Night wakings - help!

Okay, I have finally got to solve my 2 yo DD's habit of night waking. I'm 25 weeks pregnant and NEED some sleep -- not to mention the fact that I won't be able to attend to her every need once the baby gets here.

Background: We thought she was our last, and I was working full-time (and felt guilty about it) until she was about 8 mo, so I admit that I've babied her a little. She co-slept with us until she was about 2 when we stopped nursing, and since then she's been sleeping in her own toddler bed - BUT she's still waking up 3-4 x a night and she only falls back to sleep when I hold her hand or lay next to her.

She's also recently given up naps, so she falls asleep very quickly at bedtime, but is still waking up at night. She has slept through the night a few times, but that's the exception rather than the rule.

Advice? She is in a toddler bed, but I'm considering putting her back in a PNP so she can't get out of bed at night and wander the house ... which she's done.

You could get a babygate (or put one back on) her door, tell her NO GETTING UP anymore or leaving her room during the night. The gate stays up until she gets the message. I really wish we'd done that with our son.

With both of my kids, we had a higher frequency of nighttime wakings at 2 years old. Just google it and you will see you're not the only one! All over the world, 2 year old's are causing their parents sleep deprivation... and just when we thought for sure they'd be over it! LOL. I think it's developmental. They just become more aware at that age and stronger willed.

My daughter was a great sleeper as a baby, and just got over her 2 year old phase of waking just before turning 3. She will still wake up occasionally for a drink of water or because her blankets are difficult for her to adjust on her own. The usual stuff.

A few things I've read or heard from other moms:

- Sleep begets sleep. Don't let your 2 year old drop their nap. They still need them (and so do you)! Believe it or not, being slightly sleep deprived can make it more difficult for a child to sleep through the night. My children also seemed to be trying to drop their naps many times... usually during a growing spurt when they were more active or had growing pains. I refused to let that happen. Just hang tight and keep laying them down for a nap. Even if they don't fall asleep all the time (or ever), the rest & quiet time is good for them. My 5 1/2 year old still falls asleep at nap time every 4 days or so. He has graduated to a quiet time with a stack of books in my bedroom for an hour. If I didn't give him the opportunity to possibly fall asleep (if he needs it) he would be super cranky and irritable.

- Make the night time visits short and punctual. If it's a sip of water they want, give the sip and get out. Don't talk too much, don't turn on the lights, don't stimulate them by rubbbing their backs, playing with their hair or lying down with them to help them sleep. They become dependent on those things and will start to use YOU as their method for slipping off to sleep again. It's better for them to rely on a beloved teddy bear or blankie to soothe themselves to sleep. That way someday they will wake and return to sleep without a visit from you at all.

- Let them cry it out. When you've literally done everything for them (potty, drink, pull up the covers, whatever), let them cry it out a bit and learn to soothe themselves to sleep. Visit them frequently when they are upset, but don't give in. Just kiss them, cover them back up and tell them you love them. Don't give in and let them sleep in your bed unless you want that to be something they expect and eventually wake for every night.

Anyways, sorry so wordy!!! Those are just a few things that have helped me tremendously! :thumbup: Also, this book was a life saver:Sleeping Through the Night by Jodi Mindell. Awesome book, I highly suggest it.

Anyways, sorry so wordy!!! Those are just a few things that have helped me tremendously! Also, this book was a life saver:Sleeping Through the Night by Jodi Mindell. Awesome book, I highly suggest it.

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Just got this at the library. Thanks for your input!!!

Has she had a history of ear infections? Ben woke 3-4 times a night almost every night until he got tubes just before he turned 4. Within a week of getting them, he was down to waking once a night. We hadn't realized how much ear pressure (and probably pain) he was experiencing even when he didn't have an ear infection. Until we saw what a difference the tubes made, we figured it was all due to his sleep habits, never even considering a medical explanation.

Good luck! I know how frustrating it is. He woke throughout my pregnancy with Lauren and all during her first year. Thank goodness she was a good sleeper, because as it was I felt like I was losing my mind from the sleep deprivation.

I don't have any advice for you, but wanted to let you know that I feel your pain!

DD has always been a terrible sleeper. I've tried everything with her, and she still wakes up at night at 2.5yo. She no longer cries when she wakes up at night, but talks to herself for at least an hour before going back to sleep. I thought things were getting better, but I think I was just sleeping through her wakings. She is a good napper and will nap for 2 hours at a time, but usually doesn't sleep for more than 6-7 hours in a row without waking. She is still in a crib with a tent on it for the same reasons that you mentioned as I'm sure she would love wandering the house or coming in to fuss at me to get up with her in the middle of the night.

I'm at a loss as to what else I can do, so I've just given up at this point and hope she grows out of it. I guess I hope that when she goes to junior preschool in the fall (if she ever shows any interest in PT!) that the extra stimulation and interaction will help her to develop better sleep habits and sleep through the night.

I'm a huge fan of the Baby Whisperer. We did everything wrong when my 2.5 yo was a baby and sometimes I wonder if we ruined him for good. No, he's actually doing really well now. Naps are soooo important for him! We had three off-naps in a row this weekend, and these last two days we've been suffering because of it. It's taken him a LONG time to fall asleep, even though he's falling apart, but when he eventually does he gets his good 2.5+ hour nap. Also, because he's so smart we have to be 100% consistent. Giving in just once sets us back big time.

The Baby Whisperer really helped me understand the stages of awake and asleep a lot. Being overtired actually makes it harder to fall asleep (which is really apparent in infants) and you are also more prone to waking up during the night. DD, who is 8 months, has been a lot easier to teach how to sleep. We started setting her up with a routine right away (mind you, it isn't a schedule, which was one of my mistakes when we first started BW with DS) and the whole sleep thing has been way easier with her.

Oh, and we put one of those child-proof doorknobs on DS's door because wondering was a problem. We taught him to knock when he needs us, and he does. We try to respond right away because we don't want him to feel trapped and we just put it on for his safety.

Thanks for all of the advice! We've made some changes, and things are moving in the right direction. We put her back in a Pack and Play, and that seems to help a lot -- she's napping about every other day now, and only waking 1x a night. (We'd moved her out of her crib very early on because it had been recalled and an immediate fix was not available, and since we thought she was our last baby, we didn't want to buy a new one.) Hopefully the PNP stage will only be a temporary solution, because we'll need it for the new baby in a couple of months!

So glad to hear things are getting better!!!