My 18-month-old has been waking up 3-4 times a night for months. My wife and I are taking turns but I'm on duty 4 nights a week and it's turning me into a zombie. I'm snapping at people at work, I'm depressed, I have no patience for anything.
I know this is temporary but I feel like I'm losing my mind. Has anyone dealt with this level of sleep deprivation? When does it actually get better?
Switching to one long consolidated nap during the day helped us. Our 18-month-old started sleeping longer at night once we ditched the second nap. Takes a few weeks to adjust but worth trying.
18 months is brutal. That was our worst period too. We tried everything - white noise machine, blackout curtains, you name it. One night we just let him cry for 15 minutes and he suddenly slept through. Might be worth researching wake windows for that age.
Have you talked to your pediatrician about whether it could be teething or reflux? Sometimes it's not just a sleep regression thing.
This is the hardest phase honestly. The 3-4 times a night thing is insane. How long have you and your wife been rotating nights? That needs to be a longer schedule if you're doing it nightly.
You're not alone in this. I was basically hallucinating by month 4 of the multiple wake-ups. Have you considered consulting a pediatric sleep specialist?
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The taking turns method sounds good in theory but honestly it never gave us real rest because we'd still hear the other person getting up. We just sucked it up and both woke up for a few months. Not ideal but at least we were both consistently tired rather than one person being destroyed.