I am at a complete loss. I don't know what to do. My 2 year old daughter WILL NOT SLEEP. It started Wednesday. I put her to bed at her usual time - 8pm. She went down fine, but woke up at 2 am and would not go back to sleep untiil 8 am. She slept for 2-3 hours then was up until after midnight on Thursday. Thursday morning she slept in until 11am. No nap that day. (She gave up napping months ago.) She was tired at her usual time (8) so I tried putting her to bed but she would not stay in bed. I put her back in bed. She'd get up. And so on and so forth. This went on until 1am. She finally fell asleep, slept maybe 4 hours and woke up again. We have a regular bedtime routine. It has always worked in the past. She has fallen asleep on her own since she was a year old. I am at a loss. I don't know what do. On top of this lack of sleep, I am sick...and I have to get up early with my 1 year old. The boy never sleeps in. ;) What the heck is going on with my child?? Is this a normal toddler phase? What can I do to get her back on track with sleeping?
Thank you all for your insight/encouragement/advice! I am going to give your ideas a try. :) She has an appointment with her pediatrician Monday morning. I will feel better once I can rule out any "medical" reasons. Thanks again! Hopefully tonight will be a better night for us! :)
My son used to (not) sleep like that when he was overly tired. Could that be? Maybe try 30min earlier bedtime. They never sleep as well when they are exhausted! Might be worth a try.
And I respectfully disagree with the previous advice to give her a "sedative"!
.
You responded to my similar question a few days ago. I hope that things are going better for you.
Our 2 1/2 year old has been doing the same thing. After about a month of staying alone in his toddler bed and sleeping well, he stopped sleeping almost entirely and seemed really anxious if we left him at night. We think it might have been related to a thunderstorm.
We unsuccessfully tried just returning him to bed over and over (and over and over), but it progressed to a game and then he became hysterical and exhausted as the hours wore on. We also didn't talk to him during the process, which was too difficult on all of us.
I ended up buying and rapidly reading the book "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber. He has a lot of strategies that we are more comfortable with, and he does a very good job of explaining sleep science and stressing that helping a child fall asleep, even if he cries for you for some time, is the right thing to do.
The action plan was to put a gate at his room and let him cry for short, but increasingly longer, intervals. Then go to him and reassure him and leave (last night, the max we left him was 10 minutes). So, we tried it last night and he fell asleep, in his bed, after only an hour and a half, and when he woke twice at night, he cried momentarily - hardly even long enough for me to get out of bed and check on him - and fell back to sleep on his own. It is only one night, but I'm more encouraged than I've been in more than a week. An hour and a half might seem long, but previous nights we spent more time putting him back in bed (and thus he spent crying) than he would spend sleeping.
Of course, if your daughter is sick and this explains the wakefulness then you might not even need to try something else.
As for naptimes, I put a soft blanket down on his floor for one nap and laid with him until he fell asleep -- no patting or rubbing his back - and he now will stay in the room on the blanket on the floor for naptimes. That is definitely helping because he isn't too overtired to relax at bedtime. Like I said, it has only been one day but things appear to be improving.
Oh no! I feel for you! My first response would be to try to break the cycle by giving her a harmless antihistamine/sedative. Speak to your pharmacist about one, I've found them to be very helpful and understanding about these issues. Once the cycle is broken you should get back on track.
What about putting her mattress on the floor in your room? Maybe seeing you asleep when she wakes up at odd hours will reassure her and help her fall back to sleep.
Melatonin - ask you Dr. It is safe, natural, non-addictive. My son, now 15, will take it voluntarily on nights when he cannot sleep but knows that he has to wake early. I have give it on and off to him, with Dr. recommendation, throughout his life.
Agree with not letting her sleep in. It perpetuates the strange sleep rhythm.
Definitely take her to Dr. for a check up and rule out anything organic.
My son's lightest sleep period has always been between 2 and 3 am. When he was a baby he used to wake up to eat, and throughout his life he has occasionally woken up at that time, for no apparent reason.
Your daughter's natural sleep rhythms are changing, for whatever reason, and she is too young to understand that laying down, and relaxing, will help her doze back up.
I wish you luck
and Sweet Dreams
I'm wondering if it's her 2 year molars that are bugging her- maybe just enough to wake her up. Try giving her some Advil if she wakes ____@____.com see if that works.
Hope you feel better soon!!! =o)
Go back and reread the answers everyone gave you a few days ago. PLus, take her off ALL dairy and soy products for two weeks and see if she doesn't sleep normally again.
