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Original poster

Why do toddlers suddenly start waking at night?

55 replies

welshmum · 15/10/2004 15:02

DD is 2.5 the last couple of weeks she's woken once or twice in the night and called out wanting me to tuck her in, find her bear, just generally settle her and then she goes back to sleep very nicely. She used to just go right through. I don't like leaving her to yell because she then wakes herself up completely and reckons it's morning time but neither do I want to commit myself to broken nights forever. Anyone experience of this - does it just stop? can't think of a reason why it started in the first place....

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Original poster
welshmum · 18/10/2004 14:50

Yes thanks Elliott and bakedpotato I think the coping strategies are a good way of approaching it. I'll keep an eye out on the dark front too although she does ask me th 'Put the dark on mummy' ie switch the light off if she's very tired.

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bakedpotato · 18/10/2004 14:52

'put the dark on mummy' -- oh, sweeeeet

prefernot · 18/10/2004 16:53

Welshmum, when my dd was having a problem going to sleep a few months ago I got her a night light and everytime I putit on she called me saying 'too light mummy, can't sleep' and only went to sleep when I turned it off! I can imagine however a time when she'd prefer a little light. Just not yet. Mine seems more afraid so far of noises rather than darkness. Noises can have her in utter terror.

So what time does she turn in at night?

Original poster
welshmum · 19/10/2004 12:26

She's in bed by 7pm and goes off to sleep really nicely.
Last night was a complete nightmare though, DH and I must have got up to her at least 10 times between 1240 and 0300 as she just wouldn't settle. I am a zombie today. She might have been overexcited about her first settling in morning at nursery (which went really well)but we're going to have to get quite strict I think as this can't become a habit.

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prefernot · 19/10/2004 12:30

I know what you mean welshmum, it's always a worry they'll start pushing the boundaries isn't it? When dd woke twice the other night I was thinking 'hang on ...' but last night it was once again so who knows? I do think their little unconscious brains go into overdrive when there's exciting things happening / changes etc.

How did the nursery morning go?

7pm's a good bedtime. I almost always never quite make it until 8pm due to general crapness in organisation but I think dd could go earlier. She does still do a couple of hours in the day though so I also think I'll lose that if she starts to go to bed earlier.

OldieMum · 19/10/2004 12:34

DD is 21 months. She usually sleeps through the night and, in the past, when she woke, it was because she had a cold or was teething. She has woken early several times recently (7am on Saturday, instead of 8-9, 5am on Monday and 4am this morning). She was inconsolable each time until we let her bed down with us. It's reassuring to hear how common this is. She is being very clingy at the moment, wanting lots of hugs, so I wonder whether it's a generalised anxiety. No doubt there are lots of neurological changes going on and I can imagine that they may be the cause of all this.

prefernot · 19/10/2004 12:42

Actually OldieMum, my dd's sudden night wakings are also coinciding with her being much more clingy and demanding towards me so I think it is a bit of a generalised anxiety thing. Personally I think it's all to do with independence / dependence and finding it difficult to know if they're a baby or a child. So I'm trying my best to be supportive and kind. So far ... .

Northerner · 19/10/2004 12:46

My ds is 2.6 and for the past 2 weeks he has not had 1 full night of uniterrupted sleep. It's driving me crazy! He is just generally unsettled, asking for hugs or for another teddy bear. Sometimes (like Hula's dd) he is saying he wants a wee (he has just been potty trained)or he wants to come to Mummys bed. Agree with prefernot on the clingy thing, my ds is very clingy to his Mummy at the moment.

Hulababy · 19/10/2004 17:09

Well DD has a big nightmare last night (before I went to bed) to which she took ages to come round from. And then she woke at about 2am with her bed soaked. No idea how or why, but her bed pants must have leaked - they seemed to not be on properly when she came into my room. So she ended up in our bed, and slept then until I woke her after my shower at 7am.

Original poster
welshmum · 19/10/2004 19:31

Sorry to hear about the rest of you up at all hours but there is a bit of theme emerging which is kind of reassuring. The 'Am I a baby or a child?' (that's dd not me) rings bells as dd is occasionally spending some time pretending to be a baby. We had a long chat tonight before bed about how she was to cuddle her bear and roll over and snuggle into her duvet if she woke up - not call out - I'm surethat 'll work (not!)
Thanks for asking about nursery prefernot - it all went very well but I was with her. The little toilets held a particular fascination and had to be visited several times over. In the nursery setting my little baby looked like a little girl....sigh....

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yingers74 · 19/10/2004 20:22

prefernot, of course I remember you

prefernot · 20/10/2004 13:17

Had a strange one last night, dd woke at 4am but didn't settle straight away, she sort of lay down saying my name over and over very softly and eventually went back to sleep close to 5am, then slept in until 8am! It gets curiouser and curiouser ...

yingers74 · 20/10/2004 13:45

prefernot, what are they like? last night my dd settled well at her usual bedtime then spent next hour and half shouting hello, daddy, mummy and crying. She then fell asleep and woke at 1.30am shouting hello and sitting up in her cot. she has been doing this on and off the last week. I don't know whether i should think about cc again or not. They do like to keep you on your toes.

