17 Month Old Wakes up 6 Times Each Night. Help!

I don't really have any advise for you, as my son was the same way - and I tried EVERYTHING. All the "no-cry" solutions, and cry it out - I was SUPER consistent with each approach, giving it a minimum of three weeks of trying something before giving up or changing my approach. He was just a terrible sleeper, and NEEDED to be close to me. Not WANTED, NEEDED... and he was telling me the only way he knew how. He finally started sleeping a little better around age two, in a bed next to mine where I would pat his back everytime he woke up (like 5 times a night) - and by his third birthday he was sleeping in his own room in his own bed all night long. This was only accomplished by following his lead and moving to the next step only when he said he wanted to. At 6 years old he still has what I would consider sepration anxiety, he cries when dropped off at school. But we just keep daily life predictable and consistent, and I know that he's doing the best he can, as am I. Hang in there, eventually your boy will sleep!

I don't have an answer for you but just wanted to share that my son didn't start sleeping through the night until right around 17 months old. He was a horrible sleeper from day 1. Except he didn't nap either. I co-slept with him, I fed him, I slept in his room, I tried cry it out, nothing worked. He was seen by my pediatrician several times to rule out any problems and I was told several times that when a child is developmentally ready he will sleep. It could be a separation anxiety thing and crying it out will not help. Kids that have SA will not settle down they will keep getting more and more worked up. I was told to be patient, have a strong routine and stick to it every single day without fail. Right down to reading the same books, become very very predictable. I did my routine and would let him cry for 10 minutes. If 10 minutes didn't work I would go back in and rock him and sing the same song every single time, I never ever deviated from the routine. I never got him a snack or a drink or took him out of the room. Then one night he slept, the whole night! My son is now 22 months old and still sleeping like a champ but it was a very long very hard road that almost every other person I talked to didn't understand. I know how terribly hard sleep issues are. Maybe becoming extremely predictable will help your son too? I hope you find an answer soon!

Just another little thought...with one of mine...he just has a lot of energy and slept better at night when he'd been quite physical during the day...even in the wintertime we get membership at the local rec center and I bring him down to play in the indoor pool. He stopped taking naps all together around 18 months...now he's a happy, healthy 5 year old...and RARELY ever wakes up. (I did, however, find him awake last week at 3 am setting the breakfast table real night as a 'surprise' for the rest of the family...but that's not too terribly common with him!) I wish I had his energy...*yawn*.

We have let all of ours cry it out...but that was more around 3-4 month...when they would cry for 5-10 minutes tops and then fall asleep...in general they were all really good sleepers after that...HOWEVER, the few times they've struggled and we've tried to let them cry it out when they were older (9-18 mo.)...it was a nightmare...maybe for some people that works at that age...but not us!

Our second child had severe separation anxiety and stopped sleeping well at 4 months of age. We tried everything, like you, consistently, for weeks at a time. I thought we were going to go crazy.
Ended up discovering that if one of us (my husband or I) slept on a mattress on the floor in his bedroom, where he could see that we were in there, he slept much much better. We could quickly calm him down if he woke up and he would go back to sleep.
It was a sacrifice but at least we all got sleep.
Eventually, I think by the time he was 3, he was sleeping through the night all by himself, once he was old enough to understand we were in the next room, and he didn't need to see us to know we were there.
He is still my "anxious" child, and some are just born that way. But he's also our sweetest, most loving and sensitive child. I think these kids are just more tuned into people's feelings and a sense of good vs. bad, which makes them worry more and fear things more.

i'm assuming by CIA you meant "cry it out"??? unfortunately, that is probably the best method. kids learn extremely fast that crying gets mommy and daddys attention. If he is continually waking up it is probably because it is just habit and he knows you will come into his room. It only took 2 days for my son to learn that if he woke up during the night crying wasnt going to work, so he either slept through the night or fell back asleep on his own. If you refuse to let your son learn to fall asleep on his own, maybe put toys in his crib to occupy him until he falls back asleep.

He needs to eat way more during the day all day long. Even though he seems fine, he is hungry, or he would not be waking. Increase his food intake greatly for 3 days (it takes a few days for the body to register the increase) and he'll sleep through. I learned that trick from a mother of 12. It worked for all of mine.

My son was similar. He could go to sleep on his own, and sometime when he would wake at night her could go back to sleep on his own, but other times he couldn't. We thought he wasn't getting enough food, so I would give him milk before bed and more milk if he woke up at night. He ended really constipated for a couple of days, so we tried taking dairy out of his diet. He slept through the night the first night! Since we never noticed any problems with the milk during the day, we still give him cheese and yogurt during the day, but we never give him regular milk, only soy milk to drink. I wouldn't switch to soy long term without talking to your doctor, but you may want to try it for a day or two.

Take your son to someone who does cranial manipulation. Within three sessions he will sleep longer and longer. The platelets in his head overlap and so he hurts as his head expands and grows.
You live in a populated area there will be good practitioners.