Baby + Toddler Sleep Training!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice regarding my 18-month-old’s sleep. I also have a 2-month-old baby, and since the baby arrived, my toddler’s sleep has become really difficult.

Before having the baby, my toddler was always rocked to sleep. However, once the baby arrived, he suddenly stopped liking being rocked and started falling asleep mainly in the car or pram for his naps.

At night, I’ve started lying down with him in bed, as we’ve always co-slept. I usually pat him or let him self-soothe while I’m there. The problem is that it can take at least an hour for him to fall asleep. He’ll often run around and play first before eventually settling into bed.

Naps are even more difficult. Even when he’s clearly exhausted, he won’t fall asleep in his bed with me. I usually have to take him out in the pram or drive him around in the car, and I’m finding it really difficult to keep this up — especially with a 2-month-old as well.

I’d really appreciate some advice on what to try.

• Would blackout blinds during the day make a significant difference?
• Should I stop co-sleeping and consider transitioning him to a floor bed?
• Is it too late to introduce some form of sleep training at 18 months?
• If not, what methods have worked for toddlers this age, particularly when they’ve always been co-sleepers?
• Or is this likely to be more about his routine/schedule rather than how he falls asleep?

I’m feeling quite overwhelmed and would love to hear from anyone who has been through something similar, especially with a new baby in the mix.

Thanks!!

How do I know if I’m actually in the 4 month sleep regression? My baby is 19 weeks but 14 weeks adjusted, she’s distracted during feeds now, she has a hard time settling for naps sometimes (takes 30-40mins), sometimes she wakes only 2 hours after being put to bed and then wakes up super early like 4am then every hour after, is this the regression??!

Ftm here and im really starting to struggle with nighttime now. My baby is taking forever to transfer to her bed, each waking can take anywhere from an hour to 2 hours sometimes more as she keeps waking up at every transfer (even when shes in a deep sleep).

I dread nighttime and im losing patience each time. What can I do to make the transfers easy and without wake ups. Shes a month old and this has been going on for a week now.

Hi, We have recently sleep trained our 13 month old in his own cot and room. He has never slept this well, always calm when we put him in his cot and when he wakes up, he used to scream for 30 minutes before bedtime but now is so much calmer and happier. We only had to do ferber 1st night for 15 mins and the subsequent nights were 3,2 and then no crying at all. Sleeps 11-12h every night and 1:30-2h naps with no protests at all.

I really want to cuddle him in bed more. I feel guilty that I let him sleep in his own cot but at the same time, co sleeping isnt the best option for us as me and my husband will be up so early for work and a bit daunting to think that he will cry when he wakes up because we wont be next to him. Also my husband jerks in his sleep so concerned about hitting him and he snores so loud that when his cot was still in our room it wakes him up - hence why we transitioned him to his own room. With all these benefits, I think we made the right decision.

But why do I feel like Im missing out on cuddling him? Do any mums feel the same way?

Hey I’m just looking for abit of advice, my son is 17 months and we are planning on having another baby soon, but before I fully commit to having another baby I want my son to be able to self settle for his bedtime sleep.

I want this due to the face my partner works away mon-Fri and I would have to do bed time for both kids on my own.

So right now my son settles to sleep either on the couch or in my bed, I then transfer him into his cot and he sleeps there til around 12:30am/2am, then comes into our bed

How can I train him to self settle in his cot? Open to every suggestion, what worked for you etc?