About to curl up in the corner and weep

[NoWayNoHow]

DS is 3.3, and for the last week or so he has been waking up frequently during te night - last night it was 5 times!!!

I don't know what the hell is going on with him and why he's started doing this, but it's like having a newborn in the house again. DH and I are absolutely shattered, so goodness knows how DS must be feeling - he really needs his sleep as he's a massively active child.

Anyone had any experience with this? Any ideas why it's happening and what we can do to get him back to his normal routine?

Bump!

I suppose at that age it's often some sort of emotional disturbance - just as with adults, new anxiety or excitement can cause wakefulness. Could be anything really, at that age they have such an active imagination that all sorts of worries, real or imaginary, can spiral out of control. Or perhaps something new and exciting is happening during the day which is getting him all hyped up and stimulated.

My LO is well over 5 now and she recently got really anxious because she'd heard people talking about a local burglar who was breaking into peoples' houses. At night-time we had to go over all the ways in which she was safe (doors are locked, mummy and daddy are close by, policemen are watching out etc ... ) I have also been known to cast the odd magic spell on her room to protect her from vampires and monsters

Can you talk to him about what's troubling him at night? - the thing is to get him to open up so he can explain how he feels when he wakes up (afraid? excited? what about?) You may need to reassure him that you're not angry, but you do want to know why he's waking up because usually we all sleep at night-time.

Then, if you can plan a strategy with him it will be much more effective. "When you wake up, if you feel afraid you can do xyz (e.g. cuddle your teddy, come to me for a cuddle, listen to mummy and daddy breathing for a minute - whatever you're happy with) and then go back to bed and go to sleep." Or, "If you wake up feeling all excited, you can sit up, have a drink of water and then lie down and go to sleep again."

Hope this helps ...

All three of mine have been through the waking at night stage. It passed but while they were going through it - at probably around the same age as your child - I took the easiest option and brought them into bed with me.

I worked on the basis that something was troubling them and that they didn't have the verbal skills to tell me what. And it didn't really matter what it was - they just needed to be close to me.