2 year old is waking 4/5 times a night HELP!!

[Chilly16]

Our DS turned 2 last month and has since been waking a lot throughout the night. He has only had a 3 month period where he has slept through (19-22months). We start by leaving him for a few minutes but it soon turns to him screaming our names and getting really distressed. As soon as we enter his room, he lays down, we tuck him in and he falls asleep. This can happen 4/5 times a night. We always have the same bedtime routine and is able to settle himself to sleep initially. We’ve tried every bit of advice we have been given e.g night light, using a duvet instead of a sleeping bag now he’s older, lavender plug ins, comfort toys, relaxing music and controlled crying. We are now stuck! We are all exhausted and it is really affecting our daily life. I can’t seen to find anyone else who is going through the same thing and I feel very alone and isolated. Can anyone help? Has anyone else had the same issues?

Hi There Chilly16,

We hope you don't mind but we've moved your thread across to the Parenting board where we think you're more likely to get some support and advice from our wise users.

We know sleep deprivation is entirely awful so we sympathise.

Good Luck and we hope our post gives this a bump for you.

Please don't feel alone, I'm struggling with the same thing and I reckon it's because of his 2 year molars coming through albeit slowly. He was like this the other times he teethed so I'm not surprised but I'm knackered. I dosed him with paracetamol last night before bed and I got a magical 5 hours before he woke up!

Experiencing exactly the same here!

Thankyou everyone. I did wonder if it was teeth. Although I did think that he would be crying for longer is it was teeth??? My friend has given me a salt lamp, so I will see if this makes any difference, although it didn’t last night! I will try anything tbh. Maybe I will try the calpol and see if that makes a difference. Thankyou all

Doe he have his back molars? My DD2.3 has never been the best sleeper, but those teeth really can bother them at night and take ages to come through.

She’s finally sleeping through (hallelujah) and the bottom molars look fully in. No doubt we’ll have a few weeks/months of disruption with the top ones, but I’m enjoying the peace for now. My DS was never bothered by them at night

Caterina99 he definitely has 4 which all came through within a month of each other last year. He may well be getting the next set but he won’t let me look or have a feel. I know from before when he has been teething, he has trouble sleeping but this time he does settle once we’ve been in and tucked him under his duvet. Let’s hope if it is his teeth, he starts sleeping better again soon!

@Chilly16

I'v just gone through this with my daughter, she's 2 and was starting to wake numerous times a night and call out for me every time. I was getting no sleep and it was making everyone grumpy.

I tried a few things and a mixture of them seems to be working now. The main thing i did is the cry it out method, i felt really bad at 1st however, it was more protest crying and challenging the new process rather than actually being upset. 1st night lasted 40mins with several times getting out of her bed. 2nd night was 30mins, and we're now 5 nights in and she goes to bed quite happily without any tears.

I also got a Gro Clock, turned it to the lowest bright setting so it's just a dull night light really. I also give my child a coin, if she doesn't call me in through the night she can swap it for a sticker or treat in the morning.

1 of the biggest tips i found which has worked for us is that at a certain point in their sleep cycle they wake up and call out for some comfort / attention. If you stir them slightly (not wake them up) an hour after they've fallen asleep, this breaks that sleep cycle and they sleep through.

I also think it helps if you can nail them going to bed by themselves, then if they wake in the night they are better equipped to go straight back to sleep.

our routine is dinner, an hour later it's bath, PJs, 2 quick stories in bed, sleep. an hour later i stir her and go to bed myself. I hope you find something that works for you, it has changed our lives getting her to sleep properly

I am currently going through this! My daughter turning 3 and she’s always been a great sleeper till recently she’s been up throughout the night winging , wanting to get up watch tv have breakfast honestly it’s been a nightmare becuase I have 2 other children she’s waking up too!!

Our 2.5 year old sleep has been a nightmare since October. He use to sleep fine, but we then went on holiday, and once we were back he climbed out of his cot, so we had to get a toddler bed. We end up having to sit with him till he falls asleep, he'll then be up at 11pm, we then try and get him back to sleep in his own bed, he'll then be back up again at 2ish and just climb into our bed. It's so exhausting! I have no idea how to fix it either 😭

Hi all,

I know this was a few years ago but I am hoping some of you might still be here. I am currently going through the same thing. My little boy is 26 months and has been waking multiple times through the night since last August. If we don’t tend to him, he will get very distressed and bang his head to the point he would injure himself, so methods like cry it out/keep putting him back in bed aren’t working for us. However, we are up settling him back to sleep multiple times during the night and it’s really affecting our quality of life. I wondered if any of you found anything that worked, or please give me hope that he will grow out of this!

@ecg15 how are you getting on? I'm going through the same thing. My 2 year old has only slept through once ever. It used to be that 2 wake ups was a 'good night' for us and now it's 5 or 6 times a night which has been going on for months and months as you have experienced too. We have two back molars left so I'm wondering if it could be that.