I don't know what the deal is with my 22 month old son. He was sleeping 12 hours a night - taking a afternoon nap (2 hours) and for the past week he is waking up almost every hour. The only thing that has changed is my husband was on a business trip. I thought he was cutting a top molar but normally he would be throwing up, have a fever, nasty diapers, etc. He had none of that just a poor appetite. And I wasn't stressed out about my husband being away, it was actually kind of nice. But I don't know if it's a growth spurt or what but a couple of times he is full on screaming in his bed or just bouncing/talking. On Friday night I went in there at 3am (thought he was sick) and he was fine. Last night I went in at 5am and again he is fine. But we have been up every morning at 5am and he doesn't want to nap either. It's driving me nuts that I don't know what is causing the sudden sleep distruptions. He has no signs of sickness. Could it be that he was effected by husband's trip? Can anyone please help me think of any other possibility? I'm still breastfeeding my 6month old every 3 hours - even during the night. So at this point between both boys I'm extremely sleep deprived and feel I could be missing something.
This too happened to my twins and it ended up being reflux for both of them and stomach pain from food allergies we did not know about. How are his poops? shcek into it. they usually say there is somethig keepign them up especially if you know they are tired. I do not believe in this oh itis behavoiral. it is not when kids are tired and there is no painkeeping them from sleepign they will sleep. good luck hope you find the culprit.
J.
Wow, you are one busy M. at night! I would probably say the sleep issue is temporary. It may in fact be a growth spurt, as my sons reacted the same way when they went through them. It still could be the tooth growing in also, because when they get older they can react differently to teeth coming in and can react differently when the larger teeth start to come in as well. It's also possible the change in routine with hubby gone could be doing it as well. Also, at certain ages, their bodies decide to change their sleep requirements and routines too. He may just be adjusting. If it continues, it would not hurt for him to have a checkup just to make sure he's physically ok. Otherwise, I would try to wait it out a bit longer and see. Waking up every hour seems to signify some sort of change happening, but certainly should not last long unless there is something going on.
He's probably getting his 2 year old molars. There are 4 of them and he may be having a hard time with them. I suggest you find a friend or family member who can come in a little and give you a break to take a nap. I always pushed myself and I should have just ask for help from someone...they were always offering to help out anyway. Babies go through so many phases it's hard to keep up....he will switch and start sleeping again someday soon. If he wakes up often screaming in the middle of the night he could be having night terrors, one of my boys had that and it started about that age. But to me with as much as he is up and his loss of appetite it sounds like teeth to me. God bless you and your two little sweethearts!!!
Dear P., Could it be something with his ears? Maybe when he lays down something bothers him like his ears or stuffy nose?? I have two boys that are older now but they do go though things from time to time. Sometimes kids just start getting up and it becomes a habit and then he gets overtired and get settle himself down to get back to sleep. Maybe try a real cuddly teddy bear or blanket when he gets up. Give it to him when he goes to bed and maybe he will stay asleep. Hope that helps. It still could be teeth he is getting too. Good Luck.
Sounds like he's getting too much sleep at night. 12 hours of sleep (overnight and nap combined) per 24 hours is the standard. He probably still needs that nap, so try cutting back on the nighttime sleep a little. Maybe 15 minutes more "up time" each night until he's back to about 10 hours overnight.
Hi P.. My kids were very close in age too, so I completely sympathize with how hectic things are for you. Sleep deprivation is the worst (but you are only a few months away, so hang in there!!)
It's so difficult to tell what's going on with a child entering his twos! It could be so many things!! Your son is becoming so much more independent and will be testing you like crazy -- over everything (feeding, bathing, sleeping, everything!!) I don't think you are missing anything!
My suggestion is this: stay the course with his sleep schedule and, as tough as it might be, stop responding to him when he is trying to get your attention during sleep time. My daughter still sometimes "tricks" us too -- she will scream in the middle of the night as if she is terribly ill (which is terrifying) and when I enter her room she asks me to fix her blanket or give her a hug. That's when I know that I have to stop going in her room for a few nights!
