Author Topic: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night  (Read 9196 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Chloevalentine

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 6
  • Posts: 2012
  • Location:
Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« on: November 20, 2019, 23:15:59 pm »
My almost 3.5 year old good sleeper is suddenly waking up during the night. It’s usually at the same time every night at 1:30 am. Either he asks my husband to come back to his room to stay with him or we find him asleep on our floor. Any tips on how to get him back on track ?

Offline deb

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 593
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 21312
  • Resident Nac Mac Feegle
  • Location:
    • My Very Own Crunchy & Progressive Parenting Blog
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2019, 02:05:22 am »
This sort of thing often happens along with developmental leaps: new skills, new vocabulary, growing new teeth, growth spurts, things like that.

Around 3YO, both my kids started sleeping on their floors and not their beds, for months on end. One kid went back to bed when it got cold and she wanted more blankets, the other actually laid out a sleeping bag and slept on her floor for upwards of a year...and then she stopped. Both girls took turns sleeping on our floors partway thru the night so we laid out sleeping bags for them too. As long as they're sleeping and we're not having to wake for them, we were OK with it.

Your mileage may vary.

Offline Chloevalentine

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 6
  • Posts: 2012
  • Location:
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2019, 18:41:02 pm »
But he also is waking crying around 1 am then after I get him
Back to sleep he’ll come in our room not sure what time and falls asleep on the floor. Not a big deal
But now he’s falling asleep and in need of a nap around lunch time and he hasn’t napped in months. Trying to get out of this cycle and back on track of later morning wake up and going to bed easy and staying sleep. Becuase he’s waking earlier too and obviously not getting a good rest.

Offline Katet

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 608
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 14364
  • Sydney Australia
  • Location: Sydney
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #3 on: November 24, 2019, 01:20:18 am »
Around 3yo was when both mine struggled with being alone at night and night fears. With DS2 it was easily solved by him.sharing with his brother, but DS1 we just kind of limped through, he was still very much on one nap so he got that sleep catch up and he was an early riser, so not sure what advice except things like make sure he gets plenty of physical activity, fresh air and a good wind down at night and not negative environment when he does wake up as it will reinforce any fear he might have.
dc1 July 03, dc2 May 05

Offline Chloevalentine

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 6
  • Posts: 2012
  • Location:
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #4 on: November 26, 2019, 20:29:10 pm »
The problem is that when he wakes and comes in our room to sleep on the floor he’s woken up by my husband at 4:45 am which is when he wakes for work and I’m not sure he ever really falls back to sleep which leaves him exhausted the next day and super crabby.

Offline deb

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 593
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 21312
  • Resident Nac Mac Feegle
  • Location:
    • My Very Own Crunchy & Progressive Parenting Blog
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #5 on: November 26, 2019, 23:15:12 pm »
Can he come to sleep in bed after your husband gets up? That was the only time I let mine sleep w/me, when hubby wasn't there (gone to work or out of town). Even now my "baby" (14YO) will sleep in his empty spot. <3 We got in some lovely cuddles that way too, and they did eventually learn to get back to sleep/sleep thru it (my hubby has a 5:30AM alarm set and has for many years).

Offline Chloevalentine

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 6
  • Posts: 2012
  • Location:
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #6 on: November 26, 2019, 23:28:58 pm »
I don’t mind him coming in but he insists on sleeping on the floor not sure why and he can’t get back to
Sleep after the alarm wakes him up. Poor kid is suffering exhausted after
Preschool. He needs a nap but I don’t want him to get back into a nap
Habit yk.

Offline deb

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 593
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 21312
  • Resident Nac Mac Feegle
  • Location:
    • My Very Own Crunchy & Progressive Parenting Blog
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #7 on: November 26, 2019, 23:34:16 pm »
I don't know where you're located but if it's in the States you'll (maybe?) have a long holiday weekend coming up where you can all sleep in and maybe break the cycle?

If not, and I suggest this as a temporary measure only, would your hubby consent to spend a limited number of nights sleeping elsewhere (so no 4:45AM alarm) to help break the cycle? Alternatively, there have been nights where I slept on my kids' floors and when they woke in the night they'd stay in there and snuggle with me on the floor. I didn't sleep any worse than I had been the other way, and at least THEY got some sleep and weren't miserable cusses the next day.

Offline Chloevalentine

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 6
  • Posts: 2012
  • Location:
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #8 on: November 27, 2019, 03:52:33 am »
Ha! True! The shower is upstairs next to the bedrooms so that’s bound to wake him up anyway yk. I just wish I could figure out why he’s waking crying out a few times a night for a few weeks now. Everyone is so exhausted and cranky around here lol.

Offline deb

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 593
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 21312
  • Resident Nac Mac Feegle
  • Location:
    • My Very Own Crunchy & Progressive Parenting Blog
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #9 on: November 27, 2019, 18:30:32 pm »
Just a thought, have you tried pain meds before bed? If they seem to help, you're on to something.

Offline Chloevalentine

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 6
  • Posts: 2012
  • Location:
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #10 on: November 27, 2019, 19:08:32 pm »
But what would be hurting him? It’s been a few weeks.

Offline Katet

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 608
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 14364
  • Sydney Australia
  • Location: Sydney
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #11 on: November 27, 2019, 19:45:38 pm »
He could have fluid built up in his ears,my DS1 did. No ear infection, just glue ear causing uncomfortable feeling. GP didn't recognise it, it was only a couple of years later with us noticing he wasn't hearing very well that we discovered he had glue ear. His sleep improved after grommets to drain the fluid... Never in 5 years had an ear infection, but on off had horrible sleep.
dc1 July 03, dc2 May 05

Offline deb

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 593
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 21312
  • Resident Nac Mac Feegle
  • Location:
    • My Very Own Crunchy & Progressive Parenting Blog
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #12 on: November 28, 2019, 01:53:44 am »
Apropos of nothing, really, but I'll be away for a few days...no panicking if you hear nothing from me for a while.

Worth considering ears. Ears are tricky. Ditto teeth.

Offline Chloevalentine

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 6
  • Posts: 2012
  • Location:
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2019, 03:14:07 am »
The big issue now is that he hasn’t been waking up crying but just coming into our room and sleeping on our floor the problem with that is my husband wakes up at 445 for work and so does he! And he’s not really falling back to sleep so he’s exhausted and cranky and falling asleep in the car. I don’t know what to do.

Offline deb

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 593
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 21312
  • Resident Nac Mac Feegle
  • Location:
    • My Very Own Crunchy & Progressive Parenting Blog
Re: Why is my 3 year old waking up at same time Every night
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2019, 00:23:53 am »
If he's in enough pain to wake him at all, pain meds might still help him sleep thru.

Have you tried sleeping on his floor? Might help YOU sleep too!