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Oh, parents – I’m so sorry to have to break this news. After three (yes, THREE) sleep regressions, you’re not done yet. 🙁 And the 18 month sleep regression? Yeah…it’s one of the worst second only to the 8 month sleep regression.
BUT that doesn’t mean that you’re powerless in the face of the 18 month sleep regression – not at all! We’re always here for you, readers – even in the face of one of the toughest sleep regressions you’ll face.
18 Month Old Toddler Sleep Regression: What It Looks Like
Basically, you’ll know you’re facing the 18 month sleep regression when your toddler, who was sleeping just fine, thankyouverymuch, is suddenly NOT sleeping so fine. You will probably see shorter and more erratic naps, more bedtime drama, increased night waking, and/or really early-morning wake-ups.
Since lists are nice, when you’re trying to troubleshoot, you can also be on the lookout for these signs:
- Increased fussiness and crying (aka major crankiness!)
- Changes in appetite
- Extra clinginess and a need for more cuddle time
18 Month Old Toddler Sleep Regression: Why It Happens
If you remember, the 8/9/10 month sleep regression was the result of a ‘perfect storm’ of circumstances – at that age, your baby’s mobility and physical skills were just exploding, which led to disrupted sleep. Well, 18 months presents another ‘perfect storm’ – only this time, it’s a perfect storm of discipline issues! At 18 months, your toddler is no doubt learning that she can say ‘no’ to mommy and daddy (and say it LOUDLY at that) – and that defiance most definitely carries over to bedtime. While this growing independence isn’t all bad, by any means (this independent streak is also what will prompt her to learn how to put on her own shoes, and feed herself with a spoon), but it can lead to way more battles of will over things like bedtime and nap time.
And here’s what’s SUPER tricky about this: these two elements (your toddler’s newfound sleeplessness and your toddler’s newfound stubbornness and defiance) can end up influencing each other. Your toddler’s willful behavior can lead him to refuse naps or to shriek stubbornly for you each time he wakes at night. And of course, the lack of sleep caused by this regression can make your little one cranky, which leads to more tantrums and temper fits. It can turn into a vicious cycle of overtiredness and tantrums.
No wonder so many of our clients with 18 month olds report feeling like they’re nearing their breaking point!
Of course, the 18 month regression isn’t just about behavior issues – there are other factors in play here, too:
- Teething could be to blame. Around 18 months, children are cutting the 4 canine teeth as well as their first molars. This can cause discomfort that leads to disrupted sleep.
- Separation anxiety is still an issue for toddlers at 18 months. Most babies begin experiencing separation anxiety around 7 or 8 months, and for most babies, the anxiety is strongest from 10-18 months. This can lead to disrupted sleep as well — your baby may resist naps because he doesn’t want to be away from you, or he may wake at night and become upset that you’re not in the room with him.
18 Month Old Toddler Sleep Regression: 10 Survival Techniques
We first shared our 7 tips for 18 month sleep regression survival over on hintmama.com – check out the full list there!
For a quick, at-a-glance list of 10 tricks you can use to survive the 18 month regression – keep reading!
- Try a sticker chart to increase bedtime and nap time cooperation. Stickers hold great weight with most toddlers, so try using them as an incentive to help your toddler cooperate at bedtime and at nap time.
- Strengthen your bedtime routine, and give it a definitive end. Good bedtime routines are fairly short and VERY consistent. They also have a definite end – you might end with the same short song, or the same good night phrase. This is a strong signal to your toddler that it’s time for sleep.
- Try a lovey. If you haven’t given your toddler a comfort object, or a lovey, yet, this is a great time to start. If your 18 month old has something to keep in bed that feels cozy and comforting, it can minimize how often he calls for you at night or at nap time.
- Be prepared to offer extra naps (if she skips her usual ones) or an earlier bedtime. Part of the 18 month sleep regression involves fighting sleep (because what self-respecting toddler wants to sleep when she can play? ;)), so be ready to help your toddler compensate for missed sleep, in an effort to avoid overtiredness. (Just be sure that all naps are over by 6 p.m.).
- Offer a bedtime snack. Sometimes, a legitimate growth spurt can overlap with the 18 month sleep regression, so offering a high-protein bedtime snack can help to ward off middle-of-the-night hunger. Just make sure to brush teeth after snack time, and before bed!