I have found that (unless something is medically or otherwise wrong with the child) these little blips in behavior tend to last up to 2 weeks and then go away. So if you hold your course, you should see him resume to "normal."
Personally, I would NOT decrease the amount of sleep he is getting at night! Sleep begets sleep, and he will be healthier getting the amount of sleep his body is demanding. According to "Toddler 411" book (by Denise Fields and Ari Brown, MD), a child 1-3 years old requires 13 hours of sleep per 24 hours period (including naps). But if your son is getting an hour more, that is absolutely great for him! When he starts staying awake in bed longer and longer after you put him to bed, on a consistent basis, that's when you'll want to start adjusting his bedtime.
Hang in there Mama! It's tough times now, but it will get easier (especially when you start getting more sleep!!)
Check the ears. Some kids have no other symptoms of fluid in the ears or ear infections other than they stop eating and/sleeping. This is one of the two times during the year that it is prevalent with my two girls 4 and 6. We have a great pediatric ENT out of Glenbrook if you need one.
Good Luck.
My 20 month old just started acting crazy 2 weeks ago. He would be sitting down watching t.v. and just start screaming. He refused to eat his normal foods, if anything at all. He would wake up screaming for no reason in the middle of night. Sometimes during the day, he would just lay down on the couch and stare into space. I thought he might be sick, but there were no other symptoms (no fever, cough, etc.) He yawned really big yesterday and I noticed a new 2nd molar on the bottom right side. My husband checked his mouth, and sure enough, he is cutting all 4 2nd molars at the same time! He has NEVER behaved like this before when he cut all of his other teeth, so I never thought he was teething. So, maybe your son is actually teething. It took 2 weeks for us to see the new teeth in his mouth. Last night we gave him Tylenol before bed and he slept like a rock all night long. Hope this helps, and good luck!
This may sound totally crazy but it is true. My now 11 year old was two years old when she was awake for 20 hours slept four and woke right back up. She had been an excellant sleeper before (slept through the night at 2 months) We could not figure out what was wrong. She was not sick, she was not even really cranky and she had sooooo much energy. We had a little girl in our church with a truly severe red dye #40 allergy so we had tried to stay away from it at home too. When my daughter slept over the weekend and Monday went right back to not sleeping we asked the babysitter what she was drinking at. Red Kool-aid (even though we had asked that she not be given red dye the lady thought we were crazy and gave it to her anyway.) After we made sure to send juice and to be SURE she was not getting red dye she was fine and slept like a rock. My middle daughter is sooo allergic to the stuf that a red lollipop will send her bouncing for hours. It does not affect my son nearly as much. There are scientific studies abot this and most of Europe has banned it but of course the US does not and it is in a surprising number of things from fishy crackers to doritos to fruit drinks. But candy and red drinks are what really did it for my kids. Hope this helps. I know how awful sleep deprivation can be. I will be praying for you.
It could be that your husband is gone. If you feel that something might be wrong consult your doctor. It may just be that the molor is coming in and even though it is not how he usually reacts to it coming in, it just might mean that it is trying to reach the surface. Good luck!
My son went thru the same thing, it was just a stage he went thru. I kept a fan on or an air purifier, for the white noise sound, and it helped him fall back to sleep. It may have lasted about a month.
It's a brain growth spurt, maybe he's on the verge of talking. Try to find a daytime sitter for a few hours so you can take a nap!
Does your son have allergies? Did/does he have excema? My son was doing basically the same thing for a few months. Waking in the middle of the night a talking and playing for 20 minutes to 2 hours. He has seasonal allergies and the doc told us to give him Zyrtec(childrens) but we didn't want to give it to him all the time and over medicate him. then a speech therapist told us he may have fluid in the ears so to give it to him everyday like the doc told us we could. After 3 days he is sleeping through the night and napping 5 out of 7 days :) I can't guarantee it is the Zyrtec but could have been a phase or growth spurt but it's worth checking out.Good LucK!
