help my toddler boy wakes up every 2 hrs at night and cries

mommyima

Mon, Nov 21 2011, 11:17 am

hi, I do not know what happened or what to do anymore.. my almost 2 year old son wakes up every two hours during the night and cries for me to either take him to my bed or stay in his room. last night he cried the whole night... I am feeling I going backwards. As an infant he never slept over night until he turned one even then he would wake up 5AM on the dot every morning! any advise how to get him to sleep through the night?? thank you Rolling Eyes

5*Mom

Mon, Nov 21 2011, 3:25 pm

How long has this been going on? Can he be sick? Had vaccines recently? Constipated?

ima m

Mon, Nov 21 2011, 3:51 pm

go in the room, lye him back down and tell him it is still night time, then as hard as it might be go out the room and ignore him, it might take a few nights before its effective

melbee

Mon, Nov 21 2011, 5:54 pm

I don't know if this will help, but my 2 year old also started recently waking up every few hours screaming. I put it together and figured out his wake up times directly corresponded to when our apartment's radiator's turned on. I turned off the one in his room, and now he's sleeping again. Could there be any environmental changes that might be waking him up?

Also, I recently heard that 2 is when kids start dreaming, which can be disorienting and scary. Hope he starts sleeping better soon!!

5*Mom

Tue, Nov 22 2011, 3:16 am

ima m wrote:

go in the room, lye him back down and tell him it is still night time, then as hard as it might be go out the room and ignore him, it might take a few nights before its effective

You would do this without ascertaining if there is any specific reason why he is waking up?

Ariellush

Tue, Nov 22 2011, 6:20 am

I may be wrong, but I think that it would be useful to talk to a doc to rule out any possible medical condition. When my son was a toddler, had no other indication of enlarged tonsils except the very bad sleeping pattern. He has recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea, that may be a very serious condition that involves psychological symptoms as well and is often misdiagnosed as hyperactivity or defiance disorder. Find a good oto-rhyno-laringologist - a regular pediatrician usually does not recognize this problem.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_sl.....32.bc

Frumom

Thu, Dec 08 2011, 4:02 pm

Have you ruled out:

Teething? Could be getting in 2nd year molars. Feel his gums/ask doctor. Motrin would help if that's it.

Is he too cold/hot? space heater, warmer pj's, thinner pj's etc.

Does he eat and drink enough during the day? Try a snack before bedtime and leaving a sippy cup with water in his crib.

Does he nap for too long during the day? Does he need more sleep during the day and is waking up b/c he's overtired?

Nightmares? Try saying shema with him a few times...that has worked wonders with my 6 year old, who knows.

I would NOT do the cry it out thing. Something is probably bothering him!

ra_mom

Thu, Dec 08 2011, 4:18 pm

Is this a brand new thing, or an ongoing issue that has its ups and downs? I couldn't tell from your post.

My daughter woke up 6-8 times per night until she was 2 and a half. Every 1 1/2 hours.

She was diagnosed with silent reflux and started medication at age 2.5. That was the first time she started sleeping.

Please speak to your doctor about possible medical related issues.

Hug

It's really hard living life through an exhausted blur.

amother

Thu, Dec 08 2011, 5:57 pm

Posted: Today at 5:56 pm Post subject: re: help my toddler boy wakes up every 2 hrs at night and cr

maybe he gets scared at night? I would let him come to your bed and move him when he falls back asleep or lie with him and hug him for a few mins in his. I knows its hard but before you know it he will grow up, some kids need that extra time at night when they are scared of shadows or have bad dreams... I know its hard but it will pass!

I would also just make sure that if he is with a babysitter/in play group nothing wrong is going on there that he is having sad feelings about...