Waking several times a night *help!*

[mhn]

Hi all,
my daughter is just about to turn 3 and she’s been waking several times a night for the last 3 months or so? It’s absolutely exhausting, on top of this I’m pregnant so the tiredness is real!
her sleep has never been quite the same since switching her to a toddler bed last summer but it’s gotten progressively worse.
she used to want us to be in the room with her but she’s now mostly happy for us to provide verbal reassurance when she’s waking up in the night (every 1.5-2hrs). She dropped her nap almost a year ago (way before bed change) which never negatively impacted sleep and she continues to refuse day naps.
we’ve tried different pyjamas and duvet togs to see if it was a hot/cold thing, bought night lights, really settled down her bedtime routine but nothing seems to be working! I’m not sure if she’s finding her bed uncomfortable or not? Has anyone had any success with changing their child’s mattress?
feeling at my wits end with it really as it can’t go on - does anyone have any suggestions? At what point would we contact the GP?

My daughter (now 4.5) went through a similar stage. Previous experience told us that her wake ups were normally due to development and...boom! That was when her language really, really exploded. Could it be something like that?

Is there a common theme in previous periods? Sometimes at this age, their imagination explodes, and that causes disruption.

As for how to manage it? We ended up co-sleeping, which reassured her, but realise not everyone will do that! Friends of ours used to gently and silently take their child back to bed each time. That worked for them. No engagement.

Is she ill?.just wonder why you're thinking of contacting GP?
She's 3.. it's normal.
Usually regression at this age. Is she potty trained?
At this age her brain is focusing on social and emotional growth.. also on physical and mental growth .. plus anxiety about new baby coming...If she's not coughing.. got acid reflux or any medical conditions it's normal..
It becomes an habit for a while... but if she used to sleep through it will eventually go back to normal.

Thanks both.
she is potty trained in the day but still wearing pull ups at night.
only reason I mention the GP is if there are health reasons for such regular waking - i know when they’re younger you’re advised to contact GP if it’s constant waking.
first poster - we co-slept for a long time which helped initially but eventually became a nightmare!

Is she able to articulate why she’s needing you? DD has done very well since the purchase of a toy dinosaur - she was worried about monsters (thanks DH for showing her Monsters Inc 🙄) she now has her ‘pet dinosaur’ in her room and ‘monster spray’ (lavender water in a squeezy bottle) and if she wakes worried she puts her dinosaur down and sprays the spray and can get herself back to sleep. Appreciate it’s not easy though if they can’t tell you what’s wrong!

@mhn I know what you mean. On the rare occasions DD sleeps with us, she seems to take most of a super king bed.😂

A Gro clock (or whatever they are called these days) might be helpful- that way she can see whether it is time to get up. It's a very gentle form of contextual sleep training.to keep her in her bed (basically blue star= sleep; yellow sun= I can get up!).

I think trusting your gut is helpful here. Might be worth a call to the GP or HV to rule out a medical cause, but there is definitely a huge leap in development and growth around this age.

No answers but DD3 has been the same.
Lots of waking which has been down to nightmares, illness and sometimes just waking and being silly