My 2 year old son used to sleep well but now wakes up at night...?

Question

My two year old used to sleep at night making waking once during the night every few weeks....now he wakes up every night almost a few times. if i go in right away and say go back nite nite he usually does but now i feel like im jumping at every noise and creak at night (we live in apts. so there are quite a few) and not getting a good night sleep even when he does. then hes waking at 5:45 and ready to get up. He goes to bed at 8:30 and has for a while and later than that seems too late. He takes an hour or two nap during the day. I feel like too much sleep isnt really the issue. If I leave him to cry he gets out of bed and pounds on his door, so i feel like I have to go in. I did let him cry it out at 9 months but this seems harder because he can get up and get toys if he wants. he doesnt do that yet even at nap but i feel like if that starts it will be an even harder habit to break...what do i do? oh, and we have a getting ready for bed/bath./cup/book routine...

Answer 1

I have an 18 month old who has started doing the exact same thing. I know this sounds strange, but waking in the middle of the night and playing is normal for children of most ages. After a certain age, they simply lie in bed and think about things, just like adults, but at this young age, they don't have much compacity for quiet thought, and want to DO something. Place a night light in your son's room, so that he can see better, and unless he cries, try not to go into his room, just like with an infant. If the child is not screaming or crying, there is NO need for you to interfere.

Seperation anxiety can add to the desire not to sleep, because your child may know that you do not go to sleep when he does, and want to spend more time with you. Also, just being contrary, also something toddlers are known for, can mean they force themselves to stay awake even when they don't really want to.

Also, as far as the amount of sleep needed, the recommended amount of sleep, on average, for a 2 year old is a single 1 1/2 hour nap during the day, and around 11 1/2 hours at night. However, this IS an average. Some children will sleep more, and some less. If your child is going to bed around 8:30, he should, on average, sleep until around 8:00 in the morning. However, some children survive just fine on less sleep.

If your child is waking far too early in the morning for comfort, do try to push back his bed time a little at a time, and see if that helps at all. If he goes to bed at 8:30, and gets up at 5:45, try letting him stay awake until 9:00. He may very well sleep until 6:15 the next morning. Going to bed at 9:30 may mean he can sleep until almost 7. However, do remember that keeping a child awake too long during the day can cause them to be over-tired and make it harder for him to sleep. If you do decide to push back his bedtime, in hopes of later mornings, do it gradually, no more than 15-30 minutes each night.

Also, make sure that his nap is neither too close, nor too far away from bed time. If he rises at 6am, and stays awake until 8:30pm, and sleeps for 1 1/2 hours in between, the ideal naptime is 12:30 - 2:00. This is right in the middle of the day, and also great because it's right after lunch, which means a full tummy will make it easier to sleep.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Maybe he does need less sleep although you feel that is not really the problem. When children grow older, sleeping habits change. My daughter used to take two naps a day, then one, then stopped taking any before she was three and would go for an entire 12-hour stretch without sleep. As long as she would sleep through the other 12 hours, she would be fine. She is a nightbird too. She doesn't have a room of her own so she has to go to bed when we do, we rarely go to bed before 10:30. She just started going to nursery school so she has to get up at 7:30 and she gets tired, that's why takes a 2-hour nap at the nursery. That makes 11 hours of sleep daily and it works fine for her. And by the time she hits the pillow, she is asleep which makes it easy for me. She is 3 yrs and 4 mo now. Depending on your daily schedule, you can try to put him to bed later or skip the nap just to see if it helps.

Answer 3

I feel your frustration. the same thing happens with my almost 2 year old son. He gets up and walks right out of his room so there's no "letting" him cry. I usually comfort him if he sad but put him immediately back to bed as long as he's consolable. BY no means, let him stay up unless you think somethings wrong with him. Put him straight back to bed to TRY to break the cycle. Maybe try putting him to bed just a tad bit later; say at 9:00. Sometimes when my son wakes up, I just give him a cup of water {if he says hes thirsty, well , in his own way} or a teddy bear or a book. He usually falls back asleep. But I know it's hard b/c he's been doing it every night since I put him in his toddler bed.

Answer 4

I hate to give you such a simple answer, but it's the truth.... he's going through a very, VERY normal phase and all you can do is just wait it out. Not all children go through this phase, but a lot do. There's nothing to be worried about, despite how stressing it may be to you.

Hang in there!

And always remember, if you truly think something may be wrong, seek out help from his pediatrician. Explain to them the concerns you have as well as just tell him the doctor everything you've said here. The best of luck to you during this time!

Answer 5

let go of one of his naps or shorten it. he sounds like he could be getting too much sleep.