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2 1/2 year old still not sleeping through night ! Help!

11 replies

Gills0412 · 07/02/2016 19:22

Hi I have been reading posts on this subject since my little girl was born 2 and half years ago and have today decided to post my own as I am at the end of my tether. My little girl slept through the night until about 4 months old then all of a sudden the getting up every single night started. We have a bed time routine for her where we get her ready for bed , teeth brushed and she goes to bed with her milk ( think this is mistake number 1) around 7pm. She will go to bed great at night but it will start at midnight when she will wake up and be unsettled for the rest of the night and all she keeps asking for is drinks and if she doesn't get it screams the place down. I feel she is using the drink as a comfort to get her back to sleep but I give her it as I am exhausted after 2 years of no sleep and currently expecting my second so feel even more tired. There is another big problem that she wakes up and is fully awake and wants to get up at 4am every morning sometimes this has even been 2 or 3am - she doesn't get a nap in afternoon anymore which was stopped about 7 months ago due to it affecting her sleep at night and making her less tired causing her to be up - as even a 5 min nap to her is like 3 hours and would mean she won't go to bed til around 10pm at night ! We have tried making her bed time later but she doesn't last til then and is cranky and falling asleep by 6pm exhausted. We have tried everything from letting her cry to saying no to drinks and that it's not time to get up but she just cries louder. I know i need to stop the drink going to bed and during night for a start but I just was hoping for some advice on how to handle this and on the extremely early rising and if anyone has had the same thing and if they have any success stories. All advice would be greatly appreciated from a very tired mum and dad.

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RuddyHellItsSoftCell · 07/02/2016 19:26

Watching with interest. I also have a 2.5 year old with similar. He climbs into our bed in the middle of the night and sleeps there fine but I'd love him to enjoy being in his own bed all night.

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RuddyHellItsSoftCell · 07/02/2016 19:27

Wrt early rising, my dd is 4 and used to be a regular 5am er but has naturally grown out of it.

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Gills0412 · 07/02/2016 20:10

Thanks for ur reply. It's good to know not the only one with this problem. It's hell really hope she grows out of it soon. Thanks again

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Gills0412 · 07/02/2016 20:12

Yes she is the same sometimes toddles in during night but other nights screams from her bed for drinks or for someone to come in to her.

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RuddyHellItsSoftCell · 07/02/2016 21:42

Having had one that's slept better than the other one, I'm just thinking it's a personality thing and I'm just going to ride it out. But if you don't feel you can do that maybe have a look at different sleep training techniques and try to find one you feel good about using. Sorry I can't be any more helpful, I was hoping someone else might have been along to help both of us!

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CalpolOnToast · 07/02/2016 21:55

My son grew out of it a couple of months ago, he's three in six weeks.

He has water in a sippy cup in his bed with him. He has a dummy, I'm too soft to take it off him but I'm looking for some sort of twiddle toy for him to have instead.

Is she in a cot or does she have a side on her bed? My DS wriggles about a lot and will fall out without a bed guard. She might need to feel a bit more secure in her bed.

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SauvignonPlonker · 07/02/2016 22:03

Both my DC are like this! I think it's pretty normal.

With DS, we tried CC, PUPD, CIO. These only worked temporarily, until the next cold, tooth etc. Finally, age 2, we gave up & bought him into our bed. He stopped doing this at 4.5.

We didn't even bother trying anything with DD, she's nearly 3 & starts off in her own bed. When she wakes up & cries during the night, we just bring her in to bed. She'll stop when she's ready.

I think we tend to compare ourselves to those who have perfect-sleeping children. And these are the exception rather than the rule.

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Gills0412 · 09/02/2016 14:00

thanks alot for ur advice everyone, i had the worst night ever last night and came to work crying and late! she went down at 8.30 after having tea and toast and bedtime routine, she then started at 12.35am shouting for a drink, i got up and told her no she had to go back to sleep and the screams off her were so loud she woke the neighbours kids up as they then started crying!, she cried so much she was making herself sick and we were up fro work at 5.30am so i gave in and gave her a small drink, she then would not go back to sleep and was awake asking for tv and phone until 4.30am! and then she was awake again for 6am! she is away to nursery today exhausted and i have never felt as low as this in my life, i dont see an end to this it has been every night for over 2 years and I am going to take her to doctor this week as i feel i have no other option and things need to be looked at to see if there are any underlying issues, thanks again everyone :(

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Gills0412 · 09/02/2016 14:01

i even had her tested for diabetes last month due to all the drinking during the night she was doing, but that was clear,. it just seems the drinks are a comfort here and how to break this without the screaming is impossible :(

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SauvignonPlonker · 09/02/2016 14:27

Oh dear, that sounds grim, poor you.

I'm not sure if this will help, but a friend of mine very gradually diluted down the milk in her son's overnight drinks with water. It took months, but by the end he was on water only at night, which he had in a bottle.

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Oscarsmum1 · 11/04/2016 11:28

hello.
Coming to this thread late I know... hows the sleep now? I have a 5 year old and a daughter thats 2 1/2. My daughter is a nightmare sleeper. She's never slept well but I reckon she was better as a new born than she is now! She wakes at around midnight and umpteen times after that. We give her milk (which I know we shouldn't) as we are desperate for sleep but now after having the milk, she just wants to be in our bed and tantrums for hours if we don't give in. Eventually we give in but then she likes a lot of space in bed so gets cross that she can't get comfy and it starts all over again. This continued sleep deprivation is affecting every single part of our lives; we are both rubbish at work, inpatient with the kids, forgetful and so on. Im not being the mother I want to be as I just don't have any energy left.
Anyway, my rant is over but wanted to let you know, you are not alone and Im watching with interest for the miracle cure! :)

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