2.5 year old sleep issues

[Bekkala]

Hi everyone,

my 2.5 year old has been waking up between 3-4am for several weeks. Whatever I try to get her back to sleep doesn't work. She goes to sleep around 7:30pm and she has a nap for about 2h from 11-1am. I have tried to put her to bed earlier and later, cutting out her nap but nothing seems to work. I am not sure what else to do.

[Scottishmummy]

Hi there!

How long is your LO a wake for in the night? Does she go back to sleep at all or is it a 3/4am start to the day? (Ouch)

What are you doing to try to resettle her when she wakes at night?

Does she go to sleep independently at BT?

I'm responding to your question with more questions but sometimes that can help work out what might be going on & what might be worth trying

[Bekkala]

Hi again,

yes, 3-4am is wake up time. I try rocking her back to sleep or singing to her but to no avail. I sometimes try for 1h. Yes, she goes to sleep by herself at bedtime no issues at all. I cannot figure out why she wakes up so early... I cannot let her cry for too long otherwise she will wake up my older daughter. She used to wake up at 6am which is totally acceptable but from one day to the other it was 4.

[Scottishmummy]

Oh my, 3-4am Wu is really hard. Could she be teething? There are some molars around 2-2.5 that sometimes disrupt sleep.

There is sometimes a bit of a developmental leap around half birthdays, so it could be that..but for me the birthday and half birthday leaps have also coincided with a need for a routine change. I wonder whether she needs to start the 1-0 transition? I know you said you tried with no nap to no avail, but I'm wondering how long youbtried for. It can take a while for a routine change to take effect.

Have you considered trying a later nap to start with? Sometimes EW is because nap is too early or too long. I think I'd try pushing the nap later and possibly shorter too e.g. Gradually start 15mins later but still wake at the same time and see if that helps.
Alternatively some LOs can drop the nap cold turkey and just do earlier BT to compensate.

Here's a link to read and consider your options. It's a v tricky transition and no "right" answer just different options for different babies.
The 1-0 transition...Advice and Tips to help you through.