HELP please, need your advice!!!

[EdieMcredie]

Our daughter is 2 years and 2 months. She has always been a perfect sleeper, I have made my friends sick with envy over great she has been , starting sleeping through the night at 9 weeks, NEVER wakes in the night, has always seemed to enjoy being put to bed, long day time naps etc. Until 3/4 days ago. I woke her from her morning nao this particular day because we didn't to go out. I walked into her bedroom and she was still asleep. I turned off her monitor (I know, don't really need one but just got into habit of having it) and it beeped which woke her up. Thought nothing of it, she was in a good mood etc. That night she was scared about going to sleep and after a bit woke up screaming and walked into hall which she has never done before. Now she seems petrified of bedroom. We have got rid of the monitor because im sure she has got a bit funny about it since it beeped but this has not helped. Tried a night lamp, leaving door open etc but now we are in the pattern of sitting in her room til she falls asleep and im afraid she has been waking in the night scared and sleeping the reat of the night in our bed.

Any advice would be great-tried the whole repetitive thing of putting her back into her bed when she gets out over and over but she quickjly became very hysterical.

Ideas anyone??

Oh my god, the mistakes in the above! Apologies!!

I'm afraid this does often happen around this age. Both my DDs slept through 7pm to 7am from 8 and 9 weeks old respectively. DD1 continued to sleep perfectly like this until she was about 2 and a half when she started to get scared about stuff and wake us up crying in the night. Luckily she responded well to door being left open and a night light and went back to normal sleeping. She's now nearly 5 and we have been having a terrible spate of nightmares. DD2 slept perfectly until about 13 months when we had a spate of habit waking in the early hours for a couple of months before going back to good sleeping again. She's now nearly 3 and has just started the nightmare stage. I am WAY more likely to be woken in the night by one of the girls than by my 9 month old. Be gentle and ride it out - it won't last long (although I would try and avoid letting her stay in your bed).

OK, so that doesn't help much. I doubt the monitor beeping was the cause of the problem. She is exactly in the age range of when nightmares often start. Stick with the night light and door open. In the evenings I'd suggest that you don't stay with her until she is asleep. Instead go in and out. Put her into bed then say 'i've just got to go and sort out the washing - back in a minute (i.e. telling her something specific you are going to do - not just going off and leaving her)', come back in 5 mins, sit for a minute, then say you have to go and do the washing up / cook supper etc etc, but keep coming back. Keep telling her you will be back in 5 mins and do come back (but hopefully the intervals can get longer and longer).

How much is she napping during the day, you mention long day time naps - maybe you need to cut the naps down a fair bit so that she is more tired in the evening and goes straight to sleep?

She is not too young for a sticker chart. Let her choose some stickers and make up a nice chart. If she doesn't wake you in the night / goes straight back to bed and doesn't sleep in your bed then she gets a sticker in the morning - 5 stickers and she gets a packet of chocolate buttons - you could try it.

Good luck, normal sleeping will resume soon, so don't panic.

Nelly

Thankyou so much for your very helpful post. It's good to know that this can be quite normal. Also glad that it may not have been the monitor as I was feeling bad about that! The tip about leaving then coming back is something that DP tried the other night and t worked well so will stick at that.

Very good idea about the sticker chart-will give that a go too.

Last night she ended up in our bed again-will see how we get on tonight!

Thanks again-very helpful x

My dd slept with the light on between the ages of 2 1/2 to 5. I think it's very common for lots of kids to be frightened of the dark. Incidentally, having the light on didn't make her sleep any worse.