3 yo starting to wake 1-2/night consistently

[nona]

my 3 yo  used to never wake up in the MOTN. then it started up on days she did not nap this year. now is seems it is happening once a night and last night was 3x.

also, i thought she was on her way to dropping the nap this summer but she started taking her nap again once the school year started up. i don't cap it and she has no problems going to bed at night.  if she does not nap, i try to get her to bed by 7pm (any later and she will def wake up in the MOTN). otherwise, she goes to bed btwn 8-830.

she wants us to tuck her back in (i'm having flashbacks to my DS at his age & need to nip this in the bud!).

the past few nights she has been sleeping on the floor bc my DH bought her a olaf sleeping bag. So the past few nights have been she needs help bc it gets twisted - easy solution: she is moving back to her bed. i just talked to her about this & she insists she will fix the bag herself but i seriously doubt that.  however, i guarantee she will wake up tonight bc she is won't be napping at MDO.

also, we have a gate on her door to prevent her from coming downstairs so she never sleeps with us and just wants us to tuck her back in.

any tips.....i'm exhausted.....

[cath~]

Hi there,

I'd expect that the NWs are either:
- developmental (in which case there's not much you can do except give the minimum attention/reassurance required and wait for them to pass)
- UT (due to nap)
- OT (due to no nap)
- habit

Do you notice a difference in the timing and number of the NWs depending on whether she naps or not?  Maybe she still needs a nap but just a slightly shorter one so she's still tired enough for a good night's sleep.  How long does she usually nap for?

If it's habit, is there a time when they often/usually happen?  Could you try W2S just before that time to see if it helps?  I'd also keep trying to encourage her to tuck herself back in.  Could you play a game of practising this during the day?  I agree it sounds like the sleeping bag is causing problems and it might be better if she moves back to her bed.

I'd also try physical activity to wear her out and see if that helps her sleep more soundly.

HTH.  Maybe some other ppl have some more ideas.  It's a tricky one..

ETA - have there been any changes in her life recently that could be a cause?  Has her behaviour/mood changed at all during the day?

[nona]

thanks cath!

it could be habit esp since happening more often but it is not at the same time every night and some nights she skips.

so the night before last (tues) - she told me she would fix the bag herself bc she really wanted to sleep in it. she was asleep by 710pm and woke up a couple of hours later bc she was thirsty (this has never happened before). i obliged and she went back to sleep no problems - and STTN (YAY!).  and i gave her a little reward in the morning ( i know controversial -but just a pair of new princess panties lol).

so last night we talked about it again and i told her she needed to fix the bag herself - well at 130am she was crying for me and i told her she needed to fix it herself (nicely) but there was a tantrum/drama and anyway she refused so i told her she needed to sleep in her bed. She did relunctantly.

her naps aren't terribly long. yesterday she had a later nap but i also put her to bed later. if i wake her from a nap to shorten it she is very grumpy and very tired.

she is supposed to stay in her bed until the clock turns yellow (we have a tot clock) but she has been pushing the button to make it turn yellow before it is supposed to  - the little stinker. So she was up this morning at 6am. i just figured it out this morning. (problem solved - will move clock out of reach).

she knows how to adjust the sleeping bag. she is always playing with it and playing nap time...but we can practice.

i know we are in the transition from 1-0 so it is a tricky time period. however, even with my DS stopped napping we had these problems  -grrr!!!! my kids sleep pretty great as babies adn then things go down hill around 3.5 years old!! why?! lol.

i'm rambling sorry really tired today!

[cath~]

Yeah, it does sound like it could be habit.. Even if not always at the same time. Just habit to call/cry for you if/when she wakes iyswim?

so last night we talked about it again and i told her she needed to fix the bag herself - well at 130am she was crying for me and i told her she needed to fix it herself (nicely) but there was a tantrum/drama and anyway she refused so i told her she needed to sleep in her bed. She did relunctantly.