- Offer a nightlight. By 18 months, your toddler may start having nighttime fears, so a very soft nightlight can provide a little reassurance.
- Offer simple explanations. Your toddler obviously isn’t at the age yet where you can hold real conversations, but it can be helpful to give your toddler reasons for WHY he needs to go to bed and get enough sleep. Keep your explanations simple, of course, and avoid over-explaining yourself (remember, your toddler is the king/queen of “but why?”) – but some simple explanations can help defuse sleep time drama.
- Don’t undo all your hard work. That is to say, if you’ve worked on sleep training, don’t go back to old sleep associations! Instead, comfort your toddler by doing mini-versions of whatever they find comforting. For instance, maybe hold your toddler when he wakes fussing, but hold him for a few minutes, instead of holding him all the way to sleep. Or lie down with him in his room, but be sure to leave before he falls asleep. This will provide comforting without creating new, bad sleep habits.
- Create firm ‘will’ and ‘will not’ boundaries, and then reinforce them for your toddler. For example, if your toddler isn’t allowed to sleep in your bed, then be sure to reinforce that even in the midst of the 18 month sleep regression. If you’ve decided for yourself that when your toddler cries for you at night, you’re going to wait 5 minutes before going into her room, then stay consistent with that.
- Be prepared to re-train, if necessary. Even small things, like a short cold, can throw off your child’s normally-great sleeping patterns. So it’s no wonder that a big sleep regression can do big damage! Don’t worry, though – you can get back on track. Give the regression a few weeks to sort itself out; at that point, if your toddler is still struggling with sleep, do some sleep training to get things back on track (trust me, it will most likely be a lot easier this time than it was the first time around!).
For more details on handling the 18 month sleep regression, check out our special VIP members-only resources in our Member’s Area:
- Top 4 Toddler Sleep Questions Answered
- 17 Month-Old Case Study – Transitioning from CoSleeping
- Sleep Regressions Tele-seminar
- The 5-Step System To Better Toddler Sleep e-Book
18 Month Sleep Regression Help That’s Guaranteed To Work
Toddler sleep problems are definitely solvable – but they can be TOUGH to solve on your own. So why not connect with one of our caring, compassionate sleep consultants, and get expert answers to your nap questions today?
Browse our list of consultation package options here.
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How have you dealt with the 18 month sleep regression? Any tried-and-true survival techniques that we didn’t mention here? Share with us – we love hearing from you!
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Flannery J Salkeld says
I’m confused about the tips. What is my 18 month old supposed to do with a sticker? How will she associate a sticker chart with falling asleep? “But why?” happens WAY later than 18 months! Some of this article is good but the list of tips are for an older toddler or preschooler!
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Flannery J Salkeld, thank you for writing to us! I am sorry you didn’t find all the tips helpful, but I do hope some of the article gave you help for the regression you are experiencing with your toddler. It is very true that many 18 month old’s may not care about stickers yet, but we do like to include it as a tip as some toddlers may be motivated at it by this age. My older son is 3 and is just now getting into sticker charts, but I could see his younger brother (who is only 1) getting into it sooner just because he wants to be like his big bro. 🙂 I hope things get better for you soon, and thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep!
Nicola says
My daughter is 20 months and over the past 3-4 weeks has become a really bad nighttime sleeper. She has a short bedtime routine, 5-10 minute bath, story then goes in her cot and falls asleep fine at 8pm. She started waking at 5am and it’s gradually got earlier, as early as 1.30am sometimes, she screams and cries until we take her downstairs as we don’t want her coming back into our bed. She usually has a bottle then will fall back asleep after an hour but lately she’s refusing a bottle and will be wide awake for up to 4 hours! She has a 2 hour nap after dinner, between 12 and 1pm. She also has a comfort blanket that she always sleeps with. Keeping her door ajar with the bathroom light on so it’s not too dark makes no difference. What can I do?
