The Mission Field Home

Lately, we’ve been dealing with the chaos of sleep regression with my 15 month old and it’s been really exhausting. Between the tantrums, the screaming and crying every time I try to get him to lay down, and the constant climbing out of bed to make a run for it has drained and overwhelmed me. Every night, just when I think he’s out for the night, I get in bed, start dozing off, only to hear him crying again.

I know I’m not the only one in this season. You’re probably reading this right now and thinking to yourself, “yup, I’ve been there” or maybe even, “I feel you. I’m going through it too.” That’s exactly why I wanted to put this post together. Because we’re both up at 2am, walking back and forth with a cranky, wide awake toddler, so we might as well just walk through it together.

What is sleep regression?

If you’re reading this wondering what exactly is sleep regression, let me explain. Sleep regression in a 15-month-old is basically when your little one’s sleep all of sudden feels like it’s falling apart for absolutely no reason. One week they’re sleeping fine and the next they’re fighting naps, waking up more at night time, or needing extra snuggles. It usually happens because they’re growing, becoming more aware of everything, and are learning to be more independent. It can be exhausting, but it is normal.

So, how am I surviving sleep regression?

If I told you that I never get frustrated with the lack of sleep, I would be lying. There have been plenty of nights where I’ve just about had it and have been tempted to throw sleep training out the window, and just bring him back to my bed so we could both get some real sleep. I’ve had moments where I’m sitting next to his bed and literally had to pray, “God, please get this baby to sleep. I’m exhausted and can’t keep doing this every night”. Although hard to admit, it’s the plain truth.

But, in the middle of all the frustration, I’ve been trying to figuring out how to deal with the sleep regression without feeling drained and completely helpless. Now, before I go sharing all the tips on how to get your 15 month old to sleep (that’ll be another post), I want to share the more practical and realistic things I’m doing to get me through season. So here we go.

Prayer

As cliché as it might sound, prayer really has been the number one thing getting me through. Remember that prayer I mentioned earlier? Yeah… there have been a lot more just like that. But over time, those desperate moments of prayer have shifted into prayers for wisdom, for patience, and for the endurance to stay consistent. It’s no longer just about fixing the sleep issue but about me being disciplined with it. Prayer has honestly been what helps me stay the course when I just want to give up.

Figuring out what works

I will admit, our bedtime routine has been a little… non existent lately. I’d like to blame it on the fact that “we’re homeschoolers”, but the truth is, when my husband comes home from work, we all just want to spend as much time with him as possible. By the time we’ve eating dinner (we almost always sit together at the table) and wrestled around a bit, it’s almost 11pm. There have been days that we are in bed by 10pm but really, it just depends on the time my husband gets home.

So we’ve had the conversation, my husband and I, about an ideal bedtime routine. We tried it out and let me just say, it worked! We had everyone in bed by 9:30pm and were in bed by 10pm ourselves. That night was the most we had slept in the last few weeks. It was great! We continued to try it for about 2 days and then we fell off, mostly because of my husbands schedule. But now that we know what works, the next step is staying consistent. That means, that even if my husband comes home on the later side, I have to continue the routine. Yes, play time is always fun(ner) when Daddy’s home. But if we are in bed earlier, we can wake up earlier and have time with him in the morning.

A little soul care before and after bedtime routine

I’m not big on the topic of self care but I’ve learned that giving myself a little soul care before and after getting my toddler to sleep makes a huge difference.

My “before” soul care typically looks like this: my husband taking over the kids while I take a 20-30 minute shower and get myself ready for bed. Once I’m out, we do our family prayer, everyone heads to their rooms, and I follow my toddler to his with a diaper and bottle to get the sleep training routine started.

Once he’s asleep, I start my “after” soul care. This consists of taking 10-20 minutes to sit in silence and solitude. I pray, sometimes I journal or plan, other times I stretch and loosen up my back. Even if it’s late, taking that time to myself helps me feel more at ease and calmer before getting into bed.

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At the end of the day, although it’s been a rough season of little sleep, I’ve learned a lot and have leaned into things that keep me grounded, like prayer, patience, a little routine, and a whole lot of grace. If you’re going through sleep regression with your one year old, just know you’re not alone. These rough nights really won’t last forever, even though it feels like they will. Until then, we lean on the Lord and take it one bedtime battle at a time. We’ve got this, mama.