So, anyone out there ever had a 19 month old waking up continously at night? What did you do?
Adler has been waking up around 12:30ish or so every night crying. If I don't go to him and rock him back to sleep, his cries turn into hysterics. If I do rock him back to sleep, it takes at least 30 minutes and then he is up about 30 minutes later, doing the same thing. This cycle continues until about 3:00 or sometimes longer. I don't think He is waking in pain or nightmares because his cry is not immediate or he doesn't really cry out. I think its just separation anxiety or something but I don't know what to do to stop it!! We need our sleep around here.
5 comments:
Addison went through this also for about a week or two. We didn't understand why she was suddenly waking up so much, so we read posts from other parents on the Internet and tried several things. First of all, we bought her a sound machine and she now sleeps to the sound of the ocean every night. We also made sure she didn't go to bed overtired, so we tried to make sure she got a nap during the day and went to bed between 7:30 and 8 p.m. after a relaxing bath. Some parents also recommend that you give them a security object like a blanket or stuffed animal so that when they wake up and don't have you, they will be comforted by the object. I hated the idea of getting Addison stuck on having a blanket, but at least we are sleeping around here now (with the exception of our new little man of course). If that doesn't help, you can ask your pediatrician about giving him some melatonin. It's a vitamin you can buy over the counter. You can usually open the capsule and give him 1mg. We never used it, but I've had friends who have. Your body produces melatonin to help you sleep and some kids who don't get an adequate amount of sunlight have trouble producing it. Sorry for the long post. Hope some of this helps.
I don't remember going through this with Alise. She was always so tired from school every day that she pretty much slept through the night. My first thought was could Adler be teething? We DID go through separation anxiety, but I don't remember it affecting her sleep. Good luck!
Yikes! I feel for ya. I haven't had sleep issues at that age, but I know a lot of people do. It could be that he's going through a growth/developmental spurt. That can do all kinds of crazy things to a kids natural cycles. Around 3 or 4 years old, my kids would wake up with growing pains- maybe that's it and he can't tell you what it is? Not much to help in that case, though. Did you call your pediatrician? I'd do some googling for tips that might help. A nightlight? Don't get discouraged, you'll figure it out, I promise. I'd be a little cautious with rocking him too much, though, as you probably don't want him to become reliant on it, yeah?
Thinking of ya! Sleep deprivation makes everything else just a smidge tougher- so hopefully this will be a brief issue!
(I feel bad that my advice is so generic. Bah. How about some aromatherapy? A little lavender or chamomile plug-in or something? Do I win some hippy points for that suggestion?)
Must be a family thing.LOL! Everitt is doing the same thing to us right now, I am so tired, only getting about two hours a night now for about three weeks. I would check out the teehing, but you are right about seperation anxiety..Both of mine and many of my friends children around 18 months lost a lot of sleep over it. I am about to use melatonin on Everitt. Do not know about using it in such a young one. Could also be an ear infection or he is is growing and is getting the nighttime hungries. Everitt would do this and we would give him food around midnight or so when he woke and he would sleep the night. He didn't get hooked on the midnight snack for very long, I guess his growth spurt stopped. Pass him to Nana or E and get some catch up sleep! I should have mine sleeping soon if I fix mine before you do I'd love to have him for you to get some sleep. Or funnier he and Everitt could be night owls together! Love ya!
Hey, Ashley,
So sorry to hear of your sleep issues with Adler. I did have one that would not sleep through the night for quite some time, and it was the oldest. Some of the other suggestions are very good and worth trying. With Joey, I would be prepared with a sippy cup of milk, so that when he woke up, I would take him his cup, NOT get him out of the bed, let him take a drink, and then lay him right back down and pat his back. The crying didn't fully wake him up, and a little milk on the tummy was enough to satisfy him. Alder may be going through a growth spurt, especially if you notice that he is eating more during the day than usual. I'm sure it's just a phase and hopefully it won't last long. Sounds like you have several options to try over the next few days. One of them is bound to work. Try to catch a nap when you can. Motherhood is full of new adventures, and this should pass soon. Love you!
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