23 Month Old Crying Throughout the Night - HELP!

Hi AB I think 23 months is to old to be in a crib. Between 18 and 19 months I took my kids out of the crib and placed their crib mattress on the floor, with their stuffed animals and favorite blanket, and then at age 2 we put them in a twin bed. At 23 months she is old enough to understand bed time is bed time, and if she knows crying will eventually get you in there, then she will cry. I agree with the mom who said not to have everything overly quiet, children need to learn to sleep through regular noise in my daycare I can have a baby start crying and the baby in his seat right next to the crying baby sleeps through it, If she is still in a crib, how does she use the potty at night if she needs to too? My first child was 3 when my second child was born, and they shared a room, with no problem, as a newborn he was in the bassinet in out room but. when he got to big he slept in his crib in the room with his big brother, and they both slept fine. Julia

I have 2 friends who had this problem and it turned out both times that their toddlers has minor ear infections, even though they didn't show any other signs. You might get it checked out. I would venture to guess something isn't right if this started happening all of a sudden. Could be manipulation, but worth getting checked, just in case.

Is she having "night terrors?" or perhaps having night-mares?
these are 2 different things.
Look it up online.
At this age, night-mares/terrors can arise. It is developmental based.
It is common. Again, being developmental based.

From about 2 years old, toddlers go though a TON of changes, developmentally. And it often tweaks their sleep at this age. It is not easy for them... either.

Unless maybe she has molars coming in? These hurt a lot more, than just regular teething.

Or as the other said, ear infection can also make them wake a lot.

Does she nap during the day? Over-tired kids, do NOT sleep well, and it makes it harder to sleep, and they wake more too. It is important to nap.

Also at this age, their REM sleep patterns can change.

All the best,
Susan

Both my daughters did this (the 4 yr old very rarely now) , but they would do it out of the blue for a few nights in a row and then it stopped. The youngest girl (20 months now) will still do it on and off. Not sure what to suggest to stop it , all we do is check & see she is ok (example not unwell) , if all ok then we shush shush her and lay her back down and rub (sometimes she is fine with this sometimes she bounces straight back up and screams even more). At that point I will walk out of the room and leave her for 5-10 mins , if the crying becomes harder and more panicked I will go and get her out cuddle her (but not leave her room or put lights on). Once she has settled usually takes a couple of minutes I lay her back down , most of the time she will roll over and settle but sometimes she will scream as soon as she touches the mattress. I then know that nothing is actually wrong and she just wants to be held , so I leave and she will CIO. That can take 15 mins or so , but when I have checked and rechecked , cuddled and she is still crying then there is no more I can do , I am not getting into habits of cuddling/rocking to sleep and letting the waking become a regular nightly thing.

Hope this helps

You figured it out yourself. You had her sleep trained beautifully, then after the baby was born you began rushing in. Sure it could be molars, sure it could be illness, but rushing in is the most likely culprit.

Have you tested your theory that your toddler's crying will wake the baby? If she sleeps quite well, she may just learn to ignore it. I would try it for awhile and see if they can both go back to sleeping. If she does wake up the baby, try putting a white noise machine in the baby's room. As a side suggestion, don't try to be so quiet once the kids go to sleep. Talk in a normal voice, watch a little t.v. at a comfortably low level, just no sudden, loud noises. Your kids will probably learn to sleep through it. And you will be much happier not having to tippy-toe around your condo.

I would not put her in a toddler bed until this is under control. I don't think it is manipulation, but simply because she wants your attention and is testing what your limits are (whether you will keep coming in). She can re-learn that she has the ability to go back to sleep on her own; just go back to what you were doing before. Try the noise machine during this period if it causes your baby a problem. Good luck!

There are lots of reasons why a 23 month old wakes up. Have you asked her why she's waking up? It could be anything from the new baby, bad dreams, night terrors, teeth coming. Maybe she can tell you what's bothering her so you have a better idea of why she's getting up so you can better help her sleep.

Hope this helps.

We just put our 21 month old in a toddler bed, and she LOVES it. She goes to bed very easily and with a smile on her face. It's such a difference from the crib, where she would cry and stand up. She doesn't get up a lot other than the first 2 or 3 nights (I thought we would have that problem too). We are so glad we switched.

I would love to hear some answers. My daughter, who turns 2 tomorrow, has been waking up at night off and of for a month. Sometimes she wakes up screaming, other times she just comes into our room or calls for me. I think it most likely is just developmental.

Hi there,
I really don't have any good suggestions for you, but I do have a wonderful on-line book called "Sleep Sense Program". I did have problems with my daughter falling asleep on her own, and night wakings. This book opened my eyes to the problems we were having and how to fix them. My daughter now sleeps through the night and we are in heaven! We are trying to take to take full advatage of this because in October, we will have a new baby. Please email me at ____@____.com and I will forward the book to you. (and anyone else who might need it)
Take care,
M.

Has she gotten all her molars? It may be that she is getting them. They are the most painful, I hear. It takes awhile for them to brake through the skin. I gave my son motrin for the pain and Hylands teething tablets. Good luck.