I think you did totally the right thing here

i just figured it out this morning. (problem solved - will move clock out of reach).

hope this helps!

I hope that these two things help.  Do let us know how you get on.  Sorry I've not got any other bright ideas at the moment but will ask around and see if anyone else can help...

((hugs))

[nona]

don't worry - just nice to vent lol. she was very tired tonight (No nap) and was asleep by 715. so we will see what happens....she is in her bed not in the sleeping bag lol

[Buntybear]

Hi - she is approaching 4 in a few month right so i would have thought this was something to do with the 1-0 for sure. As you know many kids have dropped the nap by now. Can you give us an idea of how often she is napping in the week and for how long? I would have thought she as in a bit of an UT/OT cycle.

xx

[nona]

yea i'm sure she is. my DS (9) didn't drop his nap until much later. both of my kids are HSN. 

her nap varies, prob from 1.5-2 hours. and i really don't care if she naps most days i just want her to have quiet time in her room. as a matter of fact that's what she was doing and then she started napping -again- once school started up. 

if she doesn't nap, i put her down really early but it can be problematic the days we have to be out later bc of activities with my son KWIM.

night before last she woke up - i think my plan is going to be the minimum talking, tuck-in and leave approach which i sorta do it now but i'm going to be more no nonsense about it. i'll see how that goes and then i may have to be hard core and just say "time for bed" & she will have to tuck her self back in. we pretty much went thru the exact same thing with my DS.

last night she slept from 845 (late night we had a party) - 7am. if she naps i put her to bed btwn 8-830 usually so that wasn't too much later.

[cath~]

sounds like a good plan

maybe you could keep track of her routine (WU, nap time and length, BT) for a few days to a week, and see if/when the NWs occur.  We might be able to spot a pattern.

Have you ever tried capping her nap?  Would they do that at school?

Perhaps a (much) shorter nap would be enough to keep OT at bay, but also ensure she's still tired enough for a good night's sleep (w/o NWs!)

[nona]

she doesn't nap at school - so she only naps about 4x a week. she does rest at school but never sleeps.

i will wake her if sleeping too late; however, she is very grumpy and upset if that happens.

it is tricky bc my DS gets home from school at 3pm and it is nice to have a bit of quiet time with him and quiet homework time before my cute tornado wakes up!!!

i'll try to keep track of everything this week....it's a big birthday week (my son's, mine, and my FILs and we have lots of OOT guests!)

[cath~]

Ah sorry I misunderstood. Thought she was napping at school but do you mean on other days as she's still tired from school?

Quiet time to do homework must be nice and I can totally see why you'd want to keep that if you can

Does she nap in her bed?
What about letting her nap on a sofa if/when she wants to? She might be less grumpy to wake there and perhaps you could have a snack or drink on hand to ease the transition?

[nona]

What about letting her nap on a sofa if/when she wants to? She might be less grumpy to wake there and perhaps you could have a snack or drink on hand to ease the transition?

well, i need my own QT ha ha! she is a little tornado!

she did not nap yesterday and STTN from 715-630. So that was great!  so we may need to do an every other day nap...

She looked EXHAUSTED today and wanted to take a nap so we will see how tonight goes. She just feel asleep at 230.

[cath~]

she did not nap yesterday and STTN from 715-630. So that was great!  so we may need to do an every other day nap...

She looked EXHAUSTED today and wanted to take a nap so we will see how tonight goes. She just feel asleep at 230.

yeah, sounds like nap every other day might be the way to go.

will be interesting to see how it affects NWs.

I guess you reach a point where you have to choose maybe between more QT during the day, or shorter nights/NWs.

Capped nap is of course another option, but not necessarily a fun one if she doesn't like being woken.  Maybe a later BT on nap days would help the NWs...

[nona]

I guess you reach a point where you have to choose maybe between more QT during the day, or shorter nights/NWs.

i know - EEK!!!!