and if not, it's at least one more thing you can cross off the list of things you tried. Good luck, and congratulations on your new baby coming soon!

She is either teething or sick, call your pedit. or you changed something either her routeen or her room something ha to have changed, good luck.

C.,

This was how my son was at about the same age. Although, he never slept from 8-8, you will survive, he is almost 23. First, you may want to start putting her to bed a little later and then NOT go into her room when she wakes in the middle of the night. This was absolutely the hardest thing I ever did in my life, I let my son cry (it was not fun) but it took three nights and he went back to sleeping through the night. Don't put her to bed with you, handle the crying for a couple nights. I know it sounds terrible, but everyone needs there sleep, including your daughter and you (alone) You need to make sure that you get her back on schedule since the new baby is coming in one month. I am sure you talk to her about the new baby and there is probably some insecurities about that and that is maybe? why she is waking up.

Hi,
She is probably sensing the change that is coming soon with the new baby etc. It is normal for the kids to mess up their schedules but good for you on not backing down!! I have a few friends who gave in and now can't get their toddlers out of their bed. OF COURSE they sleep better with us- we are warm and smell familiar. But it is not healthy and it won't help at all when the baby comes. Just ignore her and she'll fall back asleep. That is the best method. Otherwise, she will learn that you come when she cries and that will make you crazy when you are also dealing with a newborn.
Have fun! :)

Hello C.. If there have been no dramatic changes in your lifestyle, then it is normal. My Aaron, who is now 8, went through that. He'd been a good baby as far as sleeping through the night and then he hit a certain age before he was 2 and was waking up in the night.
I'd say it's a growth spurt. Little ones bodies go through changes and for every one it's different depending on the child.
Aaron had just turned 2 when my mother-in-law died and when that happened, it really turned our world upside down.
Aaron being sensitive anyway, picked up on mama and daddy's emotions so it effected him dramatically.
This change shouldn't last too long. Being pg makes it tough though. I hope this helps.

My guess is she is getting her two year molars, or there has been some kind of shift or change that she is dealing with. Sleep patterns change with development. Try not to over do the need to get her to sleep and stick with your routine the best you ca. Frozen blueberries are great for teething.