2.5yr old sleep problems

[Fleurchamp]

Hi all

We are having problems with our 2yr 6 month old daughter. She slept like a dream from 9 months to 2yrs but then all hell let loose.

Most nights she takes a lot of stroking and reassurance to get to sleep, we have done the gradual withdrawal method and on the whole she goes to sleep within 45 mins of bedtime. However, she will wake at least once a night (same deal to get her back to sleep) and at least twice a week she will basically "rampage" - shout, scream, refuse to go back to bed (she is in a bed as she was climbing out of her cot), lets herself out of her room, wakes our elder DS, she demands to go downstairs at 2.30am.
Last night she kept this up from 2.30 -5am, we are all exhausted - except her?!? She seems to need very little sleep, she dropped her nap just after age 2 and will have a little doze on the school run in the afternoon but that's all.
Bedtime is 6.30pm (it kind of has to be as she is shattered by then and such a grizzly mess) and she is usually asleep by 7.15, sometimes it can be 8.30pm.
Up until now we have just been saying it is a phase, it will pass. We have just been taking her back to bed, sitting with her, stroking her hair etc.
A gro clock has been useless
My DH says that we just need to carry on but to be honest, I am on my knees with tiredness. Even if he is dealing with her I cannot sleep and I am absolutely shattered.
I have no idea what to do and it is impacting our lives - we had a weekend away planned for a couple of weeks' time and my MIL was going to look after our DC but after seeing her shenanigans on a recent visit she has rescinded her offer (I don't blame her) so we have made it a family trip but I am dreading having to stay in a hotel room with her - she will wake the place up!

Has anyone else been through this? Any advice? Should we just carry on or do we need to go to our GP/ HV? I have even been googling melatonin (I rarely even give my DC calpol!)
HELP ME

Hey, what a tough time! But she sounds very similar to my daughter at that age! Where she doesn't really like being by herself and needs extra reassurance.

Firstly, has anything changed recently (my daughters coincided with a change in childcare set up)

What ended up working for us, was introducing a calming bedtime story, read by someone else (through an app). We use the Moshi Twilight app and it meant that instead of me sitting and waiting next to my daughters bed for her to fall asleep, I can now leave the room as she has another voice there and a story to focus on that keeps her that extra reassurance. Again if she wakes in the night, I just go back in and put a new story on for her and I can head straight back to my own bed.

It wasn't an instant success, and took about two weeks for her to get used to it, but since October we have not had any of those sleep issues where she needs me to either stay with her to help her fall asleep or needs me during the night.

Definitely give it a try

Thank you for your post addyt
Nothing has really changed as far as I can tell, I do think she has a vivid imagination and perhaps has nightmares.
She fell asleep today in the pushchair before I had even left the house (I was planning on giving her a nap by taking her for a walk) so it has given me a bit of a break at least.
I will try the app you refer to - although I am not sure about leaving any tech in her room, she begs TV in the middle of the night
I guess we will just have to ride it out but it has been months now and it is really having an impact on all of us.

Haha! Oh yes! 😭😭😭lol reading your post brings back memories! my little one was a nightmare. For about a year! Then suddenly it all just stopped and now she’s sleeps fine. We tried everything and nothing worked.
I wouldn’t give in to watching tv or iPads though. We used to sit in the dark- no toys, no stimulation not much talking, nothing. Good luck, stick with a routine - it’ll pass.

With the app I use, I have it on an old spare phone and then lock it and put it under her bed, so she doesn't even realise the phone is there, so you don't need to make a big thing about it! And you can Bluetooth it to a speaker too if you need.

She could be overtired too, so naps (like she is doing today) May help!

Good luck - it does get better!

We are having something similar with our 2.6yr old too! Only this last week. Up at night, early mornings, refusing to go to bed. From 1-2.6 was fine sleeping, even loved bedtimes. We do book, song, cuddle etc. It’ll pass. Just did 30mins of rapid return to the cot (he’s started climbing out of it this week so is going in the bed this weekend (it’s a cot bed so needs coverting). Not sure what’s going on just greater understanding of the world. You have my sympathy OP! Maybe try rapid return?

I could have written this, especially the early sleeping well! As others have said, I'm sorry but it will pass. Our went on for about 6 -9 months and we still go through phases. It's rubbish isn't it? Stick to a routine and repeat repeat repeat. I wouldn't go down the tech route I think it might open a much bigger can of worms! Is it helps DS is nearly three now and currently just one or two wakes a night which I would take any day of the week compared to before!

Solidarity!
It took an hour and a half to get her to sleep tonight. At one point she was refusing to even lay down. She was tired!
It is so odd. My DS was a terrible sleeper from birth until about 2 but he never did this, he was always an early riser and needed regular cuddles in the night - he now gets very cross with his little sister for spoiling his 12 hours of kip (he finally decided to have a lay in the week before he started reception ).
Oh well, another night means another step closer to this "phase" being over