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Original poster

2yo DS night wakings - tell me what to do!

21 replies

TerrysNo2 · 03/12/2010 21:25

DS goes to bed on his own after bedtime routine of bath, stories, cuddles and happily says goodnight. He used to sleep right through but started waking in the night again and I do not know what to do. Promises have worked (DVD in the morning, get teddy etc) but they don't anymore and he won't go back to sleep unless we sit with him but that means he wakes more.

What I need is a plan of action - please tell me what to do and I will do it!! I can be consistent and stubborn, I'm just not sure what to do. He is very very stubborn so CC won't work (we tried it once, and he cried for 4 hours without a break!)

Thanks!

OP posts:
TmiEdward · 03/12/2010 21:29

I have a similar situation.
We can't leave DS2 to scream cry because he shares a room with 5yo DS1. Ds2 is very stubborn too. Thankfully he is still in his cot, because at least he's contained.
At the moment we just bring him into bed with us so that we all have some chance of sleep.

Original poster
TerrysNo2 · 03/12/2010 21:30

Oh Tmi you got my hopes up that I already had an answer!! Smile

OP posts:
TmiEdward · 03/12/2010 21:32

Sorry!
How about duct tape? That solves lots of toddler problems...

SeaShellsFiringUpTheQuattro · 04/12/2010 05:04

Bumping here too as Ds has been up screaming for over an hour despite everything and dh and I have had a row.

The only one asleep is the baby :(

SpiderWilliam · 04/12/2010 06:07

Ditto - the only one asleep here is the baby too.

DS1, 2.5, loves to start the day at 5. No idea what the solution is. CC and CIO don't work after a certain point in the night as he is no longer tired. I have concluded that it is just who he is as he has always needed v little sleep. The added complication is that with the new baby (4wks), DS1 has started waking in the middle of the night too. I am hoping that will stop as he adjusts.

I have been contemplating getting a gro-clock recently, but seriously doubt it would work on a child who knows it is night time but is wide awake

Sorry, I'm no help. I think if there was a solution I would have found it by now. Sad

Original poster
TerrysNo2 · 05/12/2010 21:44

Well you lot are no help Wink

We were away last night and DS slept all the way through to 5.45am - we did give him calpol and nurofen though as he has been ill and is constipated so it might be due to that. Will let you know if I manage to fix him and have any advice.

OP posts:
SeaShellsFiringUpTheQuattro · 06/12/2010 13:24

Lol, sorry about that OP!!

openerofjars · 06/12/2010 13:28

More uselessness from me, sorry, but mine's doing it too. Did a memo go out to all 2yolds or something?

I am doing rapid return and telling him it's not morning until I say so, a lot. It might be starting to work, hard to tell so far, but we are both knackered.

Good luck x

backintraining · 06/12/2010 14:33

Another one here who is useless but in the same boat so useless and sympathetic at the same time! DS (22mths) has been having a few bumpy nights. Last night he was up at 2.30am screaming asking politely for warm milk........ whhhhaaaaaatt??

I think there is something in the air at the minute, my friend's 3 year old is having problems and my other 2 friends' 2 year olds. Maybe they have all grouped together to conspire!! I am hoping that our DS is just adjusting to a quilt, we have moved from a Grobag because he was just getting too long for it and it wasn't really keeping him that warm..... I think he his finding it a bit weird.

If it isn't the quilt and I work out what it is and also a fantstic remedy I shall post immediately!!

Adair · 06/12/2010 14:40

My ds is 2.4 and sometimes wakes, sometimes not. Tbh my ds comes in to me/I sleep next to him in his bed (am quite short!) if he wakes (he co-slept til 15mths). I am pregnant so can't really be bothered to do anything else! He seems to have phases of this, then we 'big up' sleeping in His Own Bed All Night Woo Hoo, then he has phases of sleeping through. He sleeps better than dd at this age, though i stressed more with her, trying to change routines and that.

GruffalosGirl · 10/12/2010 23:22

We're in the same boat here too. My ds is 2 and has just started waking at about 1am every night and crying to come into mummy and daddy's bed. He won't settle until he comes in with us and has done this every day for 2 weeks now.

