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Last Reply:
Breaking a bad habit.
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tothebeach4 posted:
Going on 3 weeks now, my son (27 months) wakes up at 3:00 am crying. At first, I thought it was maybe bad dreams, or teething, or possibly a change in routine. I started (and I realize this was a bad idea) going in, picking him up and bringing him into bed with my husband and myself. I would cuddle with him until he was good and asleep and then take him back to his bed (because I can't sleep when he's in bed with us).

Last night, I thought I would try to break the cycle. Unfortunately, the reason he seemed to wake up last night was because he had soaked through his diaper and his clothes were wet with urine... so that was the first problem. I had to clean him up, change his clothes, put him in my bed, change out his sheets and wipe down the matress (thank goodness for plastic). Then when I tried to put him back in his bed, he threw a major, major fit... crying and screaming, kicking and thrashing about. He would stand up and I would gently lay him back down. I didn't want to leave him alone because he has a tendency to jump up and down while holding onto the front of his crib and has bit his lip doing that before. So... there I stood, at about 4:00 am by now, watching this major meltdown and feeling bad... by 4:30, I gave up.

I really want to break this whole cycle of waking up at 3:00 am to avoid this entire situation. I would love to hear any suggestions from other parents. I don't want to end up with a 6 year old in my bed every night, so nipping this in the bud is my goal. Thanks!
2 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:Breaking a bad habit.Going on 3 weeks now, my son (27 months) wakes up at 3:00 am crying. At first, I thought it was maybe bad dreams, or teething, or possibly a change in routine. I started (and I realize this was a bad idea) going in, picking him up and bringing him into bed with my husband and myself. I would cuddle with him until he was good and asleep and then take him back to his bed (because I can't sleep when he's in bed with us).<br /> <br />Last night, I thought I would try to break the cycle. Unfortunately, the reason he seemed to wake up last night was because he had soaked through his diaper and his clothes were wet with urine... so that was the first problem. I had to clean him up, change his clothes, put him in my bed, change out his sheets and wipe down the matress (thank goodness for plastic). Then when I tried to put him back in his bed, he threw a major, major fit... crying and screaming, kicking and thrashing about. He would stand up and I would gently lay him back down. I didn't want to leave him alone because he has a tendency to jump up and down while holding onto the front of his crib and has bit his lip doing that before. So... there I stood, at about 4:00 am by now, watching this major meltdown and feeling bad... by 4:30, I gave up.<br /> <br />I really want to break this whole cycle of waking up at 3:00 am to avoid this entire situation. I would love to hear any suggestions from other parents. I don't want to end up with a 6 year old in my bed every night, so nipping this in the bud is my goal. Thanks!
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Elizabeth_WebMD_Staff responded:
Hi tothebeach4 -

Sorry I missed your post earlier! While waiting for other to pop in with suggestions I wanted to pass along a this resource -

7 Ways to Combat Kids' Sleep Problems

Is anyone else experiencing this or have suggestions?

Elizabeth
Report This| Share this:Breaking a bad habit.Hi tothebeach4 - <br /><br />Sorry I missed your post earlier! While waiting for other to pop in with suggestions I wanted to pass along a this resource - <br /><br /><a href="http://children.webmd.com/features/7-ways-combat-kids-sleep-problems">7 Ways to Combat Kids' Sleep Problems</a> <br /><br />Is anyone else experiencing this or have suggestions?<br /><br />Elizabeth<br /><a href="http://children.webmd.com/features/7-ways-combat-kids-sleep-problems"></a>
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M0MofTwo responded:
We had that problem with our first son and I've had it at times with the second. I usually find they wake in the middle of the night for a reason - sometimes sick or getting sick, sometimes I think it is growth spurts, etc. We bring them to bed when it happens as they go back to sleep much faster and then return them to their bed later. Sometimes it went on for a couple of weeks and then they stopped waking up or it slowed down. My oldest (3.5 yrs) rarely does it now unless he is super tired, or sick. Now I usually go his way. My oldest is 3.5 years old now and starting at about 2 we started talking about it with him. He told me our bed was more comfy. I'm not sure what your setup is. We did take him out of the crib at about 2.5 years and put him on a mattress on the floor (it was a queen because we had a nice one that wasn't being used but I think you could use whatever size). Putting it directly on the floor kept him from rolling out and getting hurt (we didn't even use the box spring). Taking him out of the crib helped tremendously. It was a bit more challenging to get him to go to sleep at first (since he could get up) but I think the reason he was waking up that time was because the crib mattress is harder and our bed was more comfy as he said. Once we got him to sleep he was much more likely to stay there for the whole night. You might consider if this could be the issue.
Report This| Share this:Breaking a bad habit.We had that problem with our first son and I've had it at times with the second. I usually find they wake in the middle of the night for a reason - sometimes sick or getting sick, sometimes I think it is growth spurts, etc. We bring them to bed when it happens as they go back to sleep much faster and then return them to their bed later. Sometimes it went on for a couple of weeks and then they stopped waking up or it slowed down. My oldest (3.5 yrs) rarely does it now unless he is super tired, or sick. Now I usually go his way. My oldest is 3.5 years old now and starting at about 2 we started talking about it with him. He told me our bed was more comfy. I'm not sure what your setup is. We did take him out of the crib at about 2.5 years and put him on a mattress on the floor (it was a queen because we had a nice one that wasn't being used but I think you could use whatever size). Putting it directly on the floor kept him from rolling out and getting hurt (we didn't even use the box spring). Taking him out of the crib helped tremendously. It was a bit more challenging to get him to go to sleep at first (since he could get up) but I think the reason he was waking up that time was because the crib mattress is harder and our bed was more comfy as he said. Once we got him to sleep he was much more likely to stay there for the whole night. You might consider if this could be the issue.
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