Sleep Help Needed

[August Mom]

DS generally goes to bed around 9:30 p.m. DS has been waking up about 3:30 a.m. pretty consistently for the last several weeks. He doesn't want to go back to sleep. He either wants to nurse or watch TV. When I take him to bed each night, he wants to go to our room, but I take him to his own room. When he wakes in the middle of the night, he usually goes to our room, but if he doesn't go to sleep, goes back to his own room where he screams but generally falls back asleep until morning. With these middle of the night wakings, he now seems more irritable and is tired during the day, so he's been napping earlier in the afternoon and for a longer time. Any suggestions on what to do to eliminate the 3:30 a.m. wake up?

[Jeanmick]

Maybe you could try getting him to bed earlier. Gradually start moving his bed time in 15 minute increments so it's not so much of a shock. Funny thing about kids, at least mine anyway, is that when they don't get enough sleep through the night, they tend to wake up earlier and of course, as a result, are more irritable throughout the day. My DD and DS are usually in bed by around 7:30 PM and wake up at 6:00-6:30AM, as long as there aren't any problems (i.e., teething, illness). I would never have thought about this unless I read the suggestions from Weissbluth's book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." It's contradictory to what one would assume (that if you put a child to bed early that he/she will wake up early), and I can't recall why, but it works for us.

Just a thought. Good luck and hope you find a solution that'll work for you. :)

[raynjen]

Dittos on the PP. This worked for our daughter as well.

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to a wonderful preschooler,
who is almost three, Noelle!

[lisams]

We are going through something similar (waking more in the night, longer nap during the day). A few nights ago DD woke up crying "snack, snack" and then an hour later saying "want spoon". So we tried giving her a bigger snack (cup of yogurt or cheese instead of crackers) between dinner and bedtime and that seemed to work. Maybe he's just getting hungry in the middle of the night?

Hope you find something that works soon, having a tired toddler during the day is not much fun!

Lisa

[nitaghei]

Agree with PPs - try an earlier bed time. If he's overtired, he'll tend to sleep less, and wake up more. If my DS's bedtime gets delayed even 20 minutes beyond the optimal window, he will wake up at least once during the night, and will be up for the day by 5.30 am. But, as long as we can get him to bed at the right time, he'll sleep until 6.30 am at least.

HTH

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD