3.5 year old waking up in the night and it going on for hours

[popsey]

can anyone help me, my 3 .5 year old little girl has starting waking up in the night and it has been happening now for nearly two weeks.  She has before woken up and just go into her and she will go back to sleep, a few times she will push it but I have managed to stop it after a couple of nights,  But this has been going on for a couple of weeks now.  When I put her to bed about 7.00pm, she has no nap in the day so she is quite tired, but I will put her to bed and she will come up with things like, I need to go to the toilet (she is still in a pull up, but coming out of them soon she has been dry for a few weeks at night) then it will be can I have some water, then it will be can I have a bit of tissue.  Then she will go to sleep, but in the night now if she wakes, it seems to be all those things.  i am worried now that I have made a habit or some sort.  I cant say to her no you can go to the toilet and no you cant have a drink (well can I ), but last night she woke up at 2.00am and it went off and on until 4.00am, it starts off calm, but when you get back in to bed and then  20 mins later she wakes you up calling mummy then after a while I get annoyed. What should I do.  Do I ignore her or carry on.  there does not seem to be any different in her life apart from her getting dry at  night.  But I just dont; know why she keeps waking up, it like she can;t get back to sleep with out those things.  She has  a dummy as well, but that is not what she is asking for.

I also went in to her after a couple of times, and she says things like can I have but then never says, like she does not need anything she is trying to think of something.  She must have said when she woke up once, "can I have 7 times", and then all it was  was something like a bit of tissue, or some water.

Any ideas, she is in the same room as her twin brother, so I don;t want him waking up either.  But he is also starting to wake and he never did before and he will always want some water.  is this water thing coming a nightmare.  I always take a drink to bed, but have I made this in to a problem now and how could I stop it

[skatty]

What time does she wake up and what time does she go to bed? My dd also gave up her nap and now any long NWs happen when she is OT and OS, she has to have a ridiculously early bedtime everday.

[popsey]

she goes to bed about 7.00pm and wakes anything from 7.00 onwards, sometimes she wakes at 7.00 and I could tell her to go back to sleep and she would until about 8.30am.  She is also in a cot at the moment still, but going in to a bed after xmas.  I do not believe she is waking through the bars as she is very tiny child

[skatty]

If she can go back to sleep until 8.30am then I reckon she needs more sleep, Leorah sleeps between 13-14 hours every night and then at the weekend often does a jumbo 15 hour one night, some kids just seem to need way more than average!

[popsey]

But it does not answer my question why the wakings and what should I do about the wakings

[Sima]

My 3 yo is also having NW all of a sudden--never had a problem before.    She wakes up calling for me --asking me to sing her a song-I keep it very low key and not talk--I tell her it is night night time. 
I was rocking her to soothe her back to sleep but now I just pat her on the back and was surprised that she went back to sleep. 
I really don't know what to suggest about the requests.....that is a hard one.  Before this started happening, did she Sleep through the night?

[skatty]

But it does not answer my question why the wakings and what should I do about the wakings

Well if she is OT that is why the wakings! If she is not crying I am not sure what you can do about the wakings. Some use reward charts, perhaps you could make a chart saying if she stays in her bed without calling you she gets a sticker? If it is because she is OT maybe she could go to bed earler/sleep later to catch up and the NWs will stop.

[popsey]

Although she goes to sleep quite quickly at night, I wouldn;t say she is really tired, when we went out the other week we didn't get back until 9.30 and she was not crying through tiredness, she was fine, not really that tired, she went to bed straight away, but I think if I pull it any earlier than 7.00 then I don;t think she would go to sleep any quicky.  Like I say she goes to sleep quickly I am quite hard in the fact that he knows it is night time and to go to sleep. 

I just don;t know if I should stop the water drinking thing, is that what is causing the problem, but can you stop that is that fair on her.

She always sleep fine before, we would get the odd waking but I think now that is she older, I think head strong has come in to play now,  like she  is pushing it.   

[skatty]

Can you give her a straw cup with water beside her bed and tell her if she wakes thirsty it is there?

[popsey]

I could try that but it is pitch black in their room, so she might not see it.

last night she again was awake for 2 hrs, she keeps waking from about 2.30 then 4.30 it seems to be the same sort of time each night.  and she wakes every half an hour.  Then in the end she goes to sleep and then wakes up about 8.00.  do you think she is not tired enough in the night and that is why she keeps waking up???

she called me and wanted to go to the toilet, then it was she wanted a drink, then something else, after that I just ignored it, she kept calling me but it is for nothing when I go in there.  Am i right to just ignore it.  seems when I go in there she just wants something silly in the end like, a piece of tissue, or count her dummies, or wants to get out of her bed.

really don;t know why this is happening

[skatty]

Yes that is the only reason I can think of now, maybe she is UT  Perhaps she is used to not napping now and needs less sleep?

[Ali wellman]

I have a similiar problem with my little boy who will be three at Christmas, he has started waking a night saying he doesn't want to sleep on his own.  This has been going on for about a month, some nights he just wakes once, I go in sit with him for 5 mins and he drops off again, but some nights it can go on for hours, last night he woke at 12.30, then again at 2 I was then up with him till 4.30!  Not sure whether to put him in with his sister who is 9 mths, but I don't want him waking her.  I think he generally doesn't want to be on his own but its hard to know what to do for the best!  Any suggestions....

[popsey]

actually my friend has the same sort of problem with her little girl that was four she started waking up in the night and it went off and on for hours, she was worried about being on her own, she ended up moving her little sister that was 2 in with her, but obviously she is a lot older than your little one that is only 9 months.  But it has sorted the problem out though, she also brought her a little glow monkey to cuddle at night to feel safe