Toddler Not Sleeping Through the Night Anymore

K. - it could be that she is going through a developmental milestone right now which would affect her sleep. My daughter is only 5 months but was doing the same thing and i went to www.askmoxie.com and found that there are several developmental milestones that babies go through that will affect their sleep. There is alot of helpful discussion on the moxie website....hope that helps.

Both my kids went through a similar 're-waking' routine around the same age, though my youngest was much worse about it. For us, I realized that they had been watching children's DVDs that to an adult were perfectly mild but it terrified my kids. Since they can't understand everything they see during their day, on TV or otherwise, it can lead iteself to having fears. We ended up having to put away certain DVDs, and even certain children's books, until they had enough verbal skill that we could sit with them and talk about what was going on. Simple things like a main character being afriad, dramatic music or even a mean look from the 'villian' would send my youngest into fits!

Also, it could always be teething. Those 2 year molars could be coming in at any time as well as any of the primary teeth that have yet to emerge. I think the best advice that I ever received about raising children is to become a student of them - especially in a situation like this when they can't speak well enough to explain, take the time to really study your child and the things around them and, in my experience, almost every time I can discover something that I never would have though of had I not slowed myself down and studied my child's world. All the childcare books in the world are no match for a mama's knowledge of her own child. :)

Lastly, I'd say I agree with one of the other posts - those kiddos get used to the extra night time attention really quickly. I'd always go and reassure my kids if they were having problems in the night and meet any needs (dirty diapers, check for fevers, find loveys, etc.) but I would avoid picking them up for cuddling if at all possible. I know how hard it is NOT to do that, especially when they're standing up reaching for you - my littlest one has a bad sinus infection AND is cutting those molars, poor thing, and I wanted to take her to our bed to keep an eye on her! But it is better in the long run to reaffirm that night time is for sleeping and there's plenty of time during the day to get lots of cuddles and attention.

Good Luck!

It could be nightmares. You might also question her what is wrong and see if she can give you any clue even thought I know it probably won't be a very exact answer you get. My daughter was about 2 1/2 and started having issues at night. She finally told me she thought there were monsters in her room. Later I realized she was talking about the shadows from her night light and once that was taken out she has been fine. I wish you luck; I know it is hard to have your sleep broken.

My son went through this....separation anxiety???? One thing I stopped doing was picking him up and rocking him....he really go used to that - quick. I would go in lie him back down and rub his back. GOod luck....I know you want your sleep back!

I have a 4 year old and a 17 month old... they both have done this off and on... I think it has to do with growth spurts and teething. My little guy has just cut 4 molars in about a month. He had some problems sleeping, and I have been giving him Tylenol most nights. It helps. Bottom line is, I think most kids go through times of restless sleep now and then. I'm not sure it ever stops... I'm 40 in a few months and I still have nights when it's difficult to sleep for no apparent reason. (Really stinks, because those are usually the nights the boys are sleeping well!) You might try what I do... even if something needs to be done, I go to sleep when they do when I'm really tired. Good luck.
~J.

I probably should not be the one giving advice on this (because I'm a co-sleeping mom), but I feel for you as sleep is vital so I'm going to give it a whirl.

Have you tried taking her into bed with you?

I also remember reading that some children do not sleep through the night until about the age of three. I remember this because although we're a co-sleeping family, my son often woke up during the night (not crying though) thus disturbing my own sleep - often if his routine was disrupted in some way like family visiting or an overly stimulating day or a cold.

I was thankful that we co-slept because if I had to physically get out of bed every time he woke up I would not have been able to function. Then, just a few months before his 3rd birthday, he began sleeping solidly through the night - like magic!

Going to bed was never a problem either because I always went with him so and he rarely awoke crying. The few crying episodes were brief as he went right back to sleep once he felt me next to him.

I do hope you get some sleep soon. I have a book here called the 90-minute sleep program that was sent to me for review. I didn't review it because I'm a co-sleeping mom and it's not my style. It's brand new and I would be more than happy to give it to you if you would like to have it.

Warmly,
W.
http://motherrising.blogspot.com

My son is doing the same thing, I can't really give you any advice but I'll be checking back to see what advice you get, since I could use it too.

With a child that age, it's hard to determine what's causing her to wake up in the middle of the night. But kids that age pick up on things. Is there a change in routine or one coming up? My daughter, now 3, started having trouble before we moved to a new place. Then her daddy went back to sea duty and deployed all within the space of 6 months. She knew something different was coming before it even happened. I was so frustrated. But usually just a soft tone and rubbing her back was all it took. Now, I'm not saying this was a cure-all but I was usually back in bed in just 3-4 minutes. But a little reassurance that everything is ok helps.
Like some of the other posts said, she could be teething. You might look in her mouth and see if her gums are red. I noticed my kids always complained more when their gums were red. So when I noticed it, I'd give them tylenol before bed.
I know how frustrating it can be but sometimes it's just one of those toddler stages you have to work through. Good luck!

We literally just went through the same thing with our 19-month old daughter. We wondered aboug nightmares too. She was also getting in her incisors so we tried giving Tylenol before bed. After a week and half of no sleep on anyone's part and nothing working (comforting, soothing, thinking she was just not tired enough and bringing her back downstairs to wear herself out, rocking, etc.) we finally just let her cry it out one night. It was difficult but she finally got it and has gone back to sleeping through the night. We simply went into her room, told her we loved her, everything was ok and then laid her down and walked out. Good luck.