Please help, my 3 year old still wakes up in the night!!!

[sleepchildsleep]

I have 3 children and pregnant with my 4th. I am getting a little bit desperate for a full nights sleep, as they have been in short supply for the best part of 4 years what with pregnancy insomnia too

DD has never been a 'good' sleeper, we co-slept until she was 18 months, we now lie with her until she drifts off, can be 10 mintues, can be an hour.

She has phases where she does sleep all night but mostly not. She wakes up and crys but won't say why she is crying! Sometimes it is because she needs a wee just go then but mostly I think she wants a cuddle, even then she sometimes will keep waking! What I am finding hard is that she will lie in bed calling out/crying but not actually come to our bedroom.

We have tried bribery, talking to her about it. Help please, we're knackered.

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Hi sleepchildsleep - I'm afraid I'm no expert but I didn't want to leave you all alone - it's horrible to feel tried all the time.
My DD is 2 and over the last 3 months or so has started to wake up more frequently than before - for the first month I went into her room each time, (sometimes 5 times per night) and spent ages wondering what she was crying for.. In the end, a friend suggested it was just for cuddles and that I should try to leave her to cry for a bit. I did that and now she doesn't wake up often, except when she has a nightmare.. I listen and most of the time I can tell she's not hurt or sick and she goes back to sleep quickly now. If she's really upset, the crying is different and I go to comfort her.

Other than that, have you tried a sticker chart? If she sleeps all night, she gets a sticker or something in the morning?

Hope that helps!

Hi Sleepy, thanks for your reply. I have/am .considering leavin her to cry but she is so loud it wakes the others, who have school and dh leaves before 7. Might try at weekend.

I think sticker a chart is worth a try. I am sitting on the end of madams her bed, she is just asleep, over an hour later!

Oh sorry , I hadn't remembered your other children - mine's on her own so it's easier! Stickers are great (that's the teacher in me talking ) My friend tried it for his 3 year old and it worked really well - they made a chart together, and the idea was that when she had 5 stickers or something like that, she would get a little gift. I think he told he it was from the fairies or something...

Sorry, I'm a bit tired - I just realised your DD is a bit younger than I thought - waiting for 5 stickers might be too long - nice stickers straight away in the morning are a good reward though!

I'll try that, thanks.

It made a big difference to my son's sleeping when he fell asleep without us in the room as then when he woke he didn't wonder where we had gone....

How old is she? Does she still nap in the day?

Sorry, just noticed title of thread! She's 3... Does she still nap?

No love usually not. Ter I was thinking that might help.

DS1 is 3 and woke most nights . We bought him a gro clock (which comes with a great bed time story book) 5 days ago so far it has worked a treat. he has not been up in the night and knows if the clock is blue it's still sleep time and when yellow and the sun is on it's wake up time. He is still not keen on bed time though

This happened us with 3 year old DS. We were lying down with him too to get him off to sleep, it is one of the worst things we could have been doing as naturally when he woke up he wondered where we were gone. So unfortunately there had to be a few nights of tears (not very long lasting) where I stayed beside the bed while he went to sleep, then gradually moved to the door, then eventually (about night 4) he was told he was to go to sleep without anyone. It worked! (we couldn't believe it).
He does still wake, but not as much and not as upset.
It's a process.
We coslept with him too, and it has taught me that I won't be doing it with next baby for as long, nice and all as it is, as the lack of sleep is dreadful.

Hi I'd second the gro clock it helped DD know when she could get up. At 3 she was still waking in the night, getting up early etc but the clock helped as did getting bunk beds. She now looks forward to going to bed!

I coslept with ds til about a month ago, well he would go to sleep in his bed no problems then wake at 1.20 every night and come climb into our bed, which was fine with me (stairgate on kitchen and flat so no stairs to worry about ) but dp has put his foot down and stairgate has been moved to his room so when he wakes at night we have to deal with it and he has to stay in his own bed.arse

Ds also wont say why he's woken and after months of the 1.20 thing and me pulling my hair out (think he just wants cuddles too as he settles soon as he sees/hears me) we've somehow ended up giving him back his daytime nap (40mins -1hr) and after 5 MONTHS he's started sleeping through the night again, so altho its technically a step back, its beginning to restore my sanity and when i become human again i will start reducing naps and hope that the habbit will be broken.

So after all that rambling...maybe try a short nap during the day, it doesnt make sense but it seems to be working for ds. He also did the crying and screaming but not actually coming in the room sometimes and i used to call out and talk to him from my bed, i know you've got other children so not very practical, what about walkie talkies, it might be your voice that sooths her, I used to be able to do it with the baby monitor but i lost the parent part so just shouted to him instead..

I'm rambling again so will stop now, i think i'm just excited to actually have the energy to be awake past 9.30!