Posting for traffic…
4 year old DD has usually been a great sleeper. For past year has started waking with bad dreams. This was happening maybe once a week or two, usually around 3ish. Occasionally increased if really overtired or poorly.
Last three weeks this has turned into almost every night, sometimes 2-3 times per night. Anything from 10:30 to 5 am and varies each night. They’re genuine wakes, she’s crying and upset, but she generally wants and tries to get back to sleep (and usually does fairly quickly with stories, songs etc). she seems to managing ok in school etc. so is somehow managing to get enough hours in.
However my DH and I are losing the will. Not had anything like this since she was a baby. Most nights I’m existing off 4-5 broken hours and the sleep deprivation is getting worse. I have a very full on high pressure job 4 days a week and am struggling to function at times. We’ve had to divide up or lose the plot so I hid away in the spare room last night, but it’s my go tonight and been up twice already and had no more than an hour of dozing. The disrupted sleep is also triggering off some wider insomnia in me as I lay here stressing about her being up again and then not able to switch off and sleep when I can.
We’ve tried early bedtimes, cooler clothing, kiddie meditations before bed etc. Nothing medically wrong we can find. Had a cold but that was 3 weeks ago, and fairly mild. Have general good sleep routines in place.
AIBU to think this is not sustainable? And please, anyone gone through similar or can help?!