Is it a Toddler Sleep Regression?
Your perfect sleeper is gone; overnight, they were replaced with a screaming, exhausted, and cranky zombie child who just won’t sleep through the night anymore. You may be wondering….
Is it a toddler sleep regression — or did they just learn a few bad habits?
Well, here’s the way to tell.
First things to check:
Were they sick in the past 2 weeks
Did you have a major life transition like the birth of a new baby, toilet learning, a new bed, a new house, a new school, or a new caregiver?
Are they ready for the next size pull-up or diaper?
Did the weather change significantly, like it’s now really hot or cold?
Has there been a time change like daylight savings or traveling?
Can you see a new tooth coming through their gums or a spot on their gums that is super red?
If you can say No to all of these things, it might be a toddler sleep regression.
Here’s the final way to tell:
Your toddler has learned something new during the daytime.
This is the final piece to the puzzle, typically, when a toddler (or child ages 15 months to 36 months) is learning something new, child development experts call that a developmental leap. When they are in toddlerhood these developmental leaps typically are:
Learning to walk
Learning to climb
Learning to talk
and many others like becoming more independent-minded, etc.
When a young child is learning these types of skills, they are rewiring large parts of their brain — so much so that they cannot sleep well. We all do this in our own ways from restless sleep due to anxiety or to being excited for a big day the next day. Imagine that feeling but over 3 to 4 days. And so they experience a sleep regression which is typically a disturbed sleep cycles. When this happens they may be unable to go through the three stages of sleep independently again.
The three stages of sleep are:
self-regulation
self-settling
self-soothing
And so they will need you. They will scream and yell, have nightmares, and want you to come to their bed or sleep in yours. It’s not pleasant. However, if you can provide a steady and consistent middle-of-the-night routine in these moments, a sleep regression will not result in a new sleep routine that includes you, lol 😬 ! I would suggest that you use the same bedtime routine when you are woken in the middle of the night as you do at the end of the day.
read the last book of the night - called the anchor book,
listen to the song or lullaby you sing,
say good night and remind them of your bedtime rules,
and/or do whatever your routine may be right before you leave them in the evening.
I find that after a week or two, they will have learned their skill enough that they can get back into their normal sleep routine, so hold on, and in the tough moments remind yourself that it won’t last!
For more sleep help check out the posts below:
