21 Month Old Wakes up Having Tantrum

How long do you leave her in the crib before you go in to take her out? I notice that if I go into my daughters room as soon as I hear any signs of her being awake she tends to cry more and have a problem. I usually let her be in her crib for awhile after she wakes up before I take her out. It gives her more time to wake up without over stimulating her as soon as she wakes up. Also if she is still a little out of control after she wakes up I just let her go through her "thing" until she calms down and then I will start to give her attention. The only other thing that I can think of that it might be is she could be having nightmares of terrors and at that point you really need make sure she is in a safe place and let it go until it is over.

My daughter, was like that as well as my friend's daughter.
They were simply, not good waker-uppers... and they were still tired.

In my daughter's case, she did that when she did not have a full sleep, nor a good sleep. She woke up tired. Still. Thus, fussy. And 'tantrum-y.'
She ALSO... did NOT like it, when we, then tried to interfere. It made things worse. And it made things worse when we interacted with her and talked to her at that time.
So, we learned, by her cues, to just leave her alone. And NOT mingle with her when she woke up that way.
Also, sometimes even if she 'seemed' awake and fussying... that she was actually still asleep or sleepy. If we left her alone... she would, fall back asleep at times.

Even for me, I just HATE it when, I am groggy... and someone suddenly then tries to talk to me and wake me up. I just want to be left alone. Because, I am still groggy/sleepy/not fully awake yet... per my, rhythms.

You just described what happened with us and our 2 year old a few weeks ago! It didn't last long (maybe a week and a half). We think that he wasn't really awake. He would call for me and reach for me, but when I went in there and picked him up, he'd scream "no!" and push me away. It was like he didn't know what he wanted. And when it was all over (20-30 mins later) he would just start acting like everything was fine. Luckily it didn't last long! What we did was wait a few minutes before going to get him. Most of the
time he would go back to sleep or calm down and end up talking happily to himself. Must be a two yr old thing. Hopefully, it won't last long for you either. Good luck!

Possibly night terrors, or nightmares, which can "cling" for awhile even in adults. Some people just don't wake up easily, and this pattern can start early. Here's a very informative website that describes almost everything there is to know about children's sleep, and suggests many solutions: http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/sleep.htm

One other possibility you might consider is that her environment, particularly in her bedroom, might be too chemically "complicated." Many household products contain modern chemicals that stimulate/irritate the central nervous system, and can affect sleep and mood. Dryer sheets, scented laundry detergents, and air fresheners are among the worse offenders. Here's just one of hundreds of articles warning about the hazards: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/dinged-by-dryer-sheets.html

If you don't already do this, consider foregoing scents and fabric softeners anywhere near her bed, and see if that makes a difference. A cup of white vinegar in the final rinse for bedding and jammies will leave them soft and very clean.

It sounds like she may not be fully wake and she is having night terrors. Read up on night terrors but you are not supposed to wake or touch the child.

Good luck!

Possibly night terrors.

My son has done this from day one. Prior to weaning him he we scream and scream until I nursed him when he woke up. He'd nurse for about 5-10 minutes then he was fine. Once I weaned him, I have no idea how to calm him down. I"ve tried waiting, I've tried going straight in and getting him--nada, nothing works.

Sometimes he will carry on upwards to 45 minutes. When he first wakes I can sometimes calm him down offering him some milk and now that he's about 20 mths that seems to be working more and more. Sometimes after his nap, if I just lay back down with him on my bed and then let him get down on his own he's okay--but be careful I once followed him out and then passed him up--OH my you would think I took his favorite toy away or something!! In general it takes him closer to 20-45 minutes to wake up and not cranky, I'm starting to lean more toward the concept that this is just his personality! Hope someone suggest something that works for your little one :)