Help - my toddler wakes up at 3.30am for the day!

aquariangrrl

Our little one used to be an excellent sleeper (from about 7.30pm-7am) but ever since we switched him to a proper toddler bed he has been waking up at the ungodly hour of 3am and he is up for the day. Me and OH are getting serious sleep deprivation which is making us feel ill and depressed. We don't know what to do as nothing seems to settle him again.

Does anyone have any advice please? We will literally try anything. Not sure how much longer we can cope with this as we are both so so tired

penguin83

Is his room dark enough? Now that the days are getting lighter earlier my 4 year old wakes up early. Blackout blinds to keep the room dark have helped loads. The other thing we found was keeping the windows shut as the dawn chorus seemed to wake him as well - hes a very light sleeper!

You have my sympathy for lack of sleep though - my 6 year old has never slept through the night yet but luckily she is now much easier to settle! x xx

Minxy_Bella

Could you try one of these, or something similar?



It might help your little one understand that silly o'clock in the morning is NOT getting up time!?

Mine always had a couple of toys at the end of their beds so they could amuse themselves for a little while. It didn't always work, but it's worth a try.

Hope things improve for you soon.

xxx

aquariangrrl

penguin83 wrote: »

Is his room dark enough? Now that the days are getting lighter earlier my 4 year old wakes up early. Blackout blinds to keep the room dark have helped loads. The other thing we found was keeping the windows shut as the dawn chorus seemed to wake him as well - hes a very light sleeper!

You have my sympathy for lack of sleep though - my 6 year old has never slept through the night yet but luckily she is now much easier to settle! x xx

Yes, he does have blackout blinds although the room is never really pitch black. We have double glazing too so I don't think he hears the morning chorus. I really am at my wits end :embarasse

tori.k

are they still having an afternoon nap? maybe cutting that down or out might help

carlamagee

what does he do when he wakes up!?? do you or OH go in to check on him?
you didnt mention what age he was?

My 18month old went through a wee stage a few months ago that she used to wake up at 3am and it seemed as though she was ready for the day. I checked she didnt have a dirty bum, give her a couple sips of water (nothing else!!) and told her that it was still nighttime and she had more sleeping to do and mummy or daddy would come in to get her in the morning.
The first few nights, she cried and cried, but it only took about 3 nights for her to catch on that it wasnt acceptable and she was not going to get attention from mummy or daddy, so there was no point!!
it may not work for everyone, but it worked for us! always worth a try! As long as you know that there is nothing wrong with him - no temperature etc, bum is clean, had enough to eat and drink before bedtime then there is no reason to not leave him to his own devices, as a couple other posters here has said about a toy or 2 at the end of his bed!
Good luck!! xxo

Edited to add: i also let my DD stay up an extra half hour at night (from 7pm to 7.30pm) and this could also have been a factor!

Twinkles08

My dd is 2 and a half and we too have struggled for the past 9 months.I think we put her into her toddler bed too early (she was about 22 months old).On a norm night she is up twice,but it can be up to 15 times a night!We have tried everything,putting her to bed a tad later,wearing her out during the day,no nap time,and we've tried all the techniques to sort it out,controlled crying,sitting by her bed and slowly moving towards the door,no juice only water,not stimulating her by chatting or switching the light on etc etc. I know exactly how tired you are,please talk to your doc or health visitor for advice.I completely flipped out this week (at 3.30pm in the morn!)and decided I could't take it anymore,didn't want to be here (not suicidal by the way,just wanted to hop on a bus and book myself into a hotel so I could sleep-lol!)Anyway one trip to the docs and she has given me some anti depressants,as the whole lack of sleep thing has caused me to be v low.I have a health visitor coming this wk who is going to do an intensive sleep prog (whatever that means!)although my doc has suggested dd will either grow out of it or poss need a sleep clinic.I just wanted you to know that you are not on your own and I too am awake at that ungodly hr.Hopefully for your ds it is just a stage but if you are struggling plse ask for help as I was pushed to the v edge by my dd (bless her!).x x

aquariangrrl

carlamagee wrote: »

what does he do when he wakes up!?? do you or OH go in to check on him?
you didnt mention what age he was?

My 18month old went through a wee stage a few months ago that she used to wake up at 3am and it seemed as though she was ready for the day. I checked she didnt have a dirty bum, give her a couple sips of water (nothing else!!) and told her that it was still nighttime and she had more sleeping to do and mummy or daddy would come in to get her in the morning.
The first few nights, she cried and cried, but it only took about 3 nights for her to catch on that it wasnt acceptable and she was not going to get attention from mummy or daddy, so there was no point!!
it may not work for everyone, but it worked for us! always worth a try! As long as you know that there is nothing wrong with him - no temperature etc, bum is clean, had enough to eat and drink before bedtime then there is no reason to not leave him to his own devices, as a couple other posters here has said about a toy or 2 at the end of his bed!
Good luck!! xxo

Edited to add: i also let my DD stay up an extra half hour at night (from 7pm to 7.30pm) and this could also have been a factor!

He is 2 years and 1 month old. He basically wakes up (it sounds like he is having a nightmare). He is then wide awake. Either me or my husband goes to sit in his room with him, stokes his hair etc to try and get him back to sleep. However, as soon as we go to leave his room he is awake and calling "mama, mama" or "papa". Sometimes he will go back to sleep but wake every hour calling for us. He has a very high-pitched scream and will start as soon as he realises he is not getting his way so our neighbours must hate us. There is nothing wrong with him, he is a very lively, happy little boy in the day. He tends not to have a nap in the day although occasionally he will but he is very stubborn and really fights sleep.

We used the controlled crying method on him when he was 10 months old and had not slept through and he starting sleeping through after 3 days. However, it is much more difficult now as he can get out of bed, start kicking his bedroom door, causing havok, screaming etc so not sure that is an option now. Since we live in a very close-knit block of flats, I think our neighbours would complain if we let him cry for hours on end (and honestly this is something that does worry me as I know there are a lot of impatient and not-understanding people out there).

Minxy_Bella

If he is that distressed, hun, I'd take him into bed with me so you can all get some more sleep.

It's not very fashionable, I know, but I let my kids sleep with me and the ex when they were tiny, if they needed to - I do think it can be a bit cruel not to, actually. (I'll probably get flamed for this LOL).

I've got three very happy, independent kids and I do wonder if they're so secure because they knew from birth that mummy was always there if they needed a cuddle.

Just a thought.

Twinkles08

We have had the same problem,we live in a block of flats too althou our neighbours are friendly enough.If she was in a cot we could contain her better,but as she's in a bed she just runs into our room every time.Someone suggested fitting a stair gate to her room but her bedroom is by the front door and she is a v light sleeper.

aeuerby

My son used to wake up around that time every morning for weeks.
We tried everything, ignoring him, sitting with him etc.

I went to stay with my mum for a week and he did the same thing so she put the baby gate on his room and wouldn't let me go to him.
It turned out the poor chap was hungary. His little stomach was rumbling.
I felt awful and guilty.
So the next night he had some supper (weetabix) about half an hour before bed.
He slept right through from then on.

Maybe try it? You've nothing to lose!