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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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Mary jeanne C. says
Hello!
My daughter is almost 17 months old, and she was sleeping through the night until the past 2 nights. Wakes up at midnight and cries on and off until 6. Now my question is…. she is an early riser, and can’t make it to 11 or 12 without becoming over tired. during this regression should I still be enforcing her to nap in the morning? I can get her to nap, she FIGHTS it hard… usually takes 45 minutes but I can get her to sleep… and it’s usually a cat nap then she goes down around 2 for her afternoon nap then 6 for bed time( but not asleep until closer to 7)
Thank you SO MUCH.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Mary Jeanne – Thanks for writing, and I am so sorry to hear about your 17 month old’s new sleep struggles! That is a LONG time to be awake and unhappy. : (
Have you checked in with your little one’s doctor to rule out and physical reasons for this new and abrupt waking? This would be a good first step in helping unravel what is going on, or at least how to handle it from here. I sure hope it was just a couple of “off” nights and a very short regression, and that she is sleeping well again. Likely, if she already dropped her morning nap, it will be hard to add it back in. You may just want to do an earlier bedtime and earlier first nap to help combat the tiredness, but without a sleep consultant taking an in depth look at everything in her sleep history, and if things do not smooth out, please do consider getting one on one help with one of our experts!
Please contact us if you need any help!
Paulina says
Hi!!
My 17 mo sleeps through the night since he was like 10 months old but recently (the past two weeks) we’ve been strugling with the 18 MO sleep regression I think. He cries non stop when I leave the room and will only calm down if I go back in, sit by the crib and hold his hand until he’s almost sleep but not quite. Is that ok in order to survive this stage or am I creating new sleep associations ?
Before this, he would always (naps and bedtime) sleep on his own without complaining at all. I just put him in his crib, say nite nite and leave the room. Not anymore ?
I’ll appreciate your help! Thank you!!! your site has been a blessing to my family!!!
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Paulina – Thanks for writing and I am sorry that you are struggling with the 18 month old toddler sleep regression at the moment! Since you are worried about creating new sleep associations, the best thing to keep in mind is to do the minimum amount of assistance needed. Surviving this stage is imperative, but working to have him fall asleep on his own – letting go of his hand before he is asleep – would be good if you can be aware and do just that!
Hope everything goes well! Please contact us if you need any assistance!
Heather says
Some of these methods sound great for a single baby… but not so easy with twins. My twins just turned 17 months, and I think one of them is hitting the sleep regression. James is still sleeping through the night, but I’m lucky to get a few hours from David. Their schedule is too sleep 8pm-7:20am, but honestly maybe he sleeps 3-4 hours now?? He’s also very clingy/grumpy during the day. I can’t just let him cry it out all night, he’ll wake up his twin then I’ll have 2 grumps! Also, sometimes it’s affecting my 4 year olds bedtime routine because we usually play cars, then lay down and sing a song before bed.
Neosha says
@Heather – Thank you for sharing with us – you’re so right that sleep with twins can be more challenging to navigate. Believe it or not, many of the same methods work twins even if it means one method works for one and a different one for the other! Aye! Be sure to check out some of our posts dedicated to sleep with multiples while you’re on the site – here’s one you may find helpuful: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/baby-wont-sleep-crib/ Thanks again for reading and sharing!
Neta Yoffe says
We are dealing with the 18- month sleep regression with a toddler who used to fall asleep independently and sleep pretty well. Now she’s fighting bedtime and has numerous wake ups which often leads us to bring her to our bed. We’ve tried cry it out to re-train but she will cry so hard to the point of vomiting. So after several nights of cleaning up vomit, we give up and continue with bad habits just so we can all sleep well. How do I over come this?
Danielle says
Hi Neta,
Thanks for your comment – I’m so sorry to hear that the 18 month sleep regression has hit you so hard! The first thing to do with a case like this would be to doublecheck she’s healthy – any possibility of an ear infection or something else that could be making it hard for her to sleep? If she is healthy, then we would next check her schedule, to make sure it’s age appropriate: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/toddler-schedule/
If both of those things are okay, I would strongly recommend considering a consultation with a consultant, as we do work with kids who cry and vomit and can design a sleep plan to reduce crying, but still achieve sleep goals: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/
Meghan says
I’m guessing we are right in the middle of this sleep regression and I have to say, I feel so sad we are back to square one. After 11 months, 2 sleep consultants and a pediatric sleep specialist, we landed on the Ferber method which worked in 3 night and my son was sleeping 7pm-5:30am consistently up until last week. Now he is scared to fall asleep alone so I have to stay in the room until he falls asleep and he wakes up around midnight screaming and after trying everything to console him in his room, I am now forced to bring him in bed with me because I am pregnant again and physically can’t stay up all right with him. Once in bed with me, he usually sleeps the rest of the night without a problem. He only wants me and will continue to scream with my husband. We tried to go back to the sleep training tonight but he screamed so much he threw up so I rocked him to sleep. I am not sure what else to do? Do we let this take its course for a few more weeks before trying the sleep training again?