Original poster
welshmum · 20/10/2004 19:10

And I've figured out why mine is waking up now and needing me. I caught her last night.....she wakes and then decides to rearrange her bedding. In the dark she can't tell where her pillow and duvet need to go and that's why she wants 'tucking in' and 'sorting out' as she calls it. We've had a chat about it - let's see how she gets on!

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prefernot · 20/10/2004 20:55

yingers, strangely, that was exactly what my dd used to do a while ago 'hello mummy' over and over standing in her cot. It got really bad at the time (she was 15 months) and that was the only time we did cc which worked brilliantly.

This time it seems different (apart from last night) in that she settles very quickly and usually wants a drink of water or something simple. But she is doing this annoying thing at bedtime of throwing her pillow, toy, my top (she always goes to sleep with my top these days and she'd have my bar too if I let her ) etc. and calls me to come and put them back in the cot. I'm in a dilemma as I know there's no way she'll go to sleep without them but I also know it's a little ploy on her part to get me back so I usually go in and replace everything and leave pretty quickly and she then goes straight to sleep.

Welshmum, that's good you have an explanation now for your dd's waking! Now all you have to do is find a solution

Original poster
welshmum · 21/10/2004 15:35

Guess what prefernot? My chats with dd seemed to have worked - well,last night anyway. Not a squeak from her. This morning she told me she'd 'just rolled over' when she woke up - as instructed. We'd also talked alot about rearranging bedding and how to do it in the dark. I bet it's a one off but I was very pleased this morning and she had buckets of praise and some raisins!....fingers crossed.
Can't think what to do about your dd throwing things out of her cot....let me know what you come up with. take care x

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prefernot · 21/10/2004 21:36

Maybe your dd privately texted mine or something but mine also slept straight through last night until 7am this morning...

So, when are we going to have our play session?

Original poster
welshmum · 22/10/2004 12:54

I'll send you an email if that's ok. I've got family around next week - maybe the week after? Hope all's well with your dd - unfortunately I had vomiting at midnight in our house - still don't know why but she's fine this morning. Sigh

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prefernot · 22/10/2004 13:25

Oh, poor dd! Was it something she ate do you think? Hope she's still feeling better.

We had one very brief night waking, then slept until 7.15am. Hurray!

Original poster
welshmum · 25/10/2004 09:05

She's absolutely fine - I think it was a 'new girl at nursery' bug. Since then though we've had no interrupted nights - fingers crossed that's all fine now - until the next time!

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prefernot · 25/10/2004 09:36

That's good news. So how is nursery going now then?

Dd's also slept straight through the last few nights but has reverted back to her mysterious 6.28am wakings!!

Original poster
welshmum · 26/10/2004 09:15

Nursery is going remarkably well although I've been told to expect a regression at some point as she's settled in so well. At home she has a new game too - baby room. Her favourite doll and teddy have to go in the baby room and she is the teacher etc - very sweet.
I have some sympathy for 0628 - apart from the fact that it's 0618 in our house! No waking at night though. I think she responded to talking about the situation which is astonishing but fantastic as I couldn't face cc with a farily articulate 2.5 year old.
Have a good day prefernot x

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captainCOD · 26/10/2004 09:33

OK THE COD JOINETH TTHE THREAD
DS3 NEVER A GOO DSLEEPER LIKE DS1 AND 2 IS SHITE AT SLEEPING, LAST NIGHT WAS ITS PEAK, VEERY HOUR
AM OFF TO DRS TO RULE OUT EARS THEN ITS TOUGH TALK,
ALL WE DO IS GO IN AND SIT OTN EH CHAir AND SAY G T O SLEEP LIE DOWN

oh shit its all in caps

prefernot · 26/10/2004 14:14

How old is he CapCod?

We had a DIRE bloody night last night with dd. She was clearly restless all evening, muttering in her sleep about sandpits and Noddy and salt (?!) and then she woke at midnight with a raging fever, threw up all over the place and woke then every 45 mins or so to call for me. Eventually I lay down with her at 6am and she dozed for 30 mins then got up this morning full of beans, racing round everywhere like a loony, she climbed all the climbing frames in the park that she's normally terrified of, ate all her lunch that she normally chucks on the floor and then went to sleep in 1 second flat when I put her down for her nap.

WHAT'S THAT ALL ABOUT???

Original poster
welshmum · 26/10/2004 14:22

That's strange prefernot - sounds pretty much like what dd had a couple of nights ago - very restless, one vomit and then absolutely fine the next day. Nothing like a cot full of vomit to assault the senses in the middle of the night!

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