How do I deal with ds (2.4) crying to be tucked in 3-5 times a night?

[JamesAndTheGiantBanana]

He's always been a brilliant sleeper, then a couple of months ago we changed from a normal cot to a cot bed with the side down, he was unsettled for a couple of weeks btu then seemed to get it, and snuggled down to sleep well. We have a stairgate at the top of the stairs, and one to the other bedrooms, so he can come out onto the landing but nowhere else.

Anyway one day the stairgate to the bedrooms was left open, and in the morning ds ran and jumped in bed with us, showered us with kisses and cuddles and fell asleep between us, and it was all very sweet, so we naively said "aaw, we should always leave the gate open for him"

Anyway, a week of that and it's totally cocked up his sleep routine - he was getting in bed with us at 3am then wiggling, pulling the duvet off and generally fannying about for hours. We've now closed the gate but he's still getting up several times a night and rattling the gate, screaming to either come in bed with us or for me to tuck him in.

At 3am I'm not in much of a position to argue, but I can't get back to sleep very well and it's killing me. What should I be doing???

Any ideas?

Is he waking up because he wants a cuddle/some attention or because he's kicking his own duvet off, getting cold and then deciding it's a good idea to come and find you?

If it's the later, you could always try a Grobag My first duvet which he wouldn't be able to kick off.

Otherwise, you've probably got a fair few nights of wordlessly returning him to his bed every time he gets up before he realises it's not fun anymore

the only thing you can do is keep tucking him in and don't give in to him.
As long as he sees you won't back down he should settle but might take a while.

Grobag Duvets

We have been through this recently. All we did was keep marching dd (2.7) back to her room. It is exhausting but it is a phase (hopefully)!! If it is 6.00 ish. we tend to give in and let her stay in, but any earlier is a no go.

Good luck.

Thanks, I think he just wants attention, more than that he's got cold as he can pull his duvet over himself. He's also a stomach sleeper and often his nappy can't take it, so he's also waking up a lot of the time because his pyjamas are soaked from armpits to knees.

We flip him onto his back when we go to bed, even tried putting his nappy on backwards but nothing works! I think if I find a solution to that he won't get up half as much. hmm.

No drinks after dinner and a wee before and after bath then. We use the huggies night time nappies for DS, they're extra absorbant to take a whole toddler bladder for the night and we've not had a leak yet.

They're pull ups too. If he'll sleep through being flipped onto his back, maybe he would sleep through a quick nappy change too??

Oh crap, just watched ds drink 9oz of milk (and he had about 8oz of juice an hour or two ago)

I do have to change him most nights but it means changing his vest and pj's too as he's soaked and we both get freezing cold in the process.

I'll nip in and change him when we go to bed then, before he has a chance to leak. But tomorrow I won't let him drink quite as much.

I might try those night time huggies, we use extra dry pampers which I've always found to be the best but they just aren't coping at all with these huge night wees!

Thanks for the advice, all.

If you can change him before he leaks, he might not wake up. It's worth a try

Also, one tip I was given for night training which might help you i to double make the bed. Put on waterproof sheet, then fited sheet foillowed by another waterproof sheet and another fitted sheet. When the bedding gets wet, just whip off the top layer of fitted and waterproof sheet to relveal the clean sheets underneath. Makes bed changing at night much, much quicker so you don't get so cold.

How did it go James?

He didn't wake up at all! I changed him at about 1am and he already felt quite wet then, but after that didn't hear a peep from him til 8am, which is great (unfortunately I was wide awake at 6.30am, why does that always happen?)

But yes, a great result, maybe it's just having a wet nappy that's been waking him, so yes, less drinks in the evening, and check him when we go to bed, hopefully he should go back to normal. Thanks GS.

My pleasure

Glad you got a better nights sleep. Hopefully, a few nights like that and he'll go back to sleeping through.