4.5 year old - waking in the night ALOT help!

[julezboo]

Firstly let me apologise for this post being emotional, blame the hormones (30wks pg)

My ds has been waking in the night now quite alot for a few weeks! Now I am starting to panic about how Im going to cope with another little one here also waking in the night!

Hes never been a great sleeper, but since we got him bunkbeds hes been fab, usually goes to bed between 7 and 8pm weeknights and around 9pm weekends. Only the last few weeks he will wake at around midnight, play up for an hour, then again about 3am and will play up (ie, pretending to need the toilet, shouting, dropping his comforters) this will go on till way past 4am. Im exhausted , getting snappy and irritable also. Imfinding it difficult to sleep anyway but it seems when i do finally manage ds kicks off!

This morning I told him he couldnt have his advent chocolate and tonight he will be sleeping on the bottom bunk (he loves the top bunk) But does anyone have any ideas on how we can stop this?

I am in all honesty starting to panic, if im getting cranky and snappy now, how on earth am I gonna cope getting up with a new baby! I hate being snappy with him and DP but without sleep, mixed with hormones, however much i try i cant bite my tongue, DP says he understands. Ive tried to explain to DS that Im snappy because Im tired!

A few people have made a comment on the bags under his eyes and how tired he is. Although we put him up to bed at 7-8pm he will sit playing till around 11pm - I honestly dont know how he is able to function! I would have collapsed in a heap now if it were me! (believe me Im close!) If it werent for my afternoon naps/time to myself Id have gone mad!

Can anyone suggest anything to get him to sleep through!

Hi Julez - I have DD of 3 months but a good friend has this very problem - LO's have no comprehension of time so they solved it by putting a timer on their DS's lamp and explained that he could only get up when the light came on...it worked straight away, you could try that and add an incentive if you DS stays in bed?? LIke I said I haven't tried or tested but my too had a new baby and swore it saved her sanity

A couple of suggestions that may work hopefully...

1. A pass card, our ds has a card which is his special pass, he can spend it to get up for the toilet or for one last cuddle but once it is gone that is it, he can't get up and we won't go in. If he does get up then he is taken straight back with a variety of ever increasing punishments eg: If you get up again the hall light will be turned off, Then your door will be shut and then your Monkey will need to sleep in mummy's bed for 10mins (ultimate punishment, Monkey is like a body part) When he doesn't spend his pass he gets to put it in a special box and can then spend his passes on other things (2 passes means he can watch a program he likes that ends a little after his bedtime, 3 passes and daddy will play soccer with him on the weekend, 4 passes and he can go to the museum, 5 and he gets a toy etc, etc. This has worked brilliantly.

1. Bunny clock, this is for the mornings so that we didn't get woken at 5 am which seems to be his time for waking up. He has a clock which is a rabbit, the alarm is set for 7 and the rabbits ears go from drooping to standing up right. If the ears are drooping he cant come out of his room or use a loud voice until they are up. If he breaks the rules it counts as using a pass.