Sleeping - Abingdon,IL

Maybe he has some kind of discomfort when he lays down. Possibly his ears or acid reflux. I would mention it to his doctor and see what he says.

my nephew was the same way. he was a horrible sleeper and eater from birth until he was 3. they tried everything from changing formula to the expensive ones, treating him for acid reflux, buying a special hanging bed so he slept in a reclining position, and the list goes on and on.
finally, he ended up getting sick. the doctor finally suggested he see an ENT for because of the size of his tonsils and adenoids. as it turned out he had sleep apenea...he had his tonsils removed and he has been sleeping and eating, and gaining weight like crazy since then...maybe check it out

D., I too immediately thought of sleep apnea. It is worth getting checked out. The sooner it is diagnosed and taken care of the better it is for learning and growth. It is best to have it taken care of before entering school, since sleep is essential for learning.
Good luck
E.

I have a daughter who is grown now and a few weeks ago we were talking about how she never slept as a child. She said Mom all you had to do was give me a night light, I was afraid of the dark and still am. She shared a bedroom and I guess we never figured out that it was the darkness only because she seemed like a child that had no fear of anything and never expressed any. Something so simple, give it a try I have a friend who has them all over her house lit up day and night. A. V.

I have a 2 year old. I put a sippy cup in her crib, so she can drink when she is thirsty.

I'm in the same boat with my 2 year old son. The only time he sleeps well is if he has a cold and has been given benadryl. I'm not advocating druging your child, he only gets it when he has a really runny nose. At any rate he's never been a good sleeper either, but neither am I. I rarely sleep through the night unless exhausted or medicated. Depending on what time it is we will either let our son in bed with us (if it's almost time to get up anyway) or take him back to his bed. We always explain that he's OK and my husband is pretty good at staying calm. He'll cry for a bit, but we usually only have to do it once. Good luck to you. I feel better knowing that we aren't the only ones dealing with this.

Your son doesn't need a drink. He is just using it as an excuse to get up. My son was a good sleeper till I took his pacifier and then he went crazy!! I couldn't take it anymore!! He wanted to sleep in my bed or for me to lay in his room. Finally I went back to sleep training days and I got the gate and put it in his door way. He would cry and get out of his bed and I would put him back in (the gate was to keep him from running into my room). It took at least an hour the first week or so (I did lay down with him in the middle of the night for a second just to get him to go back to sleep in his own bed). Now I have removed the gate and he stays in his bed. He might whine but in 5-10 minutes he is sleep!! He stays in there all night and when he wakes up I either tell him nicely I'm in my bed and he should go back to sleep in his bed or I go in and tuck him back to bed and he is fine.
The first week is hard so I would suggest sitting down with your laptap or wathcing t.v. in your room b/c you will but up and down a lot into his room. He does still sleep with a night light so you could look at that if you don't have one but tell him you are sleep and he needs to sleep. My husband loves it also so it was worth the hard work!!

if he is getting up for a drink, put one of those stroller cup holders on his bed/crib and put a sippy cup of water in there. Have him practice getting the cup with it being dark in his room.

Make sure the room is DARK and put on a fan and music on continuous play all night long.

If you think he is getting molars, give him motrin before bed.

and if all else fails, buy a crib tent so he can't get out of his crib if he's still in a crib, or if he's in a bed, remove the lightbulbs and shut the door (turn the lock around if he can open doors, so he can't get out, in a fire you wouldn't want him wandering around anyway). Then ignore him.

Hi! My 1st daughter was the same way! She didn't sleep through the night till about 18 months (I also had pregnancy-induced insomnia from day 1) so I was really tired and ready for her to sleep well. The BEST thing we did was (and I'm not sure if this is possible for you) was move her into her "big girl" bed. I was expecting #3 and moved her in with her older brother. I NEVER in a million years thought she'd stay in her bed, but she did!! I'm not sure if it was moving into the bed or sharing the bedroom and having someone else there made her more comfortable?? If he has a sibling, maybe you could try it (even temporarily) or moving into more comfortable bed (if he's still in a crib, those matteresses aren't the most comfy). Just a thought, it worked for my girl. I feel your pain and hope you find something to finally help. He's probably pretty tired too. Poor little guy! Best wishes!

Is it possible that your child could have allergies? The drink might be helping the allergy. Sometimes waking up in the night can go with potty training too. The child starts having an awareness of being wet at night and wants to get up and get changed to be dry again. I would suggest that you mention this to your pediatrician next time you are in or ask a nurse at the pediatrician's office. They may have other thoughts.