2 1/2 Year Old - Suddenly Waking up Frequently at Night

All of this is developmental based and 'normal.'

Growth-spurt
Her age
Separation Anxiety
ALL these things do occur and all at one time. For a child, that is a lot. Nothing ever occurs, one.at.a.time, in a child.
Many things going on.

Also maybe she is having night-mares.
Or "Night Terrors"... Look this up Online. It sounds like what your daughter may be having.

And maybe teething.

All of this culminates into what is growing-pains for a child.

ALSO, night-time 'fears'... crop up from this age and goes on even when older. It only starts, now. Having 'fears' or night-time fears.... is developmental based too.
It reflects a child's changing development and cognition.
You CANNOT just turn-off, a child's imagination...

For now, this is the way it is.
It will pass.
Other phases will arise.
Not all phases, warrant a scolding or punishing.
Because, it is something involuntary.

When I was that age and older, I would wake up and creep down our LONG dark scary hallway... just to go to my parent's room. I would squeeze in between them and they let me. I grew out of it.
Kids do that. It is childhood.
I merely missed my parents and would get so scared in my room by myself. My parents never argued or scolded about it. How they handled it and loved me... is one of my FONDEST memories I have of them as a child. I cherished that.
A child will outgrow it.
This is childhood.
One day, your child will not even need you nor want to be near you.

all the best,
Susan

Feed her more during the day. In a few days, her body will register the increased calories, and she'll sleep soundly at night again. She's had a growth spurt, and needs to eat more even though she seems fine during the day.

Could be an ear infection. My oldest would not complain during the day or show any other symptoms, but would wake in the middle of the night when she had an ear infection.

Good Luck!

I feel for you! It's so miserable when your kids wake up constantly like that. You feel so bad for the child, but it's not great for Mom either and Dad either! Our sleep gets disturbed and then, we're not at our best during the day.

Hopefully, it's just a phase. My eight-year-old son is having sleeping problems right now, after being a fantastic sleeper his whole life. All of a sudden, he refused to go in his room after dark. It became a real problem that disrupted the whole family.

We tried a variety of things to help him. We put up glow-in-the-dark stars all over his walls. We rented some "books on disc" from the library, so when he woke up at night, he could listen to a story. Now, we're letting the dog sleep in his room, which is what finally got him to stay in his bed most nights. I think he feels comforted by having her in the room.

This article has some ideas on how to get kids to stay in their beds: http://www.examiner.com/parenting-issues-in-cleveland/tea...

I wish you luck.