My three year old daughter has always woken up at night occasionally. But the past two weeks, she has been waking up at least once per night. Normally, I turn her music on, give her her little bunny, and she goes back to sleep. Last night she was up for an hour and a half, I finally took into our bed which I try not to do. Any ideas on how to help her sleep better? I can't imagine letting a three year old "cry it out" so looking for some other ideas.
I second the night light. My son doesn't it like it when it's pitch black.
Also try music or get a portable DVD player and put in something boring.
My 22 mo daughter went to bed very easy a while ago. It was a dream - lay her down, turn on her music and walk away. I wouldn't hear from her until morning. Recently she wouldn't go to bed and she would get up 2 times a night. It was very odd for her. I fretted over the temperature, the lighting....Needless to say, I was a mess. I have discovered since then that she wasn't tired enough to go to bed. Her nap is at noon and she sleeps for 2-3 hours. It hadn't been adjusted for quite a while. She was going to bed at 8 and getting up at 7:30. I think she was getting too much sleep. Now we play for quite a while after dinner and her brother (8 yo) wears her out before she goes to bed between 8:30 and 9. She has been doing so much better.
Mess with the lighting, temperature, and sleep times and see what combination works for you. A change in routine or environment can send kids into a tailspin. Every kid is different. Sometimes I think they just do it to keep us on our toes....hahaha.
Good luck catching some Zs.
Hey K... I have a 3 yr old son... he does this sometimes.. I found out that it was something on TV that was giving him, i guess, nightmares.. Power Rangers to be exact. Also he has a new nitelight in his room and sometimes when he's OVERTIRED is when he's restless enough to get up and be 'out of it' in a way.. like his teeth are chattering and he's talking mumble jumble and i have no idea i just talk to him, tuck him back in and then i leave the hall light on till he falls back to sleep. Like the other mom said it's all the joy of us mothers to figure it out..lol! Best of Luck!
If she takes a nap in the daytime, it is probably time to give that up. If not, maybe she needs a little more stimulation in the daytime- working with books, or getting outside more.
Also, make sure she is not hungry- maybe a glass of milk before bedtime would help.
You ALSO must look at sleep issues from a nutritional and hydration standpoint. Lack of hydration CAN cause sleep issues. So can lack of calcium and/or magnesium.
How much activity is she getting. If you aren't active enough during the day, you body will "tell you at night". You just have to make sure you time things so that she's not too wound up when it's time to go to bed.
I know when we started going for walks, bike rides, etc. in the late afternoon or early evening, it DID make a difference in Abbie sleeping more soundly. We go to the park alot and try to get in physical activity EVERY day. Besides, it's setting a good example to lead a healthy active lifestyle.
Ok, this may be too simple but is she waking up because she is cold? I know with my son it seems hot when he goes to bed but we keep a fan in the window and after a while it gets pretty chilly so sometimes I put long pajama's on him or make sure is overhead fan is off befor we go to bed.
C
it's around this age that they start having bad dreams...you might think about what she's been watching or what books have been read to her or just ask her some questions about being scared or not, and then help her through it (real or make believe)
God Bless
is she thirsty? does she have to go potty or is she in a pull-up? (if a pull-up) could she be wet? is she to hot or to cold at night. is the room just to dark that when she wakes it scares her. (use a small night light to lighten up the room a lil') Try to rock her back to sleep maybe she just wants to cuddle with mommy. all of my girls have done this. It was always about 3am and they would wake up and be restless so I would rock them back and sing to them. hum... is she eating something to late at night to where she is getting a belly ache?
It could be a million different things. But being a mommy is part of trying to figure out what and why and how.... ya know. that is the fun part of trying to figure everything out and having answers to everything. :o)
good luck
