Hi moms!!
My 17 month daughter is an excellent sleeper. She goes to sleep by herself at 8:00pm and sleeps until about 7:00am. I don't know what happened!! For the last 3 nights she has woken up several times throughout the night screaming and crying for me (She usually does not wake up and cry). My husband or I rock her back to sleep but the second we try to put her down she begins to scream again. We tried letting her cry it out, which worked as a baby when we did sleep training but she just creamed louder and louder. She hasn't done anything like this so we are so confused and exhausted!! She has no fever but seems like she could be teething. We are giving her Motrin before bed and during the night. During the day she seems fine except she is not really wanting to eat much. Has anyone experienced this?? Is it teething?? Is she having seperation anxiety at night?? Any suggestions? Thanks!!!
SH already covered my advice to you! My son (now 20 months) did the same thing around 15 months. It lasted about 3 weeks and BAM!!! eye teeth. You may also want to consider nightmares.
Maybe since she is not eating that much during the day she is waking up at night for something to eat. My son does this once or twice a week. He is 24 months and usually sleeps 10-11 hours striaght until the past few months. Which I now realize that it all started after I stopped breastfeeding the begining of June. Now he wakes up and once I get him to calm down he says me eat.....once he is done with his 2 am snack he will go back to bed without a fuss. Good Luck, I wish you a full nights sleep.
Tina
I agree with SH. I would NOT let her cry it out. She needs something and your the only ones who can be there for her. Is she hungry. My son would go though growing sprouts at times and at these times he would eat more. As I always say the more you meet your child's needs now the more secure they will be later.
Sue
This time goes by so fast. It does get way easier.
Hi N.:
She probably is teething,and while some Doctors will argue the point,most mothers will profess,that their babies developed such symptoms as diarea, cold symptoms, slight fevers and ear aches as a direct result of their molars coming in.Children will stop eating to.The front teeth,are far thinner,so easier to break through the gum. The molars can be very painful,they are much larger,therefore,more difficult to come through. This is a trying time for parents, You need alot of patience.It's alot easier to deal with, when you understand what it is thats troubling your child. You know her to be A good sleeper,It's obvious she is having A problem,so you need to help her through it.This is not A time to have her cry it out,or make her feel she has been left alone to deal with the pain.As soon as those teeth come through, she'll be back to her ole self.Hang in there mom and dad. J. M
Any possibility she could have an ear infection? That could cause a lot of pain when lying flat on her back. I know when my toddler has one, he's okay when I rock him, but wakes up when he lays down. Hope whatever it is gets better soon!
I also have a 17 month old that went through the same thing. He was not eating much & then waking up crying at night. Turned out to be molars coming in. It lasted about a week, maybe more, and now is sleeping fine again.
Good luck!
I'm going with teething. Alternate Motrin & Tylenol throughout the night to help with the pain. My son did this a couple of months ago when he was getting a couple of teeth. Now has done it a couple of times this week. We usually just go in & pick him up for a few min & then lay him back down. He doesn't continue to scream though. Don't ignore her. She's letting you know something is wrong.
N.,
A couple of things come to mind. Around this age they become more aware of their surroundings and that it is not just ME and the world but there is a world out there. The other thing that comes to mind is when did she last have shots? If it is within two weeks then we'll talk some more.
Just remember, that this too shall pass.
I was just going to ask the same question. My 18 month is doing the same thing. I think she is teething but I dont know cause it has never been this bad. Good luck
Could be teething, AND/OR "separation anxiety."
These things crops up at certain age junctures, and it recurs at different ages.
AND, many times, the reason can be more than one thing occurring at a time.
OR, she is hungry, and having a growth spurt.
OR, it can be 'night-terrors.' Look up "night terrors" online. It is a developmental based occurrence and is normal.
Most all kids have that.
BUT... bear in mind, that even if your baby slept well all this time... that sleep patterns and ability, changes all the time, throughout childhood, per developmental reasons, such as: hitting milestones, growth spurts, cognitive changes, increasing motor skills, development of emotions (which is not fully developed yet), development of communication, hunger etc.
So, sleep patterns DO NOT STAY STATIC. It will change.
If she does not seem to eat much, it could be just a child's normal appetite fluctuations (not even adults are hungry the same way everyday), and/or teething. Or, sometimes it is because they are getting a cold.
I would not just give Motrin, if you do not know that it is specifically teething.
I would also make sure she is napping at some point during the day. Since "over-tired" kids actually do NOT sleep well at night AND wake more. And in some kids, being over-tired actually makes them more hyper.
Also, she could be having 'night-terrors' and/or starting to have dreams/nightmares. There comes a point in their development, when they start to have these. Since their cognition is changing.
I would not let her cry it out... just comfort her. It is not like she is doing it on purpose... so any punishments/discipline approaches, to me, is not the thing to do.
Her waking like this for the past 3 nights, is actually NOT long... some phases like this can take time to return to normalcy. Even REM sleep ability/patterns changes at certain age junctures.
Yes, it is exhausting... but, since she was an excellent sleeper all this time, this is something "new" for you/Hubby and her. BUT, many kids at this age wake a LOT more than that. So, she is pretty good.
If it is due to "night terrors".... you cannot make them 'not' do it. Since it is not something they do "at-will." You just have to ride it out... but look online to understand it. Both my kids went through that too, at about 1 years old. It is normal though.
All the best,
Susan
Lots of possible reasons.
It does seem like teething is a possibility. Our daughter's nearly the same age (born April 12, 2008). One of the things that might help is giving her a cold, wet washcloth to carry around. Even though it's not my favorite thing, we've let Madelyn go to bed with one on occasion. Everything's dry by morning and she's happy. The other suggestion I have is elevating one end of her mattress. Sometimes laying flat can make a baby feel extra pressure when teething.
I hope these suggestions help!
S. :+)
