OK, ladies, I need some serious suggestions!
My daughter will be three next month. She has always been a really good sleeper. A few weeks ago she started waking up in the middle of the night crying. We would go in and hug her, and then she would go right back to sleep. I didn't think anything of it at first, but it's still happening, and now we're up to four or five times a night! She only wants a kiss and a hug and then she falls right back to sleep. The problem is, I am getting so frustrated by the fact that this keeps happening that I am having a hard time sleeping after she goes back to bed.
I have tried everything. We put a nightlight in her room. We adjusted the temperature. We tried a different bedtime routine. We've tried talking to her and reassuring her that we are right next door. We have tried letting her cry it out. Unfortunately, my daughter is one stubborn kid, and will literally cry all night long without stopping. There is nothing wrong with her, she's not sick, she's not uncomfortable, she just wants a hug and a kiss, and then rolls over and is right back to sleep. HELP!
I should have added that we have tried a dozen different dolls and teddy bears. She hates them in her bed. She won't sleep if one is even on her bed, she throws it on the floor. She also has a speech problem (she is getting help for it, but she is severly delayed in that area) so she can't tell us what's really wrong. She understands us perfectly. She just can't speak the words.
Maybe she is having night-mares or being woken up by dreams. Kids this age have those.
It sometimes wakes my son, who is now 4 years old.
You can't control their minds when they are asleep... it is involuntary.
AND you can't control their imaginations...
Maybe it's growing pains? My daughter went through similar phases that would literally last about a month or so and then right back to normal. Her pediatrician said it is growing pains since she wasn't experiencing any other symptoms. We also kept a rock garden/water fountain in her room which created white noise but also was relaxing for her. We always had a routine of giving her a soft massage before bed with a touch of lavender oil.
It was the same for us. She wouldn't cry or anything. She just kept waking up and looking for me, then right back to sleep. We also adjusted her bedtime to a 1/2 hr. later and that seemed to help too.
There are several possibilities so you just need to try different things to seek a solution that will work for her. She is still very young and maybe realizing she is lonely in her bed? That could be why she is just looking to you to hug and reassure her.
It sounds like she's afraid of the dark and being alone. Children start developing fears around this age. There is a bear that glows; a rainbow bear. They sell it at walmart, kmart and toys r us. It shows all the colors of the rainbow when its squeezed. Also, about an hour before her bedtime, lay in her bed (if its big enough) and tell her its your bedtime. Let her play the mommy and cry for her. See what she does for you when you cry. This will help you understand what she's looking for.
A similar thing was happening to my good friend's daughter: it turned out that she had a sensitivity to high fructose corn syrup. My friend discovered that high fructose corn syrup was in a lot of things she wasn't expecting, such as bread, crackers, and applesauce. I don't even remember how she found out, but once she did & stopped giving it to her little girl, she started sleeping through the night again. It might be worth a shot?
Put a bear (doll, whatever..) in her bed. Give it some kisses at bedtime, and tell her if she needs a kiss in the night, you have stored some in her bear, and he can give them to her.
Good luck.
Sounds like night terrors... my daughter is 6 and still has them sometimes (only now she sleepwalks as well... awesome, right?) Does she remember it the next day? If not, it may very well be night terrors. Try to stay on as much of a schedule as possible, do everything 'normal'... at bedtime, say 'no crying tonight, right?'... that sometimes helps my daughter for some reason (even though she's not 'awake' when she wakes up, if that makes sense). If push comes to shove, ask your pediatrician. No matter what, I'm sure this is some kind of phase... hang in there! :)
Is she potty trained? My son has been waking up and I have asked him if he has to go potty and we go and I think that he is just realizing that he has to go and wakes up when that happens. I know my neighbors daughter now gets up all by her self and goes then goes back to bed. My son just has the issue with having to go pee and he has been holding it all night and can not hold through the night so he has to get up in the night to go, then goes back to be no problem.
what about a transition? continue to go in for a few nights, but every time do Not give her a hug, instead tell her verbally that you love her but she needs to go back to sleep. and that mommy needs her sleep to be a good mommy in the morning. that you are excited to see her and hug her in the morning. (telling her that what she wants is ok, and you would be thrilled to oblige, but a more appropriate time for it.)
good luck!
Is something maybe waking her up? Furnace? Car sounds? Try some white noise all night in her room, maybe.
It may be time for another round of "Cry It Out" that may last for a while. Kids sleeping cycles just like their rate of growth! She must be going through a phase where she is waking and not able to soothe herself. Make sure she has something to "snuggle" in her bed/crib.
I know it sounds harsh, but don't give her the feedback she's looking for and it may die-out faster. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, don't go to her bedside. Stand by the door and whisper, we're here go back to sleep and then leave. If she comes to your room, turn her around.
She's figured out that if she cries all night, one of you will eventually go to her. We learned this lesson with my son too! At 2, we had to go through the "CIO" again and it took a solid three nights of letting him cry and be upset before we were back on track.
I know that a lot of people don't like the CIO method, but it does work.
My daughter is going through the same thing. She will be 3 in January. It is very frustrating. I agree nothing seems to be wrong and she doesn't even seem to be awake many of the times. I let her whine/cry for about 10-15 minutes then I go in and give her a kiss and tuck her back in if she needs. She has been doing this for about 3 months. Some weeks, she is back to her normal sleeping great self and then other weeks, we are up 5 times/night for 5 days straight. I think it is a phase. I think she is dreaming and when it wakes her she is afraid. I can hear her tossing and turning and mumbling in the monitor so that is why I think she is dreaming. I try to not get too frustrated with her because she doesn't know what is going on and wants to sleep too. Sometimes she will answer me when I ask what is wrong and other times she is too out of it to answer. When she does answer, she will say "Mommy I want to sleep." I tell her I love her and I want to sleep too. I have noticed that the waking at night is getting much less frequent. We are down to about 1 day per week and maybe twice during that evening. Hang in there. It will end hopefully, sooner than later.
My son is about to be 5 and sometimes he confuses what he was dreaming about with reality. Just last week he told me how upset he was with me because during the nighttime I came in his room and ripped up all of his books. During that day, his sister had accidentally ripped one of his books and right now that is a prized possession of his. I am positive that is why he dreamed about it later and then was a bit confused by it.
