Overnight Sleeping for 12 mth olds

[Lana]

My DH and I were talking this evening about what was a reasonable expectation for our DS to sleep overnight. He is 12 mths and hasn't been a great sleeper. Some nights he can go long periods without waking and other nights he is up a number of times or awake for hours. There is no set pattern yet and he is 12 mths.

So I was wondering how the "average" (not the great sleepers) 12mth sleeps overnight. How many times do they wake and how often would you have to go in to them and help them re-settle.

I just want to make sure we don't expect too much of him and we aren't comparing ourselves with "good" sleepers which is unrealistic. Thanks.

[Arimeh]

Hands up here for crappy sleeper!!!!

DS is 17 months old and its not uncommon for him to wake several times a night. Thankfully, he resettles pretty quick (like 15 mins) when we give him back his dummy and pat his back.

He is much worse when teething, which is what he is doing at the moment, and if he is generally unwell, he can wake up for several hours (the last stint he did he was awake from 3am to 5.30am). Thankfully that is a rarity!!

I would say, on average, he wakes at least 3 - 4 times a night, and always has. I can count on one hand the times he has actually slept through the night. He did it the other night when I put a cloth nappy on him - but I think that was just a coincidence....

Does this information help you or make you more depressed because mine is older!!! lol

[~Kim~]

I'll be honest. At 2 I still get up to Darcy sometimes 3 times overnight. Sometimes less, sometimes none, but usually at least once.

[MrsFabuloso]

Yep I've got another waker here too. She's 14mths old. The other night I was up at least 6 times, probably more I try not to count how many times I'm up on nights like that anymore cause it makes me feel more tired, LOL. Last night it was two. So for us anywhere between 1-6 times is normal. Usually its 2-3 times. She usually has a bottle once or twice, only a small one, about 120mls. Other than that I have to rock her for anywhere between 5-20mins. There's not too many midnight parties, but they do happen and they usually last 1-2hrs. I dread having 2 to get up to, especially a newborn who will probably feed every 2 hrs or so....I feel like I'm never gonna sleep more than 2hrs in a row again!!

[Erin_25]

"hands up over here" yep I've another not so good sleeper. Prob my biggest beef with Charlie who is 14months old is he in not CONSISTENT aaggghhhh! I would like to be able to go out & know he'll sleep great where ever we are, of if we have a late night it doesn't matter he'll sleep great til certain time of the morn - but nope not this little boy.
When teething it's terrible, up every couple hours, usually wanting a feed. Some nights will just suprise us & sleep through. Others cries out a few times, but settles himself. But mostly he wakes for a bottle either once or twice. If he wakes early then he'll want another but if he wakes later then that's the only feed. But I'll give him one thing, doesn't usually wake too early as he's had a feed or 2 - so I'm all for that. So that's my novel LOL. Don't know if that helps but it's nice to know you are not the only one. You'll only hear about the good ones as the rest of us can't be bothered explaining our situation.
In my experience being part of a mums group where each mum has a couple kids there is always a not so good sleeper, it may be your first it may not. Those of us who get one first a much better off next time round I think, we don't have high expectaions. I had approx only 5hrs sleep last night & still got up & had to stock take all day today but I don't complain...I have a nice coffee & get on with my day as he's my awesome little man & he's not stupid he'll figure it out one day - I hope

[Snacks]

I'm not sure where I got this from... But I think a lot of Attachment Parents say about 3 years old is a reasonable age to expect them to sleep through on their own? Of course every kid is different, so you never know. Could be sooner for you.

[~Saram~]

Don't feel bad, there are so many parents out there with non-sleepers but we don't talk about it because everyone expects kids to be sleeping through. If you read the No Cry Sleep Solution it states that it is PERFECTLY NORMAL for young children to wake several times a night! Apparently 5hrs is "sleeping through" according to the experts.

My DD wakes at least 2-5 times a night (8pm-8am) however last night she only woke once! she is 15mths old. My DS would come into our bed 2-3 times a week until he was about 4yo now we rarely see him before 6:30am. There is hope! Hang in there and remember 1 yo is such a tiny mark on a lifespan of 80+ yrs, they are still so tiny and learning so much including how to sleep. 3 yrs from now you won't remember how tired you were but you will remember those quite late night snuggles that are so precious

[Boo Boo]

yep, once or twice a night here and Rylee is 21 months - wakes about 2 am and comes into bed with us. I was talking to a psychologist a while ago and she said up to 4 years of disruptive sleeping was reasonable to expect for a child......mmmmmm. The last time Rylee slept through was the night before my birthday (21 Jan) couldn't tell you the time before that. I get fed up of trying to figure out what the problem is and now just put a smile on my face and go with the flow. For a long time it really stressed me out so I think it became a viscious (sp?) circle for us - me stressed = baby stressed. After hearing about what some teenagers get up to these days, I think this time of Rylee's life will be the easiest for me

Laurin x

[misty]

Well, DD has always been a good night sleeper - rarely had to get up in the night for her.
DS on the otherhand, was brilliant as a NB. He would go down at 8pm and wake at 6am for a Feed and then at 8am to get up. Now however at 8mths, I have to get up at least 2 or 3 times after 12pm (sometimes once or twice before 12pm) and will wake up at 6 and refuse to go back down! I am in a perpetual state of sleep exhaustion. I have no idea what he will be like at 12 mths, but I am keeping my expectations low.