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Meghan, thank you for writing to us. I am so sorry to hear you are struggling with the 18 month regression. That is especially a lot to handle while pregnant. It sounds like you have a lot of information ready to use, so you may decide to wait a few weeks and then start over. It is a challenging balance to find to not establish any new habits that will stick beyond the regression though. Here is another peek into what may be going on inside and how to help manage: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/baby-toddler-sleep-separation-anxiety/
If you need any more help, let us know and we are here for you! I hope things pass quickly!
Shalini says
This has been very helpful but I feel so lost. My LO won’t sleep if I put her to sleep but if my husband puts her in she barely fusses yet I’m the one who’s done all the sleep training and all the work with her! She will also likely fall asleep on me but when I put her in her crib she cries and cries and if I let her it can go on for I bet an hour or even more. I don’t know what to do 🙁
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Shalini, thanks for writing to us but I am so sorry to hear you’re feeling lost. It is so hard to be your babies favorite (shhh, don’t tell dad!). I can totally relate! It may take time and require some limit setting techniques to teach her that you need her to sleep just like she does for daddy. If you haven’t yet we have a free guide available to download with toddler sleep tips. To sign up, click here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddler-sleep-tips
I hope that helps! If you need anything else please contact us directly at [email protected] and we can help point you in the direction of other resources to help. Hang in there!
Jim says
I don’t know if our little one is in the middle of a sleep regression, or if this is something more sinister, but our once happy baby who slept like a dream and made our house feel like a home has become a completely different person, and not for the best! We thought we had transitioned to one nap a day and nighttime sleeping was going well, but something snapped, literally in the span of a few days, and I feel like we have lost her. She isn’t happy anymore, she swats us away when we try to comfort, and just cries all the time, for no reason, and totally inconsolable. My wife rocks and signs to her, which is the only thing that works to get her to sleep, and I feel like we are creating new attachments that are unhealthy longer term. She feels trapped, and I feel helpless, and we are all tired and stressed out of our minds nearing a breaking point. Are 19 month sleep regressions really this bad? I feel like we lost our child, and the only thing we want is to just get her old happy self back…..
Janelle Reid says
@Jim, thank you for visiting the Baby Sleep Site for help. I am so sorry! As a mother of a particularly fussy child myself, I can only imagine how this has been wearing on you and your wife when it switched over night. It is so tough. To answer your question, all babies respond to regressions differently, so yes it is possible it could be this bad. If it doesn’t smooth out in a few weeks though, it’s possible there are some lingering issues that need to be addressed. If this is the case, let us know and our sleep consultants can take a good look at her sleep history and help figure out what needs reworked. To look at our packages to work with a consultant, please visit here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/
Hang in there! I hope this passes for you quickly!
CMG says
I could have written this… or my husband for that matter. We are trying to survive this “sleep regression” that absolutely seems to have stolen our sweet baby girl… I am at my breaking point, at week #4! I have been rocking her, but usually she goes in her crib, eventually. Not last night, so we started letting her cry. We do not know what else to do other than wait it out. I would have never imagined how bad these sleep regressions could be before I had this baby. I can only hope she returns to her sweet self soon. Mama and Deda are tired.
Grace says
Do you have any tips for us – we live in a studio apartment, so it’s an open floor plan except for the bathroom. There’s basically nowhere I can go where I’m out of sight and hearing. Is it even realistic to try to get him to go to sleep on his own? He’s 18 months and still nursing. Sometimes he falls asleep while nursing, but if not he goes to sleep in his crib with me standing/sitting right by it. His nights are ok, but he only naps for 30 minutes to an hour, then he wakes up and rarely will go back to sleep unless I nurse him to sleep. Is there anything I can do to extend his naptimes in my current circumstances of living in a very small house?
Neosha says
@Grace – Thank you for reading and for your question. We’ve successfully worked with so many families across the globe who sleep similarly – in a shared living space; an open space such as a studio; even a houseboat and a teepee, so the answer to your question is YES, there are numerous things you can do to help your little guy sleep better from using curtains, white noise and other more specific, actionable methods dependent on your circumstances. We’d definitely be better able to help you one-on-one, if you’re interested in connecting with one of our sleep consultants. She will be able to get more specific details from you and come up with a plan that will meet your needs. You can read more about our team here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/about and our services here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services
We’d welcome the chance to serve you and your family. Hang in there, Grace!
