2 year old wont sleep at night...Please help...Im going crazy!

[Madissun]

My (almost) 2 year old DS wont sleep at night. It's been going on for about 7 weeks now. He goes to bed without a problem, sleeps for about 3 or 4 hours then around 11pm, he wakes up and wont go back to sleep. He screams bloody murder until i give up, go in and get him and put him into my bed. Then he's fine! As soon as i walk in, he's fine.

I've tried settling him and talking to him eg. "You need to sleep in Toby's bed, like a big boy" He has a night light, he's not cold, i've given him panadol. Nothing helps. Once he's in my bed, he lays there and talks or plays with his teddy. Then, at 5am, he's ready to get up and start the day!

Im sure im not the only one who has been through this. What did you guys do? I really need some advice because i've just about had enough. 7 weeks of 3 hours sleep or less starts to make you go crazy!

[Madissun]

I've just been doing some googling...He goes to bed at 7pm. Maybe this is way to early for him now?

[Lulu]

NO! It's the perfect time for him to go!
What about if you hopped in with him for awhile? But only if he goes stright back to sleep. If not, you leave.

[danniellabella]

My DD (17 months) is starting to do something a little similar. We are moving house this week and she will be moving out of the cot into a big bed. I don't know if your child is in a cot or a big bed, but that might make a difference. I'll let you know if it makes a difference with my DD if you like.

[Madissun]

Lulu- he's still in a cot.

Maybe it's time to go into a big bed?

Danni- I was thinking that too...We moved house 2 weeks ago, this began 4 weeks prior though. Granted, it is a big move for him, we were living with my mum and step-dad and now it is just us two

So Lulu you think 7pm is still an ok time for him?

[kawazuki]

my little 2 yo goes to bed at 8 8:30 and she talks and reads to herself in the dark till 9 then is asleep and stays in till 5 most mornings and needs re settling but by 7 she is up and ready for the day.

she was getting very unsettled in her cot and would wake lots as she felt all restricted and that but in big bed she is much better.

[Bathsheba]

I'd do as Lulu suggested... big bed... when he wakes up hop into his bed with him but tell him that if he is silly then mummy will get out. I've had to do this with my eldest and youngest kids. Lets hope he likes you being in there! Maybe sing some songs softy or tell a boring story to settle him and encourage him to lie down.

[danniellabella]

One thing I'm hoping that will happen when I move my DD to a big bed is that when she wakes up, she will get up and play in her room for a while before waking DH & I up, especially on weekends.

[MamaPan]

ds1 used toget up for up to 3 hrs around 11pm and would only go bacl to sleep in our bed - this went from about 16 mths to 19 months... we moved him to big bed and it improved so much. we went in and lay with him at first and this helped... then we eased off sleeping in w him... now he stays in and dh goes in with him b/n 5 and 6 and he gets up ay 6.30 or 7...
i think 7 is ok - we start bath around 6.45 and ds1 asleep b/n 7.30 and 8 - but thats just bc we cant start earlier!

[sneakysparkle]

is he still having a day sleep?
My DD#1 stopped sleeping in the day just after she turned 2, and started sleeping MUCH better at night after that!
Also, moving to a big bed made a huge difference to how settled she was during the night.
hope it gets better soon for you hun

[Madissun]

Thank you for all your replies. I HATE feeling the way i do at 3am when he wont sleep.

sneakysparkle- he does still have day sleeps. It's normally around 11.30-12 and he'll sleep for about 1 & 1/2 - 2 hours.

Perhaps the big bed is the way to go? His cot is one of those ones where the rails come off the side and it turns it into a small bed.

[Bathsheba]

ah ok it sounds like you won't be able to actually hop in his bed with him.... in that case I would try pretending to sleep down beside his bed. We used a futon mattress beside the cot when my DS was your son's age and we hadn't bought a big bed for him yet. I would come into his room... lights off... and say "mummy will lie down next to you here but if you are silly I'll go back to mummies bed". But we did that at the start of the night. At about 3am we'd get him and co-sleep for the rest of the night... I'm like you, I just don't "do" fun and games in the wee hours. He used to go straight to sleep once he was in with us. We have found that once he got his bed he still would come in (by himself... at least I didn't have to actually get up) but the time he comes in has got later and later... and some times he doesn't even bother ie he sleeps right through. I find that on warm nights he is more likely to sleep through... we don't use the central heating at night and I let him come in with us to warm up.

[sneakysparkle]

Yeah I think its definitely worth trying him in a bed - and if that doesn't help maybe try dropping his day sleep and get him in bed by 6/6:30pm
All the best

[lilima]

My DS did this too. He still occasionally wakes. He is in a big bed, and I would jsut go in and tell him that the sun was still asleep so he had to be too! (and as bad as this habit is, it works so I will continue it) I started letting the dog sleep on his bed, then he didn't feel alone.