Waking at 2am every morning

Fezeka - posted on 12/01/2011

Aah, a topic close to my heart. I have triplets. They slept in the same room till they were almost 5. One of my daughters developed a sleeping problem. She would wake up in the middle of the night, turn on all the lights and was bright eyed and bushy tailed. The only problem is that mom is not very social at 3 am ... that makes for a long day. So it really depends on how old the kids are. For my daughter, I started keeping track of her sleep schedule to see if I was overreacting of it was really happening every night and started recording the conditions. Then, when she was awake we started talking about what good sleep could do for her growing body and for mom's energy. I also told her it was normal to wake up several times a night but that we didn't get out of bed. To break what had become a habit, I basically set my alarm for 2:45 am. I waited outside their door. At the first sign of her being awake I would walk in, gently rub her back, tell her she was OK and make sure she stayed in bed. If she did, big party the next day. Mom had a lot of energy. Enough to make cupcakes etc. It took about 2 weeks and she had a new habit of staying in bed even if she was awake.

Tabitha - posted on 08/06/2009

My daughter had the same problem. I talked to my doctor about it and he said to make sure she had a good dinner, and as long as I know that she is safe in her crib, just let her cry herself to sleep. I actually started sleeping on the couch because her crib is in my room, and it would break my heart to hear her cry. But knowing that she was safe, I just ignored it, and sure enough, not a week later she was sleeping through the night. If your child is crying for more than 15 minutes, I would def check on him, but other than that, just be strong and stick with it!

Jennifer - posted on 08/02/2009

I would try putting him to sleep 1/2 hour later and make sure he get's lots of exercise and a good nap. I would just let him cry it out. A Couple days of the cry it out and he'll be into a new habit. good luck

Leah - posted on 08/01/2009

Oh Christina your poor we man! Hugs to you! Be careful with the bottle at night, it could lead to a habbit. (takes 1 day to start and at least three days to break). But hopefuly you are right. Maybe worth trying to add more calories to his day so you know he's not hungry at night. Aren't molars narly, my we girl trying to cut three at once, goodness knows where the forth is??? Gotta love them though :-)

Christina - posted on 07/31/2009

Our son has recently had a rough couple of weeks between a reaction to a vaccination, a bite at school that was on his face, a case of Roseola and cutting 4 molars at once. Since this all happened he now wakes up between 12pm and 1am and the only thing that calms him and gets him back to sleep is a bottle. He's drinking the full bottle, so it's more than just a comfort feeding, possibly a growth spurt.



I am hoping this will resolve on its own as he does have a good sleeping habit during the day and night...but all these events really threw his schedule for a loop. If not, you can be sure I'll be coming back to this post to see what recommendations to try!

Leah - posted on 07/29/2009

How frustrating for you Leanne. may I recommend a book- The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hoggs actually the last one I think is called the Baby Whisperer Solves all your Problems, would be the best one to get your hands on.

We could all give you advice but you have to do what is right for you and this book helps you to do this. It is helpful for a whole lot of things.



Some would suggest to wake Brayden up or arouse him to awakeness an hour before hand in hope to break the habit, some might say he could be hungry so you might need to give him more food during the day. When children have a growth spurt or even a 'mental delopment' spurt this can effect sleep, teeth can effect sleep a whole lot of things. Children of his age should be getting 12-16 hours a sleep a day and good sleep in the day breeds good sleep at night. Ovetired children don't sleep as well, nor do they wake up as refreshed. But anyways there are so many reasons it could be, get your hands on this book, it is easy to ready, funny and helps you to figure things out.

Good luck

Catherine - posted on 07/29/2009

Maly has some great ideas. I know how frustrating it can be and how tired it makes you when they go through this after sleeping so well before. My daughter does the same thing when she is going through a big growth or learning spurt eg, when she 1st learnt to walk. Some babies around this age can also start having nightmares or night terrors.
Have there been any changes in his routine recently that could have unsettled him???

Maly - posted on 07/29/2009

Is he waking up for something or just because? If he has anything that he really likes (maybe a blanket or something), try giving that to him and see if it works. My son is really attached to his blanket so if he can no longer feel it, he tends to wake up in a panic in the middle of the night so we just put it back into his arms and he goes right back to sleep. It could be too that your baby's bedtime is starting to feel a little too early for his body. You can try getting him to take a nap around 3pm or keep him up (and active) an hour or so more before putting him to bed and see if he's able to stay asleep longer. Hope this helps!