Cheryl says
I’m wondering what is keeping my 15 month old from sleeping through the night. She was and at about 11 Months she started fighting naps and it took a long time to get her back on schedule and just as she started sleeping through the night (I think two days later) she started fighting two naps again. At 14 Months she just dropped the second nap but took 3 weeks to lenthen the one nap to 1.5 hrs and sometimes 2. One week after this and I was seeing some improvement in night waking – naps got short again only 1-2 hrs and nights are awful. One day she took the two naps but even both those were shorter than one hour so the night was bad. I think night wakings were prolonged because she was ready for one nap probably around 13 Months. I tried to do two naps today as well to see how to help her not be overtired but she didn’t fall asleep until after 11 (wake at 8 am) and woke up at 12 and refused second nap and I couldn’t even get her down for bed at 6, it took until 6:30. We are dealing with multi wakings and all I do is go in and nurse her for a few minutes and put her down awake and she goes back to sleep. Could it be an early regression?
Janelle Reid says
@Cheryl, thank you for your comment, and I am sorry to hear you are struggling with your daughter’s sleep. Nap transitions can be so challenging and pair them with a sleep regression, whew! If you believe you are in the middle of a sleep regression, it should resolve itself in a few weeks time – the key is to just not establish any bad habits that will live on beyond the regression. There is a possibility your daughter has a sleep association, even though she is not nursing all the way to sleep – be it just your presence there, and when she goes through a light sleep cycle and wakes up to not have you there, she wakes all the way up and the cycle repeats itself. Here is an article that goes more in-depth: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-association/
If you think it’s not a regression and is a sleep association, you may like reading through this article series that will take you through several sleep training techniques you can use in naps or nighttime: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-training-from-no-cry-to-cry-series-part-1/
Good luck and let us know if you need anything else! Thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep!
Cheryl says
Me again – that comment from 3 mos ago wasn’t the 18 month regression because we are full on in it now (at pretty much exactly 18 mos) I was providing some extra nursing comfort for my daughter – trying check and console – but the way we got the most sleep last night was eventually leaving her to cry it out (which she mostly shrieks, but also has looked like she’s attempting to get out of the crib). I know you recommend giving a break after about an hour of no sleep, so I usually get her out for 20 min and then mini routine again, but her thing is lately she wants to “nurse, nurse nurse” and it’s hard to get her off that even though we have done the nursing part at the beginning of the routine for a long time already. I’m wondering if when I go to give her a break if I should nurse her or not. Prior to this I was dealing with night wakings with a nurse and then putting her down awake, she used to do beautifully but something has really switched. Also at bedtime we take her out of the room and read books but in the middle of the night is that wise? I’d been taking her into my bed but I’ve decided against that after a horrible night last night
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Cheryl –
I am sorry to hear that you are struggling with your daughters sleep! We understand how tough this can be, especially when you have been working on sleep for so long now. it sounds like you have a good plan in place, and keep in mind that consistency is really key, so whatever you choose to do when you are working on sleep – keep being consistent, and keep working on her falling to sleep and back to sleep on her own, no matter what you do on your mini-break!
I hope that things smooth out really soon! Please contact us and consider a consultation package if you decide you would like more help! Hang in there!
Angie Oliver says
This sounds exactly like what my almost 19 month old must be going through. He was sleeping pretty good until recently. He now wakes up 2 or three times a night. We rock him and put him back to bed. Next thing we know, he’s awake and crying again. We’ve him Tylenol thinking it’s his teeth and still have the same problem. Nothing we seem to do helps. I’m so sleep deprived it’s crazy. He takes 1 nap during the day – usually 1 1/2 – 2 hours long. Sometimes his naps goes 2 1/2 hours long. I just have trouble during the night. HELP!!!
Neosha says
@Angie – Thank you for stopping by our sleepy little village. Aye yah, this age can definitely be very tough for sleep and this regression is one of the worst! 🙁 If he was sleeping pretty good before this regression, it’s very possible that he will go back to sleeping how he was once it passes in a few weeks. The main reason he won’t is if he develops a new habit or sleep association that he’ll begin to rely on in order to get back to sleep, like being rocked to sleep or comforted to sleep. If he’s not sick or teething, the Tylenol will likely not help much. We’d suggest you try to stick with your regular routine for sleep as best you can as this is a regression that generally passes in a few weeks or so. It can be tough to do this, I know, but as long as you know there’s nothing wrong with your little guy and it’s just his brain keeping him awake as he continues to develop, I hope it’ll be easier to get through.
If you find that you need more support or if he’s already developed a sleep association that you want help teaching him how to break, please consider working one-on-one with one of our consultants who regularly helps parents through this regression with toddlers. You can read more about those options here: http://www.babysleepsite.com/services Hang in there, Angie!