This month in the wild adventure that is parenting, let me fill you in on why I’m running on 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night. Brutal, right? If you’ve tuned in to the morning show lately, you’ve probably heard me mention my sweet, almost two-year-old daughter, who has suddenly decided that sleep is for the weak.
Every night around 10 PM, like clockwork, she begins her new nightly routine: standing in her crib, screaming her tiny lungs out, and becoming completely inconsolable. This isn’t just a few minutes of fussing; it’s hours and hours of full-blown, blood-curdling tantrums. Her little voice gets hoarse, her eyes are bloodshot from crying, and no amount of rocking or soothing seems to help. Meanwhile, my wife and I are losing precious hours of sleep, teetering on the brink of insanity.
We’ve tried everything—warm milk, bedtime stories, socks on, socks off, night lights, sound machines. You name it, we’ve tried it. We even visited the family doctor to rule out ear infections or teething issues. Nope, nothing wrong there. The only logical conclusion we’ve reached is that we’re dealing with the dreaded “sleep regression.” A lovely phase during early development where your child’s brain refuses to shut off at night, convinced they’re missing out on some epic Paw Patrol party while they chill in bed.
This sleep regression saga has quickly become the hardest challenge we’ve faced as parents. Bedtime, once a serene, sleepy ritual, has turned into a countdown to chaos. She has traded her soft pillows, Care Bear companion, and cozy blankets for nightly meltdowns that would make a horror movie scream queen proud.
My wife and I keep joking, “It’s just a phase, it’s just a phase, it’s just a phase…” But honestly, we’re this close to crying ourselves to sleep. If you’re a fellow parent in the trenches of toddler sleep regression, I feel your pain. We’re in this together—sharing the bags under our eyes and the desperate afternoon power naps. Just remember to stay calm, try to laugh off the madness, and wait it out. In the meantime, stock up on energy drinks and keep the number of a good exorcist handy… just in case those no-sleep demons get out of hand.
Photography credit: Jeremy Padgett
