[dswaak]

I'm so tired! Our 2-year-old hasn't slept well in a week now. He wakes up crying after 30 minutes during his naps and I'm able to put him back down but at night he's waking up after 30-45 minutes and then every hour after that and is crying. . .loudly. He's been sleeping in our bed now 1/2 the night because it's the only way anyone can get any sleep.

He appears to be afraid of something or having bad dreams but I don't know how to help. When he sleeps in our bed he still wakes up crying but goes back to sleep right away because we're there.

Last night he was sort of walking around his room in a daze when I went to get him and he was crying. Although he appears to be awake because he knows when I'm there and will communicate.

From what I've heard of night terrors he doesn't have them because he doesn't seem to have eyes bulging and the whole works and it happens several times a night. Or could it be night terrors?

A few weeks ago he was afraid of some "eyes" in his room (lighted double-light switch) but we put new switches in so that doesn't bother him anymore.

Any suggestions?????? We're tired. . .even when he sleeps with us we don't sleep well because he's a thrasher!

Our daughter has been home now for 2 months so I don't think it's that either - he was having trouble the first couple of weeks but things seem to be better now. And she's sleeping just fine at 8 mos of age (like 13 hours a night with no wake-ups)!

[asauer]

A good resource is to contact Family Sleep.com. They have tons of good tips and if you want a consultation, they have e-mail consults that are only $25. It helped us SO much when Maverick woke up every hour screaming. The Doula was very nice and we had 3 e-mail exchanges and a follow up. Great value for the price. They do phone consults also, but the fee is higher. I will definitely use them again if we have any more issues.

[cbmstephanie]

A couple of months ago Maria did sort of the same thing. She was waking every hour or so, she didn't seem terrified, but she wasn't exactly calm either. It has seemed to me that every time she has something significant in her life she goes through a period of sleeplessness. At that time she was having a language explosion and I think it was due to that. She hasn't done it lately, but I expect it to happen again when something significant happens.

[Suzeb1]

When that has happened with my dd it's been because she's gotten over-tired (from something as simple as a disrupted nap) and then, of course, the waking all night just exacerbates things. And it wasn't just waking, it was every hour combined with screaming, which sounds similar to your son.

What worked for us to break the cycle was to get her to sleep the second she appeared tired (by doing whatever worked, rocking, car rides, etc) and do that for several days. My daughter co-slept with me anyway, but even though your son doesn't usually, it might be worth letting him sleep with you the whole night for a few nights to see if he can get fully rested. My pediatrician recommended this approach to me and I was astonished at how quickly it worked.

The best of luck to you,

Susan
Mommy to a three year old who typically sleeps through the night but hasn't this week...at all!

[waitingforIsabel]

Have you had his ears checked? Isabel did the same thing about a week ago. It turned out she had an ear infection- no fever and she wasn't pulling at her ears. But we had a friend who is a pediatrician suggest that she check and sure enough! Lying flat on their backs makes and ear infection even more painful. I am happy to say that with in 1 day of antbiotics she was sleeping through the night again! Good luck!

[isabel41206]

MY ISABEL HAS HAD TROUBLE FOR 2 NIGHTS NOW SO I FEEL YOUR PAIN. WE WERE UP AT 1:45 AM AND FINALLY GOT TO SLEEP AROUND 4AM. SHE WOULD SLEEP IF I HELD HER BUT WAKE UP THE SECOND HER HEAD HIT THE PILLOW. I hope we both get to sleep soon.

[jeannecr]

I recommend a doctor check for the ears, etc.

[artistchic]

I just experienced this with DD. I went back to my FAVORITE sleep book, Healthy Sleep Happy Child and tried their suggestions....in her case she was consolidating her naps and was overtired, not napping and night waking... I tried moving her bedtime sleep back 1 hour to make up for the loss day sleep and consistently put her down for a midday nap. How many naps would he normally take in a day?

[Guatemomtobe]

I second having ears checked. Also, could it be teething. My DD is 23 months old and cutting about 8 teeth right now (4 eye teeth and 4 molars). She is miserable and not sleeping very well.

[Muchacho Hermoso]

I hear ya! We are having sleep issues at our house too. Have the molars come in yet?

Our DS (who is about to turn 2) is cutting his 2 year molars. A bottom one is through, but he keeps pointing at the area on the other side, so I suspect that one is ready too.

If you don't think it is teeth, there is a good book called "The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers". I got it and it is really good and helpful.

Another thought is that at this age they are developing their imaginations, so he very well be having bad dreams.

I hope this passes quickly for you! Sleep issues are just simply no fun for anyone.

~Laura

[dswaak]

Who would've thought a week or so without sleep would take such a toll! Anyway - I am happy to report he slept through the night last night with no bad dreams and no crying! And he's still sleeping at 7:11 am this morning which is about 45 minutes later than normal! Yay!!!!

Thanks to everyone for your help!

Yes - his molars are coming in - one is broken through another is half broken through but I think it was the not getting enough sleep issue everyone recommended - it seemed to help putting him down earlier for naps and bedtime!

[Muchacho Hermoso]

Originally Posted by dswaak

Who would've thought a week or so without sleep would take such a toll! Anyway - I am happy to report he slept through the night last night with no bad dreams and no crying! And he's still sleeping at 7:11 am this morning which is about 45 minutes later than normal! Yay!!!!

Thanks to everyone for your help!

Yes - his molars are coming in - one is broken through another is half broken through but I think it was the not getting enough sleep issue everyone recommended - it seemed to help putting him down earlier for naps and bedtime!

Well, that's good news! Glad those molars broke through and letting him (and everyone else) get some needed rest.
whew!

Have a great day!

~Laura~