5 year old sleep problems

[mecawa]

Usually I am good at figuring this stuff out on my own, but I am completely baffled this time around, so maybe someone else has some advice or BTDT?

DD1 is 5. She has slept through the night since she was 10 weeks. About two to three months ago, she started waking up several times at night and calling out for me. When asked what the problem was she told me she didn't like that the AC had shut off and if I could please turn it back on. I realized she liked the white noise/air gushing sound (which I do too,lol) so I bought her a Marpac sound/white noise machine. This seemed to do the trick she started sleeping soundly again.

Three weeks ago, she started waking up again and calling for me. She now has done it everyday for the past three weeks. She wakes up (like clockwork!!) at 230 am and starts calling for me. I go in there ask her what's wrong, she tells me she can't sleep and that she needs me to snuggle her. I started off by telling her no, she needs to go back to sleep and if she can't sleep to just lay there and relax. This turns into an argument, then pleas for water, a stuffed animal, I'm hot, I'm cold, etc. Last night I was so tired of all this that I just layed down with her until she fell asleep, and then I ended up falling asleep as well.

I don't want to get in the habit of waking up in the middle of the night and sleeping with her. When we ask her about it she tells us she just can't sleep, yet if we lay down with her, she falls asleep in about 10 minutes. She goes to bed at 800, I tried putting her down, at 830 and 900 and still no change. I don't want to put her down to late because she needs to be up no later than 7am to get to school. She has a lovey (stuffed giraffe) that she sleeps with every night, her white noise machine, and I just can't think of what else to try. She also just for the record does not have anything caffenated. She drinks water and milk only and has very little sugar, so I know it doesn't have anything to do with diet.

Any suggestion/advice is appreciated:)

[npace19147]

Did she start K recently, or is she about to? It might be anxiety related.

I am personally on the side of whatever gets them back to sleep the fastest so everyone gets the most sleep, so I stay until they are asleep when they wake up at night.

[hillview]

Not BTDT. Does she have a nightlight? Is there something that makes noise at that time (pipes, white noise machine shut off, furnace etc)? Can you talk to her during the day about what to do when she wakes up?

GOOD LUCK!
/hillary

[goodnightmoon]

My 4.5 year old has done this a couple of times (for days in a row). We've given her a small bedside light (about as bright as a Christmas candle light) that has an easy on/off switch. If she wakes in the middle of the night, she is allowed to turn the light on and look at a book or two until she can fall back asleep. What usually happens is that she turns the light on and falls back to sleep almost immediately without even starting a book. The light isn't bright so she sleeps fine the rest of the night and we just turn it off in the morning.

[sarahsthreads]

We had similar issues last spring. Well, we have issues with DD1 all the time, but the waking up like clockwork at a certain time happened last spring. Turned out the newspaper delivery guy changed and the new guy's car had very squeaky brakes. DD1's room has a window that faces the street, so she was hearing his car squeak down the road at 3:45 every morning and it woke her up.

She eventually got used to it, or maybe he had his brakes fixed. Either way, it doesn't happen anymore. :)

So that's not much help, but maybe it's something like a delivery truck waking her up?

Sarah :)

[tiapam]

Did you change the setting on your thermostat? Maybe it gets too hot in her room. A cool room is supposed to be best for sleeping.

[randomkid]

I started going through this with 4.5yo DD a few months ago. Like clockwork, she would wake up and want me in her room or would want to be in the bed with me. I let her stay a couple of nights, but then told her she had to stay in her room. She already had a nightlight, but was still scared. She didn't tell me she was scared, it was all the excuses like you described and wanting me to stay. I figured out that the waking up was just happening, but then she would get scared. When I asked if she was scared of something, she finally admitted that was the problem. DD has a small lamp in her room with a 15 or 25 watt bulb in it. I started leaving that on for her and she's doing great now. However, I will say that even now, she doesn't want me to leave her room when I first put her to bed. She wants me to stay then, but once she goes to sleep, she's good for the night. :sleeping:

From what you describe, your DD might just be waking up, gets scared of whatever (for us it was shadows) and can't get back to sleep.

[DietCokeLover]

I have a friend who went through this. It turned out that a street light was making a strange shadow on the wall and when she would wake up at night and see it, she would become scared. Once they figured this out, they were able to do the curtains differently to prevent the shadow from occurring. Now, if she wakes up, she's at least not getting scared and can get herself back to sleep.

Maybe look into something similar happening with your DC.

[mecawa]

Did she start K recently, or is she about to? It might be anxiety related.

I am personally on the side of whatever gets them back to sleep the fastest so everyone gets the most sleep, so I stay until they are asleep when they wake up at night.

She is about to go back to school on Tuesday. She is going to the same school she did last year so I don't think it is anxiety related, but who knows maybe she knows summers over and there is a change coming and she is just feeling that.

[mecawa]

Not BTDT. Does she have a nightlight? Is there something that makes noise at that time (pipes, white noise machine shut off, furnace etc)? Can you talk to her during the day about what to do when she wakes up?

GOOD LUCK!
/hillary

She does have a night light but it doesn't seem to help her any, maybe I need to find a different one. I've been racking my brain trying to think if there is anything she could be hearing in the house at that time and I can't think of anything. I've been over with her that if she wakes up she can just lay there or I have even told her she can look at a book but she still calls for me and if I don't respond she gets louder and more panicked, hopefully this is just a phase.

[mecawa]

My 4.5 year old has done this a couple of times (for days in a row). We've given her a small bedside light (about as bright as a Christmas candle light) that has an easy on/off switch. If she wakes in the middle of the night, she is allowed to turn the light on and look at a book or two until she can fall back asleep. What usually happens is that she turns the light on and falls back to sleep almost immediately without even starting a book. The light isn't bright so she sleeps fine the rest of the night and we just turn it off in the morning.

I think I need to find a light like this, my house is VERY dark(I'm out in the woods, sort of) and I don't think her night light is bright enough or close or enough to the bed maybe. Thanks for the info, I may try that.

[mecawa]

THanks everyone for the input. I may try the small bed side lamp that she can turn on and off herself and see if that works. I can't think of anything else that would wake her up, we don't have street lights, and we are set really far back (my driveway is almost like a street) from the road, so I don't think it would be trucks,etc. It could be shadows from her nightlight or the moonlight, etc. The room temp is set around 68 right now, so I don't think that would be too hot or cold. Thanks for the input and suggestions!!!!