Janelle Reid says
@Nicola, Thank you for writing to us. I am sorry to hear you are struggling with your daughter’s sleep recently. The key with regressions is to remain as consistent as possible and set limits to prevent any bad habits from lingering beyond the regression. Here is an article that you may find helpful: https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddlers/limit-setting-toddler
If her sleep doesn’t smooth back out in the next few weeks, I would recommend that you consider our e-Book, The 5 Step System to Better Toddler Sleep. It is written specifically to help parents of toddlers with sleep issues. You can find and order the book directly online here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/5-step-system-toddler?utm_source=crs&utm_medium=desk
I hope things get better for you soon! Thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource!
Hannah says
Can this regression happen at 16 months? It took me forever to get my daughter STTN and now it’s gone to crap at 16.5m and I am sick with exhaustion and terrified this will go on forever.
She will be EXHAUSTED and the second she’s in the cribs she’s shrieking and standing at the crib. She managed to climb out once so we have put a mattress on the floor but she hasn’t again. The only thing that works is getting her to sleep with us in our bed then transferring her and then she wakes again 4 hours later. Naps are a non-starter since today.
Emily DeJeu says
@ Hannah – it certainly can – while it happens for most around 17-18 months, there’s very possibility your daughter could be going through it now. Have you sleep coached before? Has she usually been able to fall asleep on her own, without help?
Adam says
My little guy was able to climb out of his crib at its lowest setting by 16 months. We had no choice but to remove the front pannel and turn it into a toddler bed. With the help of a pool noodle under the sheet as a bumper he did great. Night time routine as always and I made it a point for him to climb into bed and lay down on his own. I’d then cover him up and turn the light off and could leave most times but if not right away, I’d sit in the rocker and he would lay quietly until he fell asleep. However he is now in full swing of the 18month sleep regression and without the confines of a crib to assist us, we are losing this battle. He fights going to bed but once asleep, will wake up around 12-1 and is inconsolable unless he is taken out of his room, which unfortunately has then led to coming into our bed. Even then he tosses and turns. Any extra tips on dealing with a roaming toddler?
Emily DeJeu says
@ Adam – so sorry to hear you’re struggling with this! This is very common w/ the 18 month regression, for kids who are sleeping in a bed and not in a crib. Your best bet is to try as best you can to leave your son is his room, and not bring him into your room when he wakes. Some parents have big success with toddler-proofing the room and then gating off the door; this way, the whole room becomes like one big bed. You can certainly go in and check on him when he wakes, and offer comfort, but you’ll want to let him stay in his room to fall back asleep. Doing this should reinforce the desired behavior (i.e. him staying in his room/bed) and eventually, when the regression is past, he’ll hopefully go right back to sleeping peacefully in his bed without issue.
Best of luck to you, Adam! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Kat says
I assume this is what my little boy is going through. Used to be a good sleeper but the last month (around 17 months) he started waking up earlier and earlier. … regardless of what time we put him to bed. He currently goes to bed around 6:30/7 and wakes at 11:30, 2:30, and 4:30 screaming bloody murder. And then up at 5:30 for the day. He’s definitely still tired at 530 bc he’s asking for a nap by 7am…. usually only takes one nap now around 10am to 1pm. Not sure what to do. We treat anything before the sun is up like a night waking and either don’t go in his room or go in briefly to soothe and lay him back down. But at 5:30 he simply will scream for 2 hrs if I let him (which I don’t).
Anything else I can do? This is way too early for me. Especially with working full time and being up most of the night with his 6 month old sister.
Emily DeJeu says
@ Kat – that is totally possible, given his age. 18 months is just a rough “zone” of time – this regression can set in at 17 months, or at 19 months, too.
The usual advice we give is to stick to normal as much as possible – try not to get him up of the day until a more reasonable hour. And for the night waking, try to offer comfort without resorting to putting your 18 month old to sleep, or forming any new sleep habits you’ll have to undo later.
Hope this helps, Kat! Feel free to contact us again if you have more questions. And thanks for commenting! 🙂
Rachel says
Google found you, not a moment too soon . I have 19month old twin girls (but ~18 month adjusted). This explanation has at least given me hope that this too shall pass! Any tips for twins? Separate cribs, same room. They don’t *usually* wake each other up, but one will start moving around if/when the other wakes and cries loudly.
Kate says
Thanks for the links, Emily. If only that little boy could talk and tell me what’s going on!
We got past they crying (again! yay!), but he’s dropped 1-2 hours of sleep per day almost overnight. I couldn’t believe that he was still napping twice daily, but when we try just one nap, he seems exhausted after a few days of it. I guess it’s just transitional?
In any case, thanks for your support. I’ve loved your site for about 20 of his 22 month life and I’m sure I’ll keep using it for years!
Kate says
My kiddo and I have worked sooo hard on sleep and it seems we may have to do it again. He’s made every nap transition late and at almost 22 months old he still naps twice per day…well, he did until last Friday! He had occasionally skipped naps for a while, but suddenly (after seeing scary Halloween costumes?) EVERY sleepy time has been a drama session. He can’t seem to fall asleep now unless I’m in the room with him.
So my question, Emily, is: is it possible for the 18 month regression to come nearly four months late?
Emily DeJeu says
@ Kate – certainly possible, or may be the 2 year regression a bit early (crazy, right? No one said toddler sleep would be easy! 😉 I would also point out that 2 naps per day at 22 months is probably too much nap time – most kiddos transition to one big afternoon nap at 18 months. So you could be looking at the kind of sleep disruption that precedes a nap transition.
For help, you can read these articles:
2 year sleep regression
How To Manage Nap Transitions
Hope these resources help, Kate! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Andrea says
So I think we have survived our 6 week long regression. We went from the perfect napper, two naps totaling 2.5 hrs sleep to basically a no napper. It’s three weeks since the nightmarish six weeks and he is napping again. However, he only naps 1.5 hrs now and wakes up cranky. I’ve tried leaving him in his crib for 15-30 min to see if he’ll go back to sleep, but he never does. Almost 99.9% of the time he will poop and then the nap is over for sure. During the regression, his bed time moved from 7:15-7:45 to 6:45-7-15 to make up for lost sleep. He is currently sleeping from 7:00pm to 6:4-7:00 am. I almost feel as though we have at least an hour of misplaced sleep. I’m not sure if I should move his bedtime back to 7:30-7:45. When I’ve tried, he wakes earlier in the morning so I’m very unsure what to do. Bottom line, I feel like we’re missing some sleep and his afternoons are cranky, but over the past 3 weeks, he will not nap more than 1.5 hrs. Occasionally he will nap almost two hours, but this is rare. He’s 20 mos old. My understanding is his nap should be 2-3 hrs and his nights around 11.25 hrs. Currently we are closer to 12 hrs a night and so it would seem I may need to adjust his bedtime, but my fear is him not adjusting well and losing sleep at night as well and ending up in a cycle of being overtired.
Emily DeJeu says
@ Andrea – woohoo – you made it!!! So glad you survived 🙂 Thanks so much for checking in and sharing this comment with us – will provide tons of comfort to moms who are going through the 18 month regression right now!!
Nancy says
We are right in the middle of the 18 month sleep regression and I wish I had a magic trick that would make it all better. My little girl has been the sweetest and best baby anyone could ever ask for except for when it comes to sleep. Right from day 1 she has been fighting sleep and we have been through several ups and a lot of downs.
Back in July I finally got a personalized sleep plan and we were making progress. She was starting to sleep through the night, giving us a full 12 hours for a few days then would wake up a night but when she did wake up she was easy to get back down until about 2 weeks ago when she started fighting naps, bedtime and waking up several times through the night.
We have been trying every trick in the book to help us get through this. She has rejected a snuggle buddy in the past but we decided to try again and this time she is taking an attachment and it’s been helping. Also giving her some crackers and peanut butter right before bed seems to be helping too.
All I can say is this tired Mama that has to be up at 5:30am to do an hour drive into work everyday can not wait for this to pass!
Emily DeJeu says
@ Nancy – Oh, I’m so sorry to hear this! The 18 month regression is just the worth. I know this doesn’t make it all better, but once you’re past this one, there’s just a hiccup around 2 years old, and then it’s over. You’re so close!
Have you thought about picking up an Existing Client package? You can view them by clicking here (scroll all the way to the bottom). They’re discounted, and they’re specifically designed to help you navigate setbacks like this. You can use the same consultant as before, so you can just jump right in to where you left off, which is nice 🙂
Hope that helps, Nancy! Best of luck to you and to your family. Hang in there! 🙂