my son just turned 18 months old and is now getting up at 3:30-4am and asks for "milk" and ends up drinking a cup full, then has a hard time going back to sleep. he used to sleep through the night from 8p to 6:30am. any help?
Continue what you are doing with this, and be thankful that he knows that he needs to go back to sleep.
This will pass.
Remember...few spoken words...little eye contact...darkness.....gentleness....perhaps soft music...these things mean it is sleeptime.
I had to do this with my middle child. Is she was still in a crib at this age. and I had a twin size bed her room. I would close the door and lay in there for a lil' bit. (not having her in the bed with me) But I let her play with her toys on the floor. I told her that she had to play in there with mom in there because everyone in the house was still asleep. She did really well doing this. She still gets up around 3:30 - 4am and plays. You can't hear her. I have tried to keep her up later so she would sleep later in the morning. But I have come to find out it does not matter what time I put her to bed she will wake up at her normal time and play. She does not get tired at school or even when she home after school. She is like the energizer bunny.
The only think I could think of is try to put him to bed a little later or trying to move his nap (if any) earlier in the day.
The one that does this still is now 5 she will be 6 in May. So we have just learned to accept it and live with it. She is a very active child.
Good luck.
Instead of giving him milk, just reassure him that you're there, and tell him to go back to sleep. Don't get him up or do anything, or he will have trouble getting back to sleep. If he was sleeping through the night before he will do it again. It may take a few nights to break that new "habit" but it will be better for everyone. Good Luck!
As others have said going the water route is a good one. Also - no interaction / stiumulation. No talking unless necessary - our kids loved getting up in the middle of the night for "milk" cuz we talked/cuddled, etc. So why WOULDN'T they want to wake up for that?
Remember, they need long night sleep. And sometimes we as parents and get in the way of that by stimulating the little ones to become fully awake. And as we all know - even as adults when we become fully awake at night it is SO hard to fall back asleep. So the less stimulation the better!
Good luck!
I have 2 little ones 4 yr old twins and a 3 yr old. They would do the same thing, I told them they were only allowed to have water. They didn't seem to drink it as fast and sometimes not even at all. But if he has to have milk, try to only fill it half way up and warm it up. Warm milk always helps kids sleep well.
About Confusional Arousals...
During the course of a normal night of sleep, the human brain switches between deep and light sleep, and dreaming sleep (REM), several times. Confusional arousals occur when the brain becomes divided, literally, between sleeping and waking. Part of the brain wakes up, but another part remains deeply asleep.
During a confusional arousal, a sleeper may sit up in bed, talk, scream, or even leave the bed and wander around—the proverbial “sleep-walking.” A sleep-walker’s behavior may be calm or it may be agitated. Occasionally it can be violent. If a sleep-walker risks injuring him or herself, treatment for the disorder should be sought immediately from a specialist in sleep medicine.
When children experience confusional arousals, they typically awaken frightened and confused, and often scream in terror at an invisible threat. As a rule children remain distant and unresponsive to a parent’s attempt to wake or calm them.
A confusional arousal may last as long as twenty minutes, but usually is briefer. As a rule, the sufferer of a confusional arousal returns to sleep without a full awakening—and will have no recollection of the arousal the following day.
As a mother, my recommendation is to pray a lot before the child goes to sleep, use a night light and also Monavie, have you heard of it? It helps you sleep like a rock.
If you need more information, don't hesitate to email me at ____@____.com or call me:
M. Garrard
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I think he probably just wants to see you and doesn't care so much about the milk. Sometimes they go through stages of separation anxiety. My son did. I did some reading and decided to "let him cry" and not go in. He really didn't cry much, a few minutes here and there. If I was really worried I would go in, but not pick him up, just make sure he was ok and then leave. Less than a week later he was sleeping through the night again, after probably a month or more of waking up 3-5 times in the night. It was worth it. We are both a lot less crabby. Milk is also not good for the teeth after they have been brushed, so water would be better.
I have a two year old who has been getting up through the night on & off for a while now... My theory is that it's a combination of tooth pain and developmental growth & stimulation. So much goes on in their little worlds at all times - I think we as parents sometimes forget. Advice...try not to start the habit of milk in the night. Maybe try a binky or some other object that comforts him & remind him that "it's still night night time". If you think it could be tooth pain, try the natural "Teething Tablets" or a bedtime dose of Motrin. If you think it's just regular 'ole night waking - maybe try adding some white noise to his room at bedtime to help maintain a sleep rythym. Our son has a nature sounds alarm clock - we set the "wind" sound on very low at bedtime.
Try to be patient & love him right through it...he will start sleeping through the night again...then maybe not...and then again...then maybe not...
Our son did the same think for over a year. You child is waking up because of habit and like any bad habit, you need to break it. It took three nights of our son crying when he woke up at 4:00 a.m. and we didn't go in with milk and finally on the fourth night he slept all the way til morning. It was so hard for me to listen to him cry, so I would go in the basement where I couldn't hear him (my husband would not let me go to him!) Try listening to your ipod to block out the crying. Believe me, you will break this habit and get back to normal sleep, but you have to be determined and strong.
i would maybe warm it up that way it would coat his stomache warmly and relax him to where he would want to go to sleep
don't do the milk. my best friend is a dentist and I was her office manager for over a year. The milk will cause all kinds of problems such as cavities.
No stimulation. Please don't let the child "play" or anything of the sort. This too happened with my daughter. It was solved in two nights. I put a sippy cup with water within her reach. I told her if she was thirsty and woke up before the sun, she can get a drink and go back to sleep. It worked. My kid's also sleep with a fan in the room for the "white noise". Now the littlest things don't wake them up.
you might try putting your little one to bed just a little later. I noticed as my daughter was that age I tried putting her to sleep a bit later and it really helped. If that doesnt work maybe try to offer him water when he wakes they dont seem to drink it as quick . It will get better he will once again sleep through the night. It has been a really long time since I had this problem my daughter is now a teenager. I hope this helps you a bit.
Well I think that this is just a phase. Sometimes even when my oldest was 3 or 4 she would wake up. It doesn't last 4 ever. I have a 2 year old that wakes up sometimes just to tell me that she is scared, but really I think that she just wants to know that i will come to her. I tried to let my older child just cry it out, but now i look back and wonder why what was the big deal? They are only little once, I put this winnie the pooh lite show on her crib and it sings her a song and there is something on the ceiling for her to look at. I still go to her when she wakes up, I know that it is not necessary, but when my older child was 5 or 6 I missed it that she wanted me to comfort her. So now I make sure that I don't have the regrets that I do with my older child. Good luck and be patient!!
We had a similar problem and I thought that maybe my daughter just gets thirsty in the middle of the night. I've made sure that she gets plenty of liquids before bed and that seemed to help tremendously. Now, I'm not sure what we're going to do when it's time to potty train (she definitely has a FULL diaper in the morning!) but for now it's working out. I also agree with the other mom's on breaking the habit. Good luck!
He's old enough that he doesn't need to have a cup of milk at night. He's just started a bad habit that you'll need to break him of. My oldest son also did this around the same age. I had to just tell him no he couldn't have a drink it was "nigh nigh" time. He may fuss at first but after a couple of days he'll figure it out and start sleeping again!
Good luck!
S.
My son did the same thing. I took him to the dr to make sure he didnt have anything wrong and she said it looked like he was teething. I gave him nighttime orajel and motrin before bed and he slept all night. Good luck.
