Help - 2yr old really upset in night and when wakes!

[joesmama]

Hoping someone might be able to shed some light on this! My 2yr old DS has been sleeping really well. But the last couple of weeks have been a nightmare. He goes to bed really easily and seems to settle quite quickly. Then, at somepoint during the late evening/early hours he wakes and gets really upset. He says he wants to come into our bed but then when he gets there he's restless, still cries and takes an age to settle. We have used controlled crying with good results in the past but if we leave him now he almost hyperventilates he gets into such a state. He finally settles and sleeps till about 5.30 when he starts coming to and almost has a tantrum in his semi-sleepy state. This morning his legs went rigid and he was screaming in a really angry way. He eventually settles down and is quite chirpy for a couple of hours and then becomes really whiney. He's also being really clingy with me. He's got a chest infection at the moment but he has these fairly regularly and has never been like this with it. Has anyone else experienced anything similar with their LOs?

bump!

DS has been exactly the same - he has a cold though and think he is teething. Haven't found a 'cure', just been going with the flow and trying to get him what he wants. It's getting better now that I think his cold is clearing up and the teething has calmed down.

Not sure if it fits the full picture but.... but could be Night Terrors or Nightmares.

They do come on around this age,my DD1 used to watch Dr Who with DH and shortly after she had restless nights,screaming out loud,did'nt want to sleep in her own bed etc.

Sometimes even watching something "normal" can trigger all this off,and its difficult at this age for them to tell you much.

With Night Terrors they wake up terrified but aren't aware that you are there,very difficult as a parent as you can't help,all you can do is "be a presence" make sure they don't injure themselves if they are rolling about,and wait for it to pass.

My friends DS started this,but what triggered it off was difficult to tell,but she felt it was "change of routine" as they went on holiday,and overtiredness.

Some people reckon if you have a realy regular pattern,you could break the cycle by waking them up slightly before they start,but that only helps if it is a regular time.

I think you need to "Rapid return" them to bed when they are calmer,stay with them ,and "ride the storm" as there are no easy answers if you can't identify a cause.These things usually come in phases,that they grow out of.......Not much help now though

DD has always been a good sleeper and started waking up all of a sudden wanting the light on. In the end we bought a night light that you pulg in from Mothercare. We havent had a problem since.