Need Help Figuring Out Why My Son Is Waking up at Night!

First off thanks for asking this. I'm in exactly the same position. 2 yr old waking often at night and due in less than 2 weeks with #2.
My mom's suggestion was this: My daughter is really prone to night terrors and nightmares and the combination of her teething, and her ability to sense a HUGE change (new baby) but doesn't really understand it makes sleep a lot more difficult. Her suggestion was going in and calming her once and after that put her in my room on the floor next to my bed to sleep so she know's I'm there but is still in her own space. It seems to be helping and I'm getting what little sleep I can! Good Luck! Oh and according to my mom once this new baby is here a few days after that things should go back to normal!

He is at an age where his brain is going through massive growth and development. This is what causes the difficult behavior of the "terrible two's" and it can also cause changes in his sleep habits. If you've ruled out teething pain and possible ear infection (like the other poster mentioned), then I wouldn't stress it. Just go in and soothe him until he relaxes and goes back to sleep. Try not to use medicine unless he needs it for what it was made for (tylenol for pain is ok, for sleep aid not so great). If he won't settle down without it, try a "placebo" - a bit of flavored water given the same way you give him the medicine.

Teething is pretty painful, and if Tylenol is helping him sleep, it's probably safe to assume he is in pain. My daughter also has growing pains. Her legs get crampy and wake her up. My husband remembers his legs hurting a lot when he was going through growth spurts. We give her tylenol or ibuprofen and increase the amount of milk she drinks - the extra calcium helps. You might try asking him if his legs hurt.

Is he hungry? I know with my 2 year old daughter she gets hungry in the middle of the night if she doesn't get a snack before bed. Half a banana usually takes her right through, but crackers or a granola bar work too.

Just because he can't talk yet doesn't mean he can't communicate with you. It just takes time. You could either keep giving him motrin or tylenol when he wakes (teething can be a pretty painful process) or wake him up all the way and get him to point to where it hurts. If you can get him to communicate with you then you will be able to find the problem. Chances are if it is teething or growing pains the tylenol or motrin is the best idea.
And one easy way to tell between those two -- if he's eating alot then it's probably growing pains, if he's drooling alot (and eating less) then it's probably teething.
Good luck.

My daughter (just turned 2) had the same issue, we couldn't figure it out. We transisioned her crib to a daybed, and viola! She still occasionally wakes up at night, but not being 'trapped' seems to make all the difference. The first few mornings we found her asleep next to our bed, and once in a while she will move out to the couch, but as long as she can see (we started using a night light and this also helped)she usually goes right back to sleep.

Both my children did the same thing at about 2 years old. Like the others say it could be teeth or other ailment, unless like you said the teeth are almost in. We then discovered about a week later in talking with my daughter who was 2 at the time and now 5 about waking up. Then she told us, "but mom there are monsters in my room." We then realized that at this age looking everywhere in books and on the internet that nightmares start developing around 18 months to 2 years old. These nightmares are very normal and the child only needs to be comforted that no monsters are there. Good luck with getting your child to sleep every night.

Sounds like 2 year molars to me. They really hurt and he wouldn't be able to tell you about them. The pain is in the jaw and can radiate into the ears as a reffered pain. The pain is the worst at night because that is when you grow the most, it only makes sense. I would give him tylenol or ibuprofen about 1/2 an hour before he goes to bed and see if he stays asleep, it just might help and then give it to him again if he wakes up in the middle of the night.

You say he is going to sleep quickly after giving him Tylenol or Motrin, so my suspicion would lead me to believe it is either his teeth or an ear infection. Teething is painful for these guys and a lot of times they just don't show that.

I would take him to the doctor to have his ears checked, but also maybe give him a dose of Tylenol or Motrin right before bed. My nearly 2 year old is cutting his 2 year molars right now and he is waking at night as well. We are using this same approach.

Hope that helps!

Kim

Hi A.!

Sounds like it could be Night Terrors. My oldest (6 yrs) has had these for a few years now (since she was 2 1/2-3 years old). Same thing happens with her...she is in bed for a few hours (bedtime is 8:30) and then wakes up crying, fidgeting, rocking, sometimes mumbling so you can't understand her or talking but making no sense at all....it usually happens if she is over tired and/or if she is disturbed while sleeping.

Try putting him to bed a little sooner...maybe some white noise so that its harder for other noises to disturb him. I wouldn't reccomend giving him medicine...I would think that would do more harm in the long run. Have you tried to ask his pediatrician about it?

Usually if we can get her to lay back down and hold still for seriously 5 seconds, she is back to sleep and never remembers it the next day.

Good Luck

My three y.o. went through some night waking, and a half dose of Tylenol seemed to help. I felt a little uncomfortable giving him pain relievers every night when I wasn't sure what was hurting, or if anything was hurting him, so one night I tried giving him a liquid vitamin instead, and told him it would help him sleep, and he really bought it! After a few nights of vitamins the night waking stopped. I just had to be sure I wasn't also giving him his regular multi-vitamin during the day. I think he just liked the feeling of being cared for at night.

Those canines are killers, I think they are worse than the molars. If the Tylenol/Motrin is working, then it is most likely pain related. Try giving Motrin before bed. If he sleeps through the night, that is your answer. It doesn't put them out, just takes the edge off the pain. I just asked my ped about this a couple weeks ago, and she said that there is nothing wrong with giving Motrin before bed. It can also break any habit of waking up before it becomes a habit.