3 YO killing us... help!

[dorris88]

My 3yo has gone from sleeping 7-6:30 soundly since 18months, to getting herself in the habit of waking 4/5 times a night.

She's waking us more than she did as a newborn. She's not crying, it's winging and when we go in she either wants tucking back in or she can't find her comfort teddy. Sometimes she's holding her teddy: sometimes her duvet is still tucked in.

Why has she suddenly started waking up 4/5 times a night? Why has she become obsessive with her duvet being tucked in.

We don't know where to start with this but it's killing us. This has got progressively worse over about 3 months now.

Last night she was awake for 4 hours we would just get back to sleep and she would winge again.

Might I add we tried not going back into her on the last winge and she worked herself up into a screaming cry that went on for over an hour. I felt terrible but I thought she's got to stop? She didn't.

In the day she is happy.

She wouldn't normally wake up this much, let alone wingeZ

We have been having the same problem with our 3 year old (tight down to the hysterical screaming if she feels she is being ignored) . We've put it down to her being low level ill all the time at the moment due to nursery germ soup.

The day before yesterday we bribed her with something (small) she really wanted that she could have it if she stayed 'asleep' in her bed all night. She didn't manage it and was really disappointed when she realised it really did mean she couldn't have the small toy.

She went to bed last night determined that she was going to do it and this morning we have woken up after the first unbroken nights sleep since early September and she has her toy this morning.

Is it worth trying a sleeping bag to give her the tucked in feeling? She could pick one she likes and make it a thing.

I don't have any advice but was just surprised to see someone else posting this as I thought it was just our DD that done this! She has been a great sleeper, goes to bed great but has started half-waking 2/3 times a night for the same reasons, to have her blanket pulled up, given a Dummy even if it's right beside her etc.

I'll be honest it doesn't massively bother me because she goes back to sleep quite quickly but I'm expecting another baby so it is getting a bit annoying and the thought of her waking me as well as a new baby isn't ideal 😩

But yeah, no advice, presume it's an age thing and hopefully something they will grow out of? 🤞🏻

It didn't bother me too much at the start either, cos she was going straight back off but now it's literally 5 times a night you just get back off to sleep then she's winging again.

We bought in a marble jar for behaviour regardless and she really wants to fill it up for a treat. She is also determined to sleep through the night so she can fill it up (we said if she does it we will fill it up) but she hasn't done yet lol.

She does have a cold now but when this started she didn't. My plan is to reduce what she's watching on telly. She's not massively into screen time but some of the stuff she watches repeats on my mind in the night too! Find myself waking in the night singing Jonny Jonny yes papa 😂

I’m here! Driving me insane. We’re even thinking of getting a sleep consultant though I’d prefer to sort it out ourselves.

For DS, it’s definitely something to do with wee because it got a lot worse when we potty trained him during the day. It was as though he could feel it more and it woke him
up in the night.

At the same time, his nappies are v wet so I don’t think there’s any sign he’s ready to be night trained.

I. Am. So. Tired.

Our 3 yo has just been through similar. It lasted about 4/5 months. Messing about for hours at bedtime to the extent we'd lose our tempers and everyone would be crying and then waking regularly overnight, and waking at 5am for the day.

I was at the end of my tether as was also very pregnant and ill, I was sleeping on her floor with a massive bump and coughing my guts up...

We got her a reward chart, a Yoto player and then just waited it out.

Reward chart works quite well - it's magnetic people on a bus and the threat of taking someone off the bus if she gets out of bed again works wonders (just the very idea of taking someone off the bus 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Yoto player has been a good addition, she now listens to her stories at night, if she wakes up and early in the morning. It has a moon picture overnight and sun picture in the morning so she is getting the idea. We do her bedtime routine with stories etc and then tuck her in and leave her with her player. We find it is best just to be physically away from her (downstairs) to allow her to settle herself down.

Finally we've just waited it out. Like most things with small kids it was a phase and it has pretty much passed. She messed about last night going to bed but she slept through and got up at 7.15! Hurrah!

I'm getting way more sleep now with a 3 week old than I did over the summer with the 3 yo

Those of you that are pregnant that could be why! The uncertainty around this new arrival can cause anxiety that they can't express.

As with adults the uncertainty and waiting is worse than the actual event.

@Rainallnight I was to attempt potty training in the half term I tried it day one but she was having none of it. I think it would have caused havoc to the night times x

@WakeUpTired yeah we've bought in the marble jar so it's the same - she puts marbles in when she's good marbles out when she's particularly naughty like hitting etc. That's been 3 days hopefully this may help. Il stick with it. Keep telling myself it's a phase but we're trying for a baby and the thought of W newborn and this sounds like hell. I hope it gets better for yous pregnant and with babies

You do get a grobag duvet that stays on?

gro.co.uk/product/gro-to-bed/

It also stops them falling out. We actually got our DD a Disney Princess duvet cover which she was delighted with as part of trying to make going to bed/staying in bed a positive thing

My dc are older now but could it simply be that they are not tired?.
Eating more, having more energy and going to bed before properly tired?
Daily nap that needs dropping?

Just a thought as I'm out of practice with little ones and heading towards teen years with mine.