waking up in the middle of the night

octopus

Mon, Jul 20 2009, 3:26 pm

my 2 and 3/4 year old started waking up every night this week at like 4 am. He has a whole bunch of excuses- I need to fix his pillow. He needs this. he needs that. He wants to play with his truck downstairs.He cries very loudly that I'm scared he will wake my dd. Sometimes he ends up in my bed because I'm so tired, I just want to sleep, so I just take him out of his crib and put him in my bed. which is probably a big no-no. anyway- what should I do. Should I ignore his cries, or try to comfort him in his room- which really impedes my ability to function the next day if I don't get my zzzzzzz's- which is why he ends up in my room. please help!

gryp

Mon, Jul 20 2009, 4:47 pm

Is he scared of the dark? My 2 yr old is going through that stage where everything in the dark looks scary to him.

octopus

Mon, Jul 20 2009, 5:04 pm

he has a night light in his room. He is making this a habit- I don't want this to turn into a routine. It's been almost a week of this now. Confused

imamama

Tue, Jul 21 2009, 2:07 am

Do you have a bedtime routine? When my 2.5 yo wakes up in middle of the night, I'll fulfill any reasonable request he has (new diaper, refill sippy cup, etc.), and then do his bedtime routine again. That usually calms him down enough to get him back to sleep.

Twizzlers

Tue, Jul 21 2009, 10:58 am

maybe leave some toys in his crib that he can entertain himself when he wakes up. My 2 and 3/4 year old has a sippy cup, a few small cars and a stack of books in his crib for such eventualities....and it works pretty well.

SomebodyElse

Tue, Jul 21 2009, 11:17 am

DD is the same age and has been waking between 1 and 3 am all week and making a loud scene. Last night at bedtime, I reminded her that it's important for Mommy and Tatty to sleep at night and she should try not to bother us if she wakes up, and that she's a big girl who can fix her blankets by herself. Maybe coincidence, but we slept through the night! KAH, poo poo poo!

My advice is don't ignore him, but don't do anything to encourage him (like giving him toys or juice). Go in and try to calm him quietly and boringly and firmly. Tell him you'll come back and check on him in a few minutes, *if* he's quiet. Also, like Twizzlers says, you can leave him some supplies (toys, sippy) before bedtime, but establish a policy that you don't bring him more during the night.

Nomad

Tue, Jul 21 2009, 11:51 am

is he hungry? maybe hes having a growthspurt and wakes up hungry. can you leave a small cup of cheerios in the crib too?

Mommastuff

Tue, Jul 21 2009, 1:22 pm

I'm having this also with my 3 and 3/4 dd. She's not hungry, not thirsty (sippy cup is by her bed), she doesn't need the bathroom, can fix the blanket by herself (but says she can't), has a bedtime routine, so I don't know why she's waking up.

Last night she asked for a tissue for her nose and she ended up taking one of my pillows and put herself back to bed.

Don't know what it's all about but it's also becoming a routine. I didn't ignore her (she came to my room for the tissue) but I also didn't encourage her (I told her to go back to bed by herself so there wouldn't be a whole hug and kiss session).

I coulld also use some advice. The only thing I can think of is a night mare, but so many?