Screaming banshee (DS) at 5.30am - what's going on????? help!!

[moominsmummy]

for the last 4 mornings, DS who is 3 has woken up in a foul temper - cries but when you go to him he throws dummy, blanket, milk etc at you and slams the door - then keeps crying inconsolably

he won't tell me what's wrong and if i just ignore it and go back to bed eventually he comes in our bedroom and launches someother missile at us then slams our door

eventually after an hour or so we manage to distract him with scooby-doo or similar. then he will take a drink of milk and once he's had that suddenly he's lovely again

what's going on?????arghhhhhh!!!!!!

please don't tell me it's low blood sugar as he still has 2 bottles of milk a night (although Father Xmas is taking these away for the "poor babies")

[robin3]

He's 3 years old and waking twice in the night for bottles of milk? Sorry maybe I misunderstood.

[discoverlife]

Nightmares brought on by the thought of losing his night time bottles? But he doesn't know how to articulate it?

[moominsmummy]

Robin - yes that's right - I have been totally rubbish mother and never got him off them due to husband being very ill for last 2 years and i work 4 days a week - there's just never been a good time to sort it out - am pregnant now with no.2 so really need to get nightime bottles stopped for good

[robin3]

Maybe the milk is giving him nightmares...a poster on here mentioned that this happened with her 18 month old. She stopped giving a bottle before bed and the toddler started sleeping through. I guess it's a little like some peoples reaction to cheese.

You must be exhausted getting up for the past 3 years? Could you let him have a bottle by his bed instead so he has his milk and feels its not being taken away but in fact he might sleep through?

Of course the milk thing could be a complete red herring.

[mummymagic]

Is he old enough to choose a special cup for some night-time water that he can help himself to? And maybe do this before xmas?

Don't feel so bad and judged. I am pretty sure my dd will be waking still when she is 3 (although she hasn't had any milk for a few months - she still blimmin well asks for it?!!)

We are following easiest solution right now (which is go and sleep in her bed with her after I have gone to bed and she wakes). No, not ideal but I am knackered and pregnant and tbh sometimes we just need to do what's easiest... in 10 years you won't remember/care that he had milk at night, will you?

Dd also wakes around 5 pretty moany but I tend to ignore her and she goes back to sleep - hadn't thought of low blood sugar. I do let dd have a breadstick if she is awake for a while in the night? I figure, I get hungry if I wake up so why shouldn't she??

Anyway, probably not much help but hopefully some support... Sounds to me like he is grumpy because he doesn't want to be awake but I don't know how you go about dealing with that.