Two Year Old Who Wakes Frequently Asking for "Mommy"

My daughter did this when she was 2. I went to her room, rubbed her back and she went right back to sleep. Eventually, I just let her cry it out (which lasted about 5 min) because she was not learning how to self soothe. I think it would probably be best not to take her out of her bed because that may wake her up even more.
Of course, we had super bad nights when she just plainly needed me and was not going to go back to sleep, she was just more upset than I've ever seen her and I either let her sleep on my floor or let her fall asleep in my bed and then moved her to the floor. Every few days I'd let her fall asleep in my bed and then move her and she never woke up in the middle of the night on those nights. She's four now and we still go through that some times. I figure, they're only little for a short time, they won't always be asking for us and we should enjoy and take advantage of their babyness now before they grow out of it. :)

Of course I'm not saying to coddle, but of course, listen to what she's really needing, either just a little comfort when she wakes up, or full mommy support for a night.

Good luck :)

K., just like your daughter learned to sleep through the night when she was one, she can do that now too. It is just another lesson to learn. Help her to learn to put herself back to sleep and be more independent. Before she goes to bed at night eplain to her what is going to happen: when she wakes up she is to go right back to sleep. Mommy will not be taking her downstairs, no drink, etc. You can go in and check on her. Tell her it is still time to sleep, give a kiss and a hug. If you do this you will probably have the same problem of her cont. to need you to comfort her in middle of the night, but I guess you could phase this out too. We have done this with my daughter. I dont know if they start having nightmares at 2 or not but my daughter started waking up in the middle of the night and just wanted the kiss and hug. Then we had to break her of that habit too. Yes she will cry for a few nights but in the long run she will learn how to go back to sleep on her own and the rest of the family will be able to get a full nights sleep. Don't feel guilty. After all she doesn't get everything she wants just because she cries during the day, does she? She just needs to learn what is expected of her at night. =)They are always learning and testing to see what is acceptable.

Hey, have the 23 year old get up w/ her! Just kidding. My 3 1/2 year old does this sometimes, and I finally figured out she was falling out of her toddler bed (not a big fall), then deciding to come into our bed (which we didn't mind since it was 3 am or so). We put up a "gate" thing and it has gotten better. But the other night, she came in our room, and I realized it was b/c she had been cold (her legs were cold). So, if you wake up, see if she's fallen or if she's cold. You may need to do the Ferber method, which sucks for about 4 nights. I had my hubby do it and I left the house ( in know, nice mom!)But, it worked. It is letting the child cry it out, which is gut wrenching to me, but if you don't nip it in the bