How deeply does your toddler sleep??

[MummyElk]

Mine is 2.5. Until about 6 months ago she slept VERY well, with a good 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Night time we heard very little from her.

So why, now, am I struggling?! I cannot cannot CANNOT get her to sleep in her big bed (it went well initially) and even once she is asleep, she's up during the night a lot - either weird dreams or just wide awake.
She also wakes at the drop of a hat, eg if we go into DD2 in the room next door, or go up and downstairs, or if the telly is too loud.... etc etc

So I wondered if this is normal?
Can overtiredness make her sleep worse (we've tried dropping her daytime nap)

And PLEASE PLEASE - if you have any advice on how we get her to sleep a bit better, please offer it. I'm at my wits end. I think we've tried everything but happy to take advice

Mine both went through it - poss a bit earlier but both did it.

What worked? Very stable bedtime routine ( SO easy with a 6 month old!). No tv for an hour before. Reading. bathtime,prayers and bed. With DD I did a sticker chart. A star goes on when I put her to bed and if I don't have to come back it stays on. If she shrieks and is irksome then I come back in and deal with whatever issue it is and remove the sticker.

Overtiredness def makes mine worse so I'd cut back on the lunchtime sleep but not eradicate it. Maybe bring it forward 11-1 rather than 1-3? I find mine are more likely to startle easier from sleep if they've gone to bed very tired but I know I am naturally blessed with kids who don't tend to wake much due to loud noise - so I can't really help on that score. Sorry Melk.

It WILL pass. But I hope it passes very soon for you.

My almost 3 year old only does it when my mother is around. She goes from sleeping all night through, to waking up 3-4 times a night with apparent nightmares.
Once I realised that she was just not getting herself back to sleep when she woke up at night because she knew grandmother would come running at the merest peep, my mother and I agreed that she wouldn't go in to see to her anymore. I told my DD that if she continued to wake at nights, grandma wouldn't be able to come and visit anymore. Low and behold, she stopped screaming when she woke up immediately and got herself back to sleep.

Every child and every situation is different, but it may be that she is just pushing the boundaries. I like the idea of rewarding sleeping through the night. Maybe stickers in the morning every time she doesn't get you up at night and a present after 5 stars?

I also hope that TTSP soon!

thank you both
pushing the boundaries is right, i think, she's now in the travel cot absolutely furious with us but I hope she gets the message. The Sleep Fairy (a friend's suggestion) won't be leaving her a present tonight but perhaps tomorrow night will be a different story.
Fingers crossed.
We tried moving the nap forward today as you suggested rkd, good thought.
Anyway thank you both for thoughts, ttsp ttsp ttsp [rocks]

Oh, sympathies, Melk, why oh why do they have to throw us just when we think we've got something sorted??

Do you thing the big girl bed is the problem? Could you add a bed rail for added security? A (princess) canopy?

A night light? No night light?

Totally agree with the importance of a fairly rigid bed time routine, particularly when things are not going well.

I also found the Supernanny approach of dealing with them calmly (even if teeth secretly gritted) with less and less verbal interaction and as little eye contact as possible helpful.

Anyway, hope you are having a good evening tonight .