22 Month Old Waking up 2 Times a Night

These are all pretty normal habits for a young guy, unfortunately. One thing you may try is the book The No Cry Sleep Solution. I also highly reccomend Dr. Jay Gordon's website http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/index.asp

Hi! My son is 26 months and goes through the same thing at time. Plus when he stays the night with my mother, he always sleeps better. I account that to habit though. Because when he is home, he knows that when he wakes up and wants milk, Mommy is there and will give it to him. He doesn't see Grandma the same way. He doesn't even see Daddy the same. When my fiance goes in at night instead of me, he's able to put him right back to sleep. If it is me, my son will cry until I pick him up and rock him a little, and at times will not go back to bed without his milk. At 22 months, it's not unusual for them to wake up at night. one 3 hour nap may be too much for him, and could becausing the wake ups, but the only way to figure that out is to test it. Each child is different, including their sleeping habits. My other suggestion would be a nightime snack that is heavy on his stomach, something help him stay full into the night, so he doesn't wake up hungry. Hope some of this helps!!! Good Luck!

Hi S.,
I totally understand what you are going through right now! My daughter who is 20 months, is doing the same exact thing. She has a pretty solid routine, going to bed around 9pm waking around 8/9am. She gets one 2 1/2-3 hour nap in the afternoon as well. I don't think it is the 3 hour nap that is the problem myself, but then again I could be wrong. Do you think he is teething? I know my daughter is getting her 2 year molars in right now, and when she is teething she is prone to waking up during the night. She, like your son, wants milk when she wakes up and honestly, I usually give in to it too. There are times when I know she didn't eat very much for dinner, so maybe she wakes up hungry, but for her the bottle is a comfort item. Now, if AFTER the milk, he still does not go to sleep, or wakes again soon after, I would let him cry it out. That is what I do. I turn down the baby monitor, and pray lol, and eventually she will go back to sleep. I know I didn't give you any different advice than the other moms out there, but at least you know there is someone else that is going through the same problem. Just be patient and know that he will outgrow it, but be firm in your decisions. Good luck!

Hi-

I hate to be blunt but, the habit will stop when you stop giving in to the habit. He stays asleep at your parents' house cuz they probably don't go to him & he knows this. At almost 2 years old, he doesn't need to wake up to eat or drink anything. Like the other mom said, mayber try giving him a snack before bed. I've read that a light carb-filled snack (muffin, cereal, toast) is a good before bed snack & helps w/staying asleep. Ultimately, once you stop going into his room & giving him a bottle, he'll get the message that he needs to stay asleep. We have a 2 year old son (as well as a 6 3/4 year old son) who wakes up when teeth are coming in so I've had to deal w/middle of the night wakings. Hers's what I have done: w/o any talking at all to him, (if you talk to him, he may get the idea it's OK to be awake) go in & lay him back down, maybe rub his back a bit so he knows you're still there & also maybe try turning on some soft music. Then leave the room. You'll probably have to go back a few times & he'll most likely cry. The key is to not talk to him during these wakings & be consistent. He's young enough that it won't take very long to break this habit. It will be hard especially since you want your sleep to go to work the next day but let me tell you, my sister's twins would wake up every night several times, she'd go to them & she never broke the habit. So, now at 7 years old, they wander between their room & my sister's most of the night to the point that their dad ends up leaving the bed & sleeps in the guest room. Good luck!

Hello S., my name is S.. I read what you sent in and it reminds me of when my 5 year old was that age. It can be very frustrating. I found what worked for me was making sure his belly was full before he went to bed. Its just a suggestion but it worked for me. Maybee try some rice cereal with the water. Something that will fill him up.

S.,

The night time waking up is partly for attention and partly habit. He knows that if he wakes up you will get up with him, and he will get a bottle. The more you do it the more he will expect it. He doesn't do it at your parent's house because he knows they won't come to him. If you ignore it, it will stop. It may take a few nights or a couple of weeks, but it will get better as time goes on.

You are not along! My son did the same thing for 2-3 months. We finally started ignoring the behavior, yes he did cry for a while each time, but after a few nights he learned that we were not going to respond. He since has learned to put himself back to sleep. We leave a sippy cup in his crib that is full of water, that way if he does wake up thirsty he will have something to drink. I had to put a pillow over my head, and turn down the baby moniter, I didn't totally remove the baby moniter until he started playing with the one in our room and unplugging it. I still heard when he was awake, and would wake up enough to listen to the cry. If it was blood curtling, we responded because he might have had a bad dream, but for the most part it was only for attention.

Hang in there! Ignore it! IT WILL STOP AND GO AWAY!!!

Good Luck!

Dear S.,

I think that you are right about the 3 hour nap being too long. It would be better if whoever is taking care of him goes into his room and quietly awakens him about 2 hours into the nap. Not later than 2:30 or 3:00, because that gets too far into the afternoon, and causes him to not need so much sleep at night. I used to run a day care center for 35 or so preschool children and always had the teachers awaken the children about 2:30 and never after 3:00.

Twenty two months is a wonderful age, isn't it?

C. N.

S.,

Let me start by admitting I am new to the business of being a mom. My son, Alex, will be 6 months old this month. However, in my own quest to get a good night's sleep I came across the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth and have found it to be extremely helpful. Our son was waking up every 2 hours at night after going down around 8pm and was starting the day at 5:30 with infrequent and unpredictable naps. After reading the book and putting the suggestions to work, he now goes to bed around 6:30, I usually hear from him once a night to nurse (around 1am or 2am) and then I wake him up to start the day at 7am. He naps once in the morning and once after lunch, sometimes taking a quick powernap late (between 4pm and 5pm). He is so happy all the time and we constantly get comments from neighbors, friends and family members about how easy going he is. If you can find the time to check out this book, it may help solve the sleep problems your son is having. Good Luck -