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Parenting

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Original poster

Toddler sleep gone to pot

14 replies

Gingerish · 07/11/2021 20:22

Hi, hoping for some words of wisdom!

My DD is 2.5 and has been a really fantastic sleeper up until the last week or so. Now she is insisting on having a light on in her room and the door open. That's would be okay, except she now just shouts Daddy daddy daddy over and over again at bedtime in a very distressed voice for hours. It doesn't matter how many times he goes in or I go in, the minute we leave the room it's daddy daddy daddy with crying, pleading and a lot of distress. We've tried ignoring it but her willpower is stronger than ours.

That would also be manageable if she stayed asleep once she had finally gone off but she has started waking in the middle of the night for hours on end. Wide awake, chatting if you go in, crying when you leave. If we leave her the daddy daddy daddy starts up again and it's relentless. She wants him to sit in there with her while she talks to him and eventually nods off, except once he's left for some reason she wakes again and the whole thing starts again. He is knackered. She's also waking the baby who is still sharing a room with us.

She is very tired by bedtime so it's not that. Nothing particularly has changed in her life. She's shattered now during the day as we all are and family life feels so tough right now 😩

Any ideas on how to manage this?

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AliceW89 · 07/11/2021 20:31

Is she still napping?

SleafordSods · 07/11/2021 20:33

Is there room for a mattress or a bed for your DH? I'm thinking it might be temporary and she'll nod off if he just lies in the same room?

Original poster

Gingerish · 07/11/2021 20:36

@AliceW89 yes she does. I've reduced it over the past few days to see if that helps but it hasn't made any difference. She's really tired, yawning her head off, at bedtime.

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Original poster

Gingerish · 07/11/2021 20:37

@SleafordSods We could do that. She would love it. But she wakes and it all starts again she realises he isn't there. I don't think he's willing to go to bed at 7pm!

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SleafordSods · 07/11/2021 20:44

Yeah, going to bed at 7 wouldn't be ideal

Have you tried moving her bedtime back so you leave her at 7.30 or 8? A later bedtime helps some of them to settle.

One thing that worked for my DD was putting on a lullabye soundtrack on YouTube as we left the room.

It's been a while but I remember this book being helpful

AliceW89 · 07/11/2021 21:07

That would be okay, except she now just shouts Daddy daddy daddy over and over again at bedtime in a very distressed voice for hours…she has started waking in the middle of the night for hours on end. Wide awake, chatting if you go in

She doesn’t sound tired enough. I’d consider starting the process of dropping the nap, or if you think she absolutely still needs it, push bedtime back.

20viona · 07/11/2021 21:11

My 2.5 year old has become a complete Arsehole at bed time too the last 4 weeks ever since we took the side off the cot. Iv tried everything. She used to be a 7-7 sleeper now it's like 8.30-5.30 if we are lucky. Tonight she has argued ever since she got in bed and is still arguing to herself on the monitor shouting go away to us. It's so draining and ruining our nights.

SleepingStandingUp · 07/11/2021 21:14

How old is the baby op?

I agree I'd let her stay up later or extend the bedtime story stuff.

Original poster

Gingerish · 07/11/2021 21:17

The baby is 8 months.

We are in a small 2 bed so her shouting can be heard from every corner!

I do think she still needs a nap. I can try pushing bedtime back and see if that helps.

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Original poster

Gingerish · 07/11/2021 21:19

@20viona oh bad luck! I feel for you. My DD is extremely persistent now over something she wants and it's exhausting.

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Katjolo · 07/11/2021 21:21

How long is the nap?

SleepingStandingUp · 07/11/2021 21:23

I just wondering if its just a bit of possessiveness? Is she able to have much 121 time with you both before bed?

Blackmagicqueen · 07/11/2021 21:27

'. She used to be a 7-7 sleeper now it's like 8.30-5.30 if...'

Oh my goodness i would love 2 yr old dc2 to stay in his bed even that long! Currently he does 1-2 hours then wakes up crying! His daytime naps no issues through...hmmm

Original poster

Gingerish · 07/11/2021 21:39

Nap time was just under an hour today. She was definitely tired as we had been swimming, and she was tired anyway being awake half the night last night. Her nap would have previously (a week ago) have been 1.5 hours and she would have slept from 7.30pm-8.30am without fail.

Re attention - she definitely gets most of my attention. She has always required a lot of direct attention. My other child is very chilled and just sits there and plays with his toys, fortunately!

Maybe it's a developmental thing as I have noticed that her language and comprehension have suddenly improved a lot recently. Could it be that?

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