2 year old waking up more than ever

[judemac74]

Hi all,

Our little boy turned 2 last week. He's a secure, happy wee man who has a great temperament by day but by night he wakes up in tears and inconsolable. He sleeps an hour during the day and goes to bed at 7.30pm. He has always had a good routine and used to sleep well. He now usually wakes at 11pm, crying, screaming, wanting to come to our bed. last night he was awake from 11pm until 3am! Anyone else experience this? I've tried controlled crying, bottle of warm milk, a story, taking him into our bed etc etc all on different occasions. I know I should just stick to one of those solutions but I don't know which!

Yes! Bottle of warm milk is the one to lose I think, as is the story if it's in the middle of the night. Am suffering similar problems though, so no expert!

Hello,
I'm no expert, but wonder if it might be that he is over-tired. My 25 month-old has a nap of 2-2.5 hours and is in bed by 6.30pm at the latest. If he has a shorter nap, say under 1.5 hours, I get him to bed between 5.30 and 6pm. He wakes up between 6.30 and 7am. He does sleep more than a lot of his friends, but it may be worth bringing his bed-time forward for a few nights to see if it helps. My son sleeps less well if he goes to bed late.

His imagination is kicking in and he's likely having bad dreams. Cut down on sugar and tv. Try and stay with him during his night wakings and put him back into bed with minimal fuss. After a whole he'll settle down again but needs a bit of comfort now