I thought it was the cold so we got a warmer quilt and kept the heating on every night but that's stopped working now. He's just gone into his toddler bed and been ill recently and I think he's just got into the habit of sleeping in our bed.

I'm pregnant and it's knackering me. He's always slept really well before this. DH is going to try not letting him in with us and settling him back in his own bed on sunday no matter how long it takes. I'll let you all know how it goes.

SeaShellsFiringUpTheQuattro · 11/12/2010 14:01

Good luck! It's exhausting :)

Unwind · 11/12/2010 15:36

have you tried rapid return?

SeaShellsFiringUpTheQuattro · 12/12/2010 05:58

What is that? My Ds throws tantrums he is so tired at the moment, and putting him go bed winds him up even more. It's such a strain on all our relationships.

Restrainedrabbit · 12/12/2010 07:19

26mth old DS is acterrible sleeper so much sympathy!! Is it the recent cold spell? Teething molars? Both of these wake up my son.

Original poster
TerrysNo2 · 12/12/2010 20:40

ok, so he is fixed, for now!! Grin

Going to bed happily and saying night night mummy and sleeping till 6.30-7.30. So, what did we do...

rapid return - worked for 3 nights and then gave up after one night of trying for 4 hours.
cry it out - gave up after one night of shouting for 4 hours
Honestly, he is THE MOST stubborn boy in the world!
So we went softly softly and really focussed on his bedtime routine and making it happy. So I would make sure he wanted to go up for his bath (by saying, I'm going to give the cat / woody a bath and he would want one instead) and telling him at every stage of the way what was happening, eg: we're going for a bath and then its storytime and then cuddles and then bedtime. I also made sure that his teddy always stayed in his bed until it was bedtime, then I would say shall we go and find teddy in bed. And I would leave but I wouldn't let him get upset (like I used to) but go in straightaway and tell him its bedtime, if necessary I would sit by his bed and inch closer and closer to the door. Some nights we would leave his door open and found that if he fell asleep with it open then we had to leave it open the whole night, otherwise he would wake. All in all this took about 2 weeks.

I hope that some of this helps you! Smile

OP posts:
Unwind · 12/12/2010 21:41
GruffalosGirl · 13/12/2010 13:37

My DS has now slept through for the past 3 nights. We resorted to bribery and it really worked. He's 2.

We made a big fuss about him being a big boy and sleeping in his big boy bed and if he managed it all night he could have a suprise. When he's managed it he's had stickers and we went to the shop and got him a special christmas cake the first two days(he's obsessed with cake).

We phoned Nana to tell her what a big boy he'd been and generally made a huge fuss of how clever and big he is.

Of course, now I've posted this here he'll probably wake up and start it all again tonight!

whoodoo · 17/12/2010 00:40

Thank god I'm not alone. My ds2 has been wailing now for half an hour ( it's half past midnight). He likes to wake about 10 mins after I have got into bed when it all goes quiet. I am losing it ( husband us about to divorce us all I think cos he is so exhausted). Amazingly only who sleeps is ds1 who is in his room! He keeps waking ds3 who is 8 months. I was up 17 times the other night with ds2 ( he is 2.4 btw) and 3 with ds3. I am on my knees really- he just wants me to get in his ikea toddler bed but I know it's a slippery slope. He can't communicate that well so not sure if bribery really will sink in. Please help....

SeaShellsFiringUpTheQuattro · 17/12/2010 03:16

Not sure what the answer is, but we have started to do rapid return an the amount of time it takes is reducing-Ds is 2.2yo. We were in bed at 8pm again though, it's the only way to cope wroth his early waking and dd2'sfeeds

I hope it gets better for you soon!

whoodoo · 17/12/2010 10:53

Oh it got better last night. DH arrived in at 1am and drunk after his Xmas do and started engaging him in chat cos he hadn't seen him all day. Meanwhile ds3 going mental. The night didn't get any better ...... And then DH started trying to proposition me- you can imagine my response at 2am

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