cannot.take.it.any.more

OK.

So Max is 27mo. He does not co-sleep, does not nurse at bedtime or naptime, does not nurse at all during the night, takes about a 1.5-hour nap at midday. He still nurses a few times during the day, mainly for comfort.

The problem is that he is not sleeping through the night. It's not just that he wakes up; it's that he is actively doing every single thing in his power to keep himself awake. He fights falling asleep at bedtime (and to a lesser extent at naptime).

Jon says that basically it seems like Max is incapable of sleeping for more than 3-4 hours at a stretch -- at the absolute maximum. I can think of maybe four times in his 2 years that he's made it longer than that.

We have been consistently doing Ferber-style CIO with him when he wakes up. Before that we were going in and sitting next to the crib and just "shh"-ing or sitting quietly until he settled himself back down.

For a while that seemed to work, in the sense that he'd resettle reasonably quickly (less than half an hour). However, it has been getting worse and worse and worse, which is why we've gone to Ferber. That has made no difference.

Last night I was awake from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m., then up for the day at 6:30. We are FRIED.

We're starting to wonder if there is, maybe, possibly...? some kind of neuro or biochemical problem with him? I know he's still pretty young, but it seems like his sleep is getting worse with time and not better. I have gathered over the years that sometimes kids on the autism spectrum or with other neuro or developmental issues have trouble falling/staying asleep.

Other than being slightly delayed with speech (at least imo, based on what i've seen of other boys his age like Nicky/Ethan/Eli), I am not seeing anything that would make me immediately have red flags for other issues. He is going through a pretty big surge verbally, so while he's still behind (imo) he's making progress.

I am at the point where I want to ask our pediatrician about this, but I'm not sure how to approach it. I don't want to get brushed off with "he's just spoiled/let him CIO", but on the other hand I don't want to come in with an agenda about possible neuro/biochem issues either.

We are absolutely at the limits of our ability to cope. We are SO TIRED. Since he is otherwise fine/happy/developing more or less normally, we are absolutely baffled as to what may be going on (if anything).

/novel

Talk me down, laugh and point, validate my concerns -- whatever. Jon and I are just completely confused as to what to do about this, if anything.