Waking in the Night

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Waking in the Night

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amother

Mistyrose

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 5:51 am

My 4 year old STILL wakes in the night regularly. Sometimes more sometimes less, but nights where he sleeps through are few and far between and he can wake between 1 and 5 times a night.

Is it possible that a child, who is sometimes very tired, keeps waking just out of habit, or for attention? Or is there a problem here?

For those wondering, he usually falls asleep again with a bottle. Yes I have tried weaning him off it but he is quite a rigid child and 'needs' his bottle. Leaving several bottles by his bed is not a solution as (1) he only drinks it warm, and (2) he's often not fully awake enough to see where his bottle is.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 7:24 am

Its only a problem if its a problem for you.
Yes its a habit. But until he's weaned off the bottle you wont be able to break the habit.
You could try cutting down on the number of bottles per night. More than 1 seems like a lot.

I bet he's a youngest child too. Its more common for the youngest. My 4 yr old also wakes at night. Some kids are like that.
Good luck.

amother

Mistyrose

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 8:44 am

Well, it is a problem as I'm getting a very interrupted night and I need my sleep.

How can I put an end to this?

Iymnok

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 8:57 am

My initial thought is keep the talking to a minimum, if at all. If you need to talk repeat the same phrase or two.
"You can eat/drink/talk/play/bathe in the morning. Now is time to sleep"
"Go to sleep, I love you"
"Lay down, schluf gezunt"

Talk abou it during the day.

amother

Mistyrose

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 11:08 am

There is usually no talking besides for 'good night'. He usually asks for a bottle, I give it to him, and he goes back to sleep.

And yeah, we've spoken about it many times during the day and he promises he won't wake up, but then he does.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 11:24 am

I think your only choice is to make a big deal out of throwing away all the bottles, buy a prize instead, and in the middle of the night remind him there are no bottles in the house.
It will be very hard at first but I cant see any other way.

shabbatiscoming

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 11:29 am

I have a friend who has a child that is almost 8 and still does not skeep all the way through the night. They went to a sleep specialist about this. It sort of helped. Maybe try that route.

suzyq

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 11:44 am

My guess is it's out of habit. My 3-1/2 year old also wake up at night somewhat regularly, though luckily he goes back to sleep pretty quickly. I think in order to make any changes, though, you are going to have to wean him off the bottles. Not easy, I know Sad

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