Almost 3 y.o. waking in middle of the night??

pixie0520

My almost 3 year old DS has been waking up in the middle of the night off and on for a few months. Last night he woke up around 2:30 am and did not fall back asleep until almost 6 am! He does not cry but will just stay in bed, tossing and turning and sometimes talking to himself. I'm worried he's not getting enough sleep plus I can't continue to come in to work late in order to allow him a couple of extra hours to sleep.

ETA: Yesterday he skipped his nap (he usually still naps for about 2 hours every day) so he went down for the night a bit early at 8:00 pm. Feel asleep right away but was up from 2:30 am to about 6:00 am. He then slept from about 6 am to 9:30 am. Has anyone experienced this before??

 TIA for your help!

melisa7901

DD went through a phase before she turned 3 where she was up multiple times in the middle of the night.  She wouldn't go back to sleep and was exhausted for days.  With DD, it passed after a short time.  Maybe try moving your son's bedtime back a little bit?  Or try one of those toddler clocks that tell when it's okay to get up.  Hope it passes soon for you!

trizzie

Yep, we went through that at almost 3.  I honestly think he was having growing pains.  It lasted a couple of months and then it was over.

ironmommy

My DD was waking up a number of times during the night a few months ago, but she always went right back to bed. I would consider moving his bedtime back and/or skipping naps. I would not let him sleep in if he is up at night. And I'm sure you're already doing it, but just make sure you don't really talk or turn on lights or do anything fun when he's up.

pixie0520

Thank you all for your responses!