2 Year Old up During the Middle of the night...help?

Updated on June 01, 2011
B.E. asks from Brunswick, GA
6 answers

My 2 year old daughter went to bed at her usual time (8pm) but woke up at 2am and will not go back to sleep. I changed her diaper. Checked her pajamas to make sure she wasn't too cold/too hot/or other wise uncomfortable. Offered her a drink of water. I even tried bringing her in our bed, laying with her in her bed, everything I could think of. She is yawning, but won't go to sleep. If I leave her in her bed alone she cries. She and her 1 year old brother share a room so I cannot leave her to "cry it out". She did this once last week too. I am at a loss. She does not nap during the day anymore, but usually sleeps GREAT at night. Any suggestions/ideas/insights? She seems uncomfortable, like she just cannot settle down. She does not seem to be in any obvious pain - ie teething. I am at a loss.

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So What Happened?

She stayed awake from 2 am until 8 am. I tried everything I could think of and finally just put her back in her crib and went back to my bed. 2 minutes later she was climbing all over me in my bed. That happened over and over. I would have gladly let her sleep with us, but she did not want to sleep. She wanted to climb and jump.

She did not have any chocolate or caffeine yesterday so I am not sure what caused this. It is the strangest thing I've ever seen her do!

I try to get her to take a nap during the day, but she absolutely refuses.

I even tried giving her a little infant tylenol thinking maybe she was in some sort of discomfort, but that didn't seem to help either. I am hoping and praying we will not have a repeat of this tonight because I am so tired it hurts!

More Answers

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M.F.

answers from Boca Raton on

She may be on the verge of a cold. Maybe the temp of the room is too hot/cold. Or possibly it can be food related (nothing too close to bed time, sugary, or heavy to digest). If she does wake up the best thing you can do is keep all movement to a minimum. Changing diapers and drinking cool water actually helps wake them up. Stick to very few words and quiet soothing (rubbing back, shh etc) as soon as she wakes. the longer she is awake the more awakened she will become. good luck

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M.F.

answers from Jacksonville on

She may be overtired making it difficult to sleep. In my experience, two year olds still need a midday nap. You may want to try to get her back on a nap schedule and that will help night time sleeping. It is the opposite of what we think, really tired sleeps better when actually an over tired child usually has problems sleeping at night.

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K.M.

answers from Tampa on

Did her diet change? What she drinks? Lack of B vitamins will cause this.
Best,k

G.T.

answers from Modesto on

I'd pay close attention to what she's eating and drinking, she might be sugar sensitive. Also could be a little growth spurt causing her to be restless for a temporary time. Warm up a cup of milk, warm milk tastes sweet and helps all of us go back to sleep. I'll have a cup of warm milk and a banana in the middle of the night, together its a good relaxer. Keep things dark and quiet as you try to soothe her back to sleep.

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

If she runs around enough during the day she should be tired enough at night.
But then everyone gets insomnia every once in awhile.
Has she had any soda, chocolate, caffeine sources during the day?
My son used to hate when I took him back to his bed - he just wanted to be with us.
So he got wise and stopped waking me up.
He'd just come toddling in and tuck himself in at the foot of our bed and we'd find him sleeping there in the morning (usually hanging on to one of my feet).
Maybe you can have a small cot next to your bed or a sleeping bag that she can use when she wants to be closer to you.

R.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

Has she had chocolate or anything with caffeine earlier in the afternoon or evening either of the times she's done this? Young children are highly susceptible to the effects of caffeine on their systems. I ask because you say she acts uncomfortable, like she can't settle down. It sounds as if she may be "wired."

If you can't put her back in her room you can: 1) put her in bed with you, turn the lights out and tell her "good night," 2) put the 1 year old in your room and her back in her bed to cry it out (we think they cry for hours but usually it's only a few minutes), or 3) stay up with her and not get your sleep.

I hope she's already sleeping : )

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