2.5 yo got up 14 bloody times in 1.5 hours last night!! Night waking really grinding us down.

[duchesse]

2.5 yo DD3 has not really slept through the night since she was about 5 months. Her waking has followed a variety of patterns- never predictable- from waking several times before midnight, to middle of the night persecution (like last night), to being awake and raring to go from 4:30 onwards, to waking every hour throughout the night (that was the worst).

On nights like last night she will simply wake up at say 1am, and just not go back to sleep. She tries to get into bed with us and we take her back to her own, lie her down and tell her to go back to sleep. She will then move to asking for "big hugs", and when we say no, it's the middle of the night and you need to be asleep, she starts asking for stories instead.

Last night she eventually went and shacked up with her big sister and slept from 3am (having spent 1:20am to 3am coming backwards and forwards to our room) to 7:45 when I had to wake her up for nursery. She evidently needs the sleep but doesn't seem to know how to get back to sleep once she's been through a whole sleep cycle.

Advice please. Our older 3 were all sleeping through the night by 2 yo and I've a feeling we should be somehow more proactive with this.

Dr tanya Byron rapid return, google it, works if you stick at it. She has lots of options in the night, cuddles from you, getting into bed with her sister, it's a fun game for her, she needs to know t he only option is bed, no talk, no cuddles, no in and out of rooms.n

Stairgate at the room so she can't get out. Or if you don't want to do that, just take her back in the dark with no talk, no cuddles and no negotiatioin. And certainly no disturbing a sibling.

Only one waking last night, took her back to bed, she went straight back to sleep. She's playing with our minds I tell you...

My daughter is just about to turn 3. She has been sleeping really well for the last year 7am til 7am, but in the last month has started doing a similar thing to your daughter. It is a real shock to the system when you are used to sleeping again after getting through the baby phase. I am treating it as another phase!! However this doesn't make it any easier in the middle of the night when your brain doesn't quite work properly. It makes me feel better to know there are probably lots of others out there tearing there hair out too!! Good luck. I will try the no nonsense approach tonight too!!

Find an approach that suits you and stick to it. Know our bedtime routine and stick with it, esp the ending of it, like glue. Do not deviate at all, not one last song, one last cuddle one more story. we do 2 stories while shes drinking milk, brush teeth, she gets to turn of the lamp then BED. Be really positive about how lovely bedtime is and show absolute confidence that she will stay there when leaving the room -v important imo.