My son is 2yrs old and still can't sleep through?

Question

My son who is 2 go's to bed between 7pm - 7.30pm and has a bottle of milk. He starts to get wiggley about 10pm and usually wakes up about 12-1am and we have to keep getting up a few times a night. He usually goes back to sleep about 10-15 min late untill the next time. Can anyone help !!!

Answer 1

Does he still have a day sleep? Maybe that could be phased out so he's exhausted enough to sleep better.

I don't think you are putting him down too late - my 2 year old goes down at the same time as yours and sleeps through for about 13 hours, so stick with your routine since that is what suits you and work more on what you do before bed.

Would a more solid supper be any better? A bottle maybe isn't satisfying him anymore and he is waking up hungry.

Do you give him the bottle to fall asleep with? He maybe wakes up still expecting it to be there, so if you want to keep giving him a night bottle, maybe try it with a story out of his bed so he'll stop associating bed with bottle. My son has a blanket that he likes and that is his 'bed buddy'. Anything could be introduced to replace it - a soft toy or something he can relate to bedtime.

Or you could try and be ruthless and let him go for as long as possible before you go through to him in the night until he clicks that attention won't be immediate and you can eventually phase it out. It is hard to ignore them when they cry - for whatever reason- but at least you know he is safe in his cot and crying out of habit rather than need. If you are worried about him climbing out the cot - I used a sleeping bag with all 3 of my children ( still do with the 2 year old) They can't get their leg up and over with that on!Plus it keeps a toddler warm so they're not waking up with the cold or anything like that.Cosy the whole night!

Whatever you do I hope you get something that works for you.

PS Melissa n - if you want to answer the question then answer it! Noone asked about health implications of giving a bottle! If you want to speak about that then post a question yourself. Don't abuse someone else's concerns by being so patronising!! And anyway - if he's drinking milk then perhaps you should know that milk is a drink that CAN be drunk after teeth have been brushed and actually do good not harm!!! Did your doctor tell you that??!

Answer 2

You need to look at his daytime schedule first. Is he taking any naps during the day? Usually by 2 years of age most children are down to one nap in the afternoon, of the 1-2 hour variation. Most parents discover if the naps go longer than 2 hours or beyond 4 o'clock, the kids are up during the night. I have a 16 month old who is down to one nap a day. Usually she goes to sleep between 12 and 1:30 and then sleeps for about 2 hours. I try to allow at least 4-6 hours before putting her back to bed at night depending on what time she wakes up. In other words, if she gets up at 3:30, going to bed at 8:30 would be ideal. She's good and tired after 5 waking hours.
If you aren't with your child during the day you might need to check with your child care provider and find out what sort of routine is occurring.
Definitely push the bedtime back a bit. 8-9ish.
If this doesn't help then it's possible your child could be having some other issues like acid reflux or sleep apnea. Best to talk with your pediatrician.
Hope this helps a little. I'm sure you're exhausted and frustrated. I've been lucky with my 4 who have always been good sleepers (8:30-8:30) but know plenty of parents with these issues. Sometimes it's the routine so check that first and make adjustments, and sometimes it's a health issue so talk to your doctor. Best of luck!

Answer 3

Like the first person said--try putting him to bed later--around eight or eight thirty.

Children older than six months are able to sleep through the night--without a bottle. I suggest not feeding him if you do. He is probably using this as a comfort method.

You can also feed him a lot during the day. You didn't mention what you gave him before he went to sleep. Try feeding him something right before bed (or before your normal routine) like oatmeal or rice. Or another "stick to your ribs" kind of foods. (really filling)

Also--to get him sleeping through the night--because he is older you can't just let him cry it out. He can get out of the bed--and possibly hurt himself if you do. I suggest when he wakes up, just go in there and tell him it's time for all little boys to be asleep. Sit in there with him for a week when he wakes up until he goes back to sleep. The next week--stand by the door while he falls asleep. The next week--just tell him it's time for little boys to be asleep and leave the room. Gradually, he'll get to the point where if he does wake up in the night, he won't need you guys to be there with him.

As for a bottle at two--I know this isn't the question--you should really try to get him off the bottle--it can be damaging his teeth. Also--if you brush his teeth at night, then give him a bottle, it isn't doing much for his teeth either.

Best of Luck!

Answer 4

My nephew used to do the same thing, and all i can tell you is that it seemed to be a result of mom's response when he woke up. Little babies don't sleep all night due to hunger, but there's a point when the waking happens out of habit. At 2 your son is capable of sleeping through the night, now it's just a matter of your discipline. You could try a later bed time to see if it helps, but my twin three year olds still go to bed at 7.30, and a later bed time makes their nights hard. If you can (you don't need to worry about neighbors hearing crying, and you can be assured he's safe in his room) i would suggest not getting up with him. Your son needs to know mom knows best and that night is for sleeping, and you expect him to do that. Without the expectation that mom and dad will be coming to see him, he will learn to put himself back to sleep, and will eventually just stop waking up. To start, it will seem impossible, it may take much longer than 15 minutes for him to go back to sleep, but don't give in! If you come in after an hour, he'll know that as long as he cries that long then you'll come. Just be diligent! Good luck!

Answer 5

We just moved our 23 month old son to a toddler bed five nights ago, and ever since then he has not woken up at night, and even gave up the bottle. He never even attempted to get out of bed at bedtime. I think that because he feels like a big boy, he is acting like one, he just loves it. So I think you should try that along with a later bed time and I feel you will have success.

Answer 6

If he's still having naps during the day - cut him down to an hour in the afternoon only and keep him active - doing things like painting, water play, new activities that he hasn't done before will make him tired so that he's more inclined to sleep through, if it's possible for you to do, try and take him somewhere for active play with other children i.e. swimming lessons for young children. Also make sure that he's awake before 9am ish in the morning and stick to a routine, arrange activities at set times during the day and give him a bath before he goes to bed.

Answer 7

Yeah my son has not had a bottle since 6 months old. People like you rot your kids teeth! I have worked in daycares for 5 years and have seen "baby bottle rot" its discusting. My doctor was very pleased to hear that my son had a sippy cup at 6 months. He said he wishes ALL parents listen to the warnings. It's unfortunate cause the poor kid doesnt know what is going to happen to their teeth. YOU have to be the grown up. Take it away COLD TURKEY. My son cried for 2 days but he realized if he wanted something to drink, he would have to take what he could get. I really hope you take my advice... I know I sound like a complete B$#@& and I'm sorry but sometimes the truth hurts. I have been yelled at about my parenting skils too, it's just a part of life :) It's corrective critisism.

Answer 8

you're not alone, my 18 month old won't sleep through the night no matter how late he goes to bed. but you might wanna try putting him to bed a little later than 7pm, because he might be waking up because he's going to bed too early. just a suggestion, don't know if it will work or not. I know exactly what you're going through though, so GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 9

My son now 6 was exactly the same goes to bed fine but wakes around 10-11 o'clock most nights he did grow out of it and will now sleep 10 12+hours. things like cutting out sweets and orange squash helped. we also used lavender oil on his pillow and in his bath water anything is worth a try. try asking the heath visitor as well there is medication you could use but only as a last resort and that's mainly to give you some rest coz stressed out parents only make it worse.

Answer 10

He's going to bed too early. If you played with him for an extra hour instead of putting him in bed at 7 p.m. you would have quality time with him and would exhaust him. Another thing I would suggest is weaning from the bottle at bedtime. It is not healthy for his teeth, but he may be wetting, which could wake him later in the night. Best of luck.