DD afraid at night??? Anyone else?

Liz342 · September 2010

We have having MAJOR sleep disruptions in this house and I'm about to lose it. DD (22 months) is fighting her afternoon nap big time and about 50% of the time, she will play in her bed for a couple hours before going to sleep. But that is another story.....

Lately at night she is screaming and crying for me or DH. When she go in she's sweating like crazy. We watch her on the video monitor and she usually just sits up in bed and looks towards the door and eventually she started to shake like she was scared so we went in. We have tried letting her cry for a bit but eventually we go in because she's so worked up that she's all sweaty. DH had to sleep on her floor to get her to bed and she woke at 4am screaming so he had to go back in. If she comes in bed with us, she is wide awake and happy.

We aren't against CIO and have done it before, very successfully, but I don't feel right doing it if she's scared.

She has a nightlight but it's still pretty dim lighting at night obviously. She's getting to the stage where she's afraid of certain things (Halloween displays at the store, dogs, etc). so maybe she is afraid of the dark? I am not positive because she used to be great at night and would roll around in her bed for a little bit before going to sleep. She would usually cry/whine for a minute after we left her room but would always be fine after that.

Part of me is saying to do CIO and it will work but part of me thinks she is getting to the age where she's afraid to be alone in her room at night and I don't think CIO is a good idea in that case.

But I am so afraid if we start staying in her room until she goes to sleep, it's just going to cause bad habits.....

Any ideas?

Tomkat8403 · September 2010

I've been wondering this too. Lila seems afraid of the closet if it's open in the slightest. I can't figure out why she would even consider that scary at this age. She's too young to know about monsters and stuff right?

brian&al82005 · September 2010

I don't have any good answers as we are going through the same thing. She wakes up screaming on and off, sometimes for several hours. We put a nite light in, so far it hasn't mattered much. According to what I have read, they might be a little too young to actually be scared. It might be more of a seperation anxiety thing?? My DD just seems wide awake. Does your DD take just one nap? Maybe move the bedtime up a little bit? I have no idea what will work! She was screaming at 4 am so I got up and broke out the Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child book. It recommended early bedtime, especially with just the one nap. Could she be getting her 2 yr molars? My DD is only 18 mths, so still maybe a little young. But my girlfriend brought teething to my attention. Maybe a snack a little before bed? The book also recd a longer soothing time before bed, reassurance that everything is okay.

I am hoping it's just a phase, its been happening for about 3 weeks. So we are grabbing at just about any suggestions right now! You are not alone!

snowinlv · September 2010

DD started screaming about being afraid of the dark and monsters (her words) about 6 weeks ago. If a room is remotely dark, she refuses to enter. We have no idea what triggered this. I have to sit in her room for the hour it takes her to fall asleep now. A nightlight didn't help. She is in a bed, so I can't force her to stay in and cry it out. Very frustrating. You are not alone!

led2009 · September 2010

I think for DD it's sepparation anxiety. Sometimes, if the bed squeaks as I get out to go to her, she quiets down and goes back to sleep. Otherwise, I have no idea what's going on, but it's frustrating me for sure!

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DD afraid at night??? Anyone else?

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