2 1/2 daughter that wakes up 3x a night !??

[Lison]

We are so tired and exhausted we don't know what do do anymore. Our 2 1/2 yrs old daughter has started to have some sleep problems in the last couple of months. When we try to put her to bed it's a big fuss, she even got out of her PJ and diaper last night in protest (how do you handle that ??). She also sometimes bangs her head and hurts herself in protest. Sometimes, it can take up to 1hr for her to calm down even though we do a strict routine every night :

supper
play time
bath
eating a small snack
brush teeth
read books
sleep time

But the worst part is that she wakes up at least 3x at night and cries. She will not stop until one of us goes in her room. When we go in the room, she wants a drink, her blankets etc...She still naps in the afternnon but she needs it otherwise she gets crangky. She sleeps maybe 1h-1h30. Ho do we hand that ?

Pls any help would ba appreciated.

[*Becky*]

can you post your routine so we can see what time she wakes in the morning, what time she naps and when you are putting her to bed. It may be she is OT or UT.
Does she have all her teeth through?

[~*Nicole*~]

When you post your routine, I'll have a look as well, my DD is also 2.5 so may have some ideas.

In the meantime. Taking off PJs and diaper....we had that here and she also then peed on the bed to get me to come back into her room! What I did was cut off the bottoms of her feetsie pajamas and put them on backward. She couldn't unzip them so couldn't undress and un-diaper. Worked wonders. We certainly don't have that problem anymore and I can let her wear whatever pajamas to bed now as she won't try to undress anymore!

[Lison]

Her routine is :

wake up : 6h45
naps around 12h30 (for about 1h00/ 1h30)
supper around 6h00pm
Bedtime around 7h45

Her big teeth in the back are coming out. I don't know why she is fussing that much when I put her to bed. I have also a 3 1/2 yrs old daughter so it can be challenging.

thanks

[*Becky*]

ok well if she has teeth issues then that is likely the reason. Have you tried giving her meds at bedtime or in the night?
When they are teething they often get more OT so it could be that she needs bedtime a little earlier, particularly on the 1 hour nap days. Have you tried that?

[~*Nicole*~]

I agree with Becky!

[Lison]

We give her Advil before she goes to bed. Last night it did not seem to work. I'll continue with that. It's just really exhausting because I feel like I have a newborn again and have get up every few hours.

I love the idea of putting her PJ backwards. That is a really good idea, I didn't think of it. I guess it's a way of them wanting to control ?

[~*Nicole*~]

I guess it's a way of them wanting to control ?

That's what I think it was. She wasn't in control of the situation (ours was moving her to her BGB and she had a hard time--yours is not getting to go your room and having to sleep independently again, etc.) so she found something to be in control of. I think you're absolutely right.

Also, I forgot to mention. You might need to make some clear cut "rules" about what will and will NOT happen when she wakes at night. You can talk to her about it during the day to prepare her. "Remember, now that you're feeling better, mommy and daddy aren't going to get you drinks at night anymore." or "You're such a big girl and you can fall back to sleep by yourself. Mommy will check on you, but you are in charge of going to sleep again by yourself." Then stick with it. If you say no drinks, then no drinks. If you say no blanket retucking in etc. then don't retuck. ESPECIALLY if she's capable of doing those things herself. After awhile she won't be "rewarded" for calling you in as you'll be a pretty dull experience for her at night if you don't make a big to do about it and she'll have no reason to stay awake until you come and will learn to put herself back to sleep as she used to do.

Also, not sure if she has one already or not, but my DD really likes having a night light. She is less disoriented when she does wake and can usually resettle herself back to sleep. That may help (although keep it dim or it could disturb her sleep if it's too bright). We also play music, not sure if that would be comforting to her or not.

[Lison]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. That`s exacly what my husband was thinking. That if we pick her up at night when she wakes up it becomes a 'reward'. (Unless she is sick of course we would pick her up). We will definitely try that. Yes. I think you are right about her wanting to have control. I think it might be a combination of things all at the same time (her teeth coming in, her being 2 1/2 yrs old etc). Can`t wait for her to get out of that stage !!

I put my daughter in her PJ backwards last night. It was funny because she was looking at me wondering what I was doing. She did not try to get out of it ! Now I know I can use that idea if she does it again. Thanks for that.

[~*Nicole*~]

You're welcome. My DD looked at me quite funny when I had to do it as well.