Sleepless Nights/Stander/Patience

So lately Carter has been waking up at night, usually at least twice if not more.  I'm not sure at this point if he is teething, or just going through a phase.  I really hope it ends soon, because I LOVE my sleep.  It is hard for me to be patient during the day, when I had such poor sleep the night before.  I know I know, sleepless nights are just a part of life as a parent, right?  I understand.  But the difference between a newborn getting up at night, and an 18 month old is totally different.  It's necessary to feed a newborn or comfort them, but Carter should be able to self soothe by now. Or something.  We are even giving him melatonin before bed, but I suppose that wears out eventually.  It's kind of a bummer, but I guess I should just be thankful for the nights he sleeps well.  He started sleeping through the night at 6 1/2 months of age, and it was wonderful.  I miss those days.  Sigh...

The dreaded stander is now a part of our home and Carter's daily routine.  He is supposed to be in it an hour a day, but only about 15 minutes at a time.  Since he seems to do so well with it, I leave him in there until he cries or sags.  He can last about an hour before he starts to get mad.  He is so sweet!  The problem I have is getting him in it all by myself.  He is like dead weight and is like a limp rag doll, so it's really hard to straighten him out, shove him in (gently) and strap him in.  So I try to do it when Chris is home so he can help me.  Also, the stander DDI lent us is really really old.  The middle strap that is supposed to support his back and bottom, is super loose.  So he ends up almost kneeling with his bum way out in the air.  Funny to look at, but not right for what we need him to do.  So we have devised different ways of getting it to work:  belts, scarves, weight machine straps, etc.  I guess our only real hope is to order a new stander through our insurance, which I hope gets here quickly.  We will probably end up using the stander for 2 years, says our therapist, so we may as well get a nice one.  Here is a pic that is kinda sad, but this is Carter in his stander and he has fallen asleep.

I seem to have trouble lately having patience, and it is probably due to not getting good sleep.  I am usually so excited to be with Carter during the day, and I love going on walks with him and stuff.  I just seem to be dragging, and having all these pity parties.  I know they accomplish nothing, but it feels good sometimes.  Here's to hoping I feel better soon!