Prolonged and noisly waking at night - tried everything, suggestions please!

[Ruthyn]

Our 2 and a half year old DS1 has been waking in the night for several months now. He wakes then cries/shouts/screams as though he is upset about something, then gets out of bed and bangs on our door....this has happenened several times some nights and he comes out of bed almost every night for about 3 months now. DS2 arrived about a month ago.

We have tried many things; comforting and putting him back in bed - often he comes back out. Ignoring him and sllowing him to wail until he falls asleep, then putting him back in bed (unpopular with neighbours abd DH), A star chart to envourage staying in bed - he wants the stars but it does not seem to influence his behaviour. Locking him in his room- very noisy and we feel very mean doing this, it is also very noisy, and it doesn't really seem to work.

We are alomst at the end of our wits, it is very much a habit now with him, and I think he enjoys the attention, especailly as he is feeling quite put out by the new baby being in our room still.

Any suggestions anyone? Has anyone else had enything similar?
Thanks muchly.

One of you get in bed with him until he falls asleep, perhaps.

You are right to feel mean locking him in his room because it is mean. All of his family are snug in one room and he is being locked on his own in another I'd be very noisy and upset too.

We had this with our dd at the same age. We bought one of those clocks with the rabbit faces so that she could see whether it was day or night.

I think she just didn't know whether it was day or night when she woke up, but since we've been using the clock, the shouting has miraculously stopped . I occasionally hear her waking up and talking to her rabbit clock, but then she just goes back to sleep.

We are going through this at the minute with dd 2 1/2 yo she's done this on off since she was a year old.

On Wednesday night she woke at 11.50pm and stayed awake until 5.50am, we tried lying in her bedroom but she kept opening her eyes and smiling, I got that fed up I took her downstairs and said if she wanted to be up she can stay up. She fell asleep after an hour, so I carried her back to bed and no sooner had I put her back to bed she woke again crying.

She finally fell asleep at 5.50am with DP in her bedroom.

Last night she woke every hour and we decided we could sit with her until she fell asleep wchi is very exhausting, DP finally went in and slept on her bedroom floor until 4.00am and she woke again at 4.30am so we gave in and brought her into bed with us. We thought it may have been the cough syrup we were giving her after posting a similar question yesterday, so gave her no medicine last night but no change.

We are at our wits end and very tired which is making us very grumpy and less tolerant with her which isn't good.

So no help really but just sharing we are going through the same thing.

Any advice would be gratefully accepted.

Thanks

Lisa

We have a sleep bunny clock but during it is so dark in the early mornings at the moment he cant see it, therefore of no help alas.
Ruth

We did sleep training on Friday, it took nearly 2 hours but she slept through, Saturday no problems and then last night nearly an hour of shouting out, I've got a poorly cough, I've got a tummy ache, I've got a snotty nose etc. But she slept through fron 8pm to 7am. So I think we might have to keep this up.