Sleep help for my 2.5 year old.

tigger1800

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  I don't know what to do with my DS.  He's never been the greatest sleeper, but the past few months have gotten just ridiculous.  He wakes up at least 2-3 times a night and doesn't go back to sleep for hours.   His normal schedule is that he takes a nap from around 11:30-1, and then goes to bed somewhere between 7:30 and 8.  He's been waking up around midnight and not going back to sleep until 2 or 3 and then waking up again at 5am.  I KNOW he's not getting enough sleep this way.  I tried cutting out the nap, but it didnt' seem to help his night sleeping (if anything it made it worse) and he was falling asleep at the dinner table. 

He sleeps in his own room, in his twin bed.  He sleeps with his door closed, so when he wakes up at night, he starts banging on his door to be let out. Part of the issues is I just dont' know what to do when he wakes up.  Our house is a split, with all 3 bedrooms on the same level, at the end of the hallway, so he's right next to DD's room.  She has been sleeping poorly as well lately because she's constantly teething, and she is still waking up 2x a night to eat (which we are NOT trying to stop, because of her weight issues and also because she is clearly hungry).  If I let him "cry it out" (he's not usually crying, but just making him settle himself again), he bangs on the door and wakes up DD.  If I go in and tell him to go back to bed, he gets upset when I leave and I end up laying with him and falling asleep in his bed until he goes back to sleep. 

I just dont' know how to get him to sleep better.  I don't mind him waking at night, and I know that's normal, but its the staying up when he wakes up that's killing all of us, him included!  I get up for work at 5:15 (DH works later, so the kids both wake up on their own before he has to take them to daycare at 8).  My DH has a new job and has been having to go to out of town training for whole weeks at a time and I'm exhausted!  He's trying to be helpful when he is at home, but DS always wants me at night. He has been taking care of DD when she wakes, but he's a more sound sleeper, so I usually hear her before him anyway, so even though he's getting up to her, I end up awake too. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..This is a really stressful time at work with both our grants due this year, and I'm seriously having issues functioning on 3-4 hours sleep a night!!

kylara111

Does he have a nightlight?  I know my DD is afraid of the dark.

tigger1800

Yeah, he has a night light.  He doesn't seem scared when he wakes up, just really awake.  He just doesn't want to go back to sleep.  Even when I lay there with him, he lays there queitly a  lot but is just awake. 

snickerdoodle27

Can you put some books or quiet toys in the room that he can play with when he wakes up? You can tell him that he can play quietly until he's sleepy again but he can't wake everybody else up. Sorry, I don't have any other suggestions! Hopefully it's just a phase and will pass.

kylara111

snickerdoodle27:

Can you put some books or quiet toys in the room that he can play with when he wakes up? You can tell him that he can play quietly until he's sleepy again but he can't wake everybody else up. Sorry, I don't have any other suggestions! Hopefully it's just a phase and will pass.

I was wondering if this might work too.  My DD wakes up super early and I've gone in and turned a light on for her and left her to play for a little while.

DandelionMom

Does he have a white noise machine?  Gracie wakes up every couple of hours if we don't run a fan in her room.  I think she's just a light sleeper and the fan helps drown out all the little noises that were keeping her awake.

Zenya

any changes in his day?  (new teacher at daycare, etc).  2.5 is a weird age for us.  DS used to sleep in his room until about 5am but lately can't go much beyond midnight alone.  Very clingy and weird.  A couple of nights he has been awake for hours, too.  We don't let him get out of bed (our bed) but it's like he's wide awake.  I think it's just a phase.