wide awake at 3,4,5 am

pinkbubbles

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 8:54 am

DS has suddenly started waking up at some random hour and staying wide awake for 1-2 hours before being able to settle down and go back to sleep.
Nothing has changed in our lives majorly before this started (we moved into a new place over a month ago, and hes adjusted just fine until now. I don't think its the move though.) and hes on a really good schedule and we have a bedtime routine that starts with dinner at around 5:30 every night.
When he wakes up, I cannot get him to go back to sleep for 1 or 2 hours. Its like having a newborn! Hes just simply wide awake and cannot settle himself to sleep, or be settled by me to sleep. It doesn't happen every night but its often enough to drive me mad! I would be falling on my face with tiredness if I didn't go to sleep early every night!

His sleep schedule is normally: wake at 6:15/30 amam, nap at 1 pm for 1.5 hours or max 2 if hes had a night like the one I just described and bed time is 7 pm.

HELP!

fiddle

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 9:01 am

too hot? not eating enough before bed?

if none of the above - hell grow out of it, but for the meantime get him books and some soft music that he can turn on by himself and hell fall back asleep on his own.

assuming he is 2+, how old is he btw?

pinkbubbles

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 9:16 am

His room temp is great usually, and he hates pillows/blankets so I dress him for bed accordingly and put socks or footed pjs on if necessary.
Hes not hungry and doesn't want a drink eitheir. Hes only hungry at 7 am or later.
I'd let him play music on his baby monitor but theres a cord attached to it that I'm afraid he'd play with. Hes not crazy about music anyways, but I can put it on for him, it times out after 15 minutes or so.

He'll be 2 in about a month.

Mama Bear

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 9:22 am

My toddler does it from time to time to. I just put in a small battery operated toy (like a toy phone), give him a bottle and turn on soft music, and just go back to sleep myself... at some point I hear that he's asleep...

pinkbubbles

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 9:27 am

hes not on bottles for a while anymore. I will try the music and see if its good. I can always turn it back on by remote from my bed.
I dont know how long it usually takes him, but what normally happens is he comes to my room and taps on the door while crying (hes in a toddler bed so can move about freely) and I go back in and it takes a 2-3 minutes to settle him back down, then hes sleeping and I creep back to my bed. but now he won't settle back to sleep at all, just stares at me quietly while lying down LOL but if I leave he doesn't know what to do! I think I'll put the night light on brighter (its adjustable) and leave him with some books and the music. I hope it works..

fiddle what tape? and what kind of tape player do you use? I was thinking of getting him the kids fisher price one with the mike that I used to play with growing up but I can't find it anywhere. I want one that he can abuse!

fiddle

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 9:32 am

pinkbubbles wrote:

fiddle what tape? and what kind of tape player do you use? I was thinking of getting him the kids fisher price one with the mike that I used to play with growing up but I can't find it anywhere. I want one that he can abuse!

I put him on whatever tapes he wants, he likes torah island and country yossi. and I do it for him - hes still in a crib (thank god) I have a regular tape recorder. he knows how to use it - they turn tapes on for themselves in the morning.

yah and that tape recorders vintage - I wanted one also Smile

if none work and im too exhausted to sit with him I stick him in my bed. but last night I fell asleep in the bed in his room - I passed out I didnt even realize he or I had fallen asleep till 730 Smile

my back is killing, so never again Smile

jewels

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 9:33 am

I'm so sorry I have no tips or advice for you other than it's a stage that'll pass. I had the exact same thing with my daughter when she was 2. We tried everything but nothing seemed to work. In fact I have a picture of her of one night when we found her in her room coloring. It was 4am and she had somehow managed to climb out of her crib and very happily went to play. Amazing that she didn't wake us up! Also a bit scary but anyway.. It was a while ago but I know it was definitely a few months of that and then she just stopped it without any changes to any part of her routine.

Gerbera

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 9:34 am

I don't have any solution as I have had the same problem with my son the past few months. He is 13 months old and for the past 4-5 months he has been waking up also in the middle of the night for 1-2 hours. It has started to get a bit later - it is now 4:45am (used to be 2 or 3 am)but he wakes the whole house up as he is so loud. I have white noise machines in each room to try and drown him out! He doesn't cry or scream but he is playfully shrieking and yelling. I try going in and giving him a bottle hoping he'll fall back asleep -sometimes it works and sometimes not...I understand your exhaustion...I have a 6 week old baby too so I barely get any sleep! I would put some toys in his crib hoping he'll play and fall back asleep. My son has the Fisher Price aquarium which he will put on himself and he has some toys that he'll play with - if it weren't for the noise he creates I wouldn't care so much. Does your son stay up from then until his 1pm nap?? Are you staying up with him or leaving him? I would peak in and make sure he is ok and then go back to sleep if you can and let him fall asleep on his own...I used to do that - peak in and then go sleep in the basement where it was quiet but now with the baby I can't...I wouldn't stay up with him!

Gerbera

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 9:37 am

oops - sorry was replying and missed your response that he is in a bed and can come out...would you put a gate on the door at night so he can't go roaming...I think I'll have to do that once he is out of his crib. My daughter hasn't figured out how to open her door yet so she just sits in bed till I come get her in the morning (she's 2).

smoms

Wed, Aug 18 2010, 3:56 pm

having a similar situation with my five yr old. Don't know if it's so relevant to you, maybe your toddler has just outgrown his need for a nap.
but I discussed the matter with my ped, who upon examining my dd, said her tonsils are enlarged, hence her adenoids are enlarhed as well. (dont remember exact terminology). Prescribed a nightly nose spray. It worked like magic. After a month on the spray, I phased it out. Three weeks later, dd started waking again at night. Got another prescription. This tome pharmacy gave me a different brand. With this one, I haven't seen major improvement instead of waking every night, she sleeps through two nights a week. Dh thinks it's in my daughters head..

Mama Bear

Thu, Aug 19 2010, 6:48 am

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! my 2 yr old decided to get up for the day at.... 2:30 a.m.!!!!!!!!! Until 6 I left him in the crib with bottles and toys and a tape and let him out at 6 a.m. I went to bed at 1 a.m., you do the math!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhh!!!!!!

Nomad

Fri, Aug 20 2010, 10:13 am

omg - I had this same thing when my ds was 2 and a half. we were exhausted and could not figure out why he kept waking up and wouldnt go back to sleep!

we did a couple of things but I dont knw if they actually worked or he just grew out of it with the passing of time.

#1) I went to party city and bought lots of tchachkes. each night before he went to bed we gave him a speech about how he has to stay in bed and if he wakes up, he needs to stay in bed with his eyes closed. if he does this - he gets a prize in the morning. He ended up with a whole zoo full of little toy animals but after a couple of weeks, he stopped getting up in the middle of the night.

#2) we realized that he is afraid of a "monster" in his room. so each night, we would also yell and scream at the monster and banish him from the house.

these things seemed to help, but I think it really may have just been a (tough) phase.