my two year old is up 6 times a night?

Question

my son is a little of 2 and he wakes up every night about 6 times...he whines and toosses in his sleep then wakes up,he takes a cup of juice or milk and goes back to sleep for like an hour or so..his dr says its habit..can you help me?

maybe i should add this he was diagnosed at a year with gerd and asthma..they say the gerd is cleared up but can it return,he also has a smoke5rs cough at night

Answer 1

Juice has way too much sugar. Stop giving juice at night.

Water should be given before bedtime. Then potty before bed. After that, no more water until morning.

Your doctor is right, it's habit and you're allowing it. You need to break the cycle.

Answer 2

yeah this is just a bad habit that YOU need to break.
My first son slept 12 hours a night from 5 months, son number 2 is 20 months and does not understand the concept of sleep!! so I understand. Dont give him milk or juice at the most just water. The best thing you
can do is let him cry it out, after a few nights he will realise you are not going to go running every time he makes a noise and he will give up. As i said my little man still wakes but he does not cry he just plays with his teddies for about 10 mins and then gets himself back to sleep. You have formed a habit with him which on you can stop. Good luck

Answer 3

When he wakes up- dont give him juice or milk. Water should be the only drink given at night. The natural and artificial sugars from the juice and milk will cause tooth decay and they might be the reason why he is not settling down at night. Give him a cup of water before he goes to bed and put another cup of water in a spill-proof sippy cup next to the bed in case he wakes up in the middle of the night thirsty. And yes, I agree with your doctor that he is waking up out of habit- every child does it- dont worry. But it is up to you to break the habit. You need to tell him that water will be the only drink given at bed time and if he protests- let him cry it out. You have made your point. Just make sure he has the water. Every bad habit must be replaced with a better one. And I bet once he knows that he is not getting any of the sweet drinks- he will sleep better at night.

Answer 4

It is definitely a habit. Stop giving him milk or juice when he wakes up. It may be hard at first - he may cry more but it will be worth it when you both start getting a full nights sleep!Ignore him for a few minutes and he may give up and go back to sleep on his own. If he still cries get up and tell him to go back to sleep. Do not play with him or rock or cuddle him just a soft "go back to sleep". Eventually he will learn that night time is for sleeping only not for drinking juice and milk and socializing. Also make sure he is not napping too much during the day- so that he is good and tired at night.
Good luck!

Answer 5

My daughter is 2 in july and she pretty much does the same thing. Some nights are worse than others, She tosses and turns, somes times she wakes up sobbing. I give her a bottle of toddler formula before bed and she usually goes straight to sleep. Then just after midnight it starts, i just go in and put her back down then walk out. She always goes staight back down after about 5 mins, This was a few weeks ago i actually discovered that she had all 4 of her double teeth coming through. Shes ok during the day but at night she gets real sooky and keeps waking up. I went to the chemist and asked him if he could give me something other than bongella which doesnt do anything. He gave me some oral gel, and that night she didnt wake up once. It was like she was a different child. Sometimes theres a reason why they keep waking up. As far as im concerned asking your dr about something like this is a waste of time, i go to a baby clinic if i have questions like this. midwives know alot more about things like this.

Answer 6

We are batteling the same thing with our 2.5 year old too!

My advise (or what has worked for us)

No drinks, except water, in the middle of the night, this helps with tooth decay too.

Start different habits. bath at 7, snack at 7:30 brush teeth 8, read story after that, lay toddler down in bed, sing a song, let toddler know that you will play again in the morning.

If toddler is in his crib still, make sure it is safe if he falls out. Let him fuss for a while before you go to him, so he can console himself. Our toddler is in a toddler bed, she walks to our room, we put her back in her bed. Some nights are great, some nights are awful. Last night we were only up once :) WOOO HOOO

Answer 7

Boy he is sure controlling you. Firmly put him to bed and sit away from him until he falls to sleep. When you put him to bed tell him the only way he gets up is to potty and you will check or an emergency. All other things are for the big people to handle. I dont like sippy cups but some water in one would stop the "I wanna." The habit can be broken keep that in mind. Good Luck

Answer 8

let him cry it out. get up only once to give him water (just in case he is really thirsty). than ignore his cries.

we all get up several times a night, we just don't remember because we fall right back to sleep. your son does not know how to fall right back to sleep. as hard as it is, letting him cry it out is the method.

Answer 9

Don't give too much juice. that's just too much sugar. Try to spend time with him.

Answer 10

try no to give him sugar and toinght go to bed with him to break the cycle he wont wake up any more if you go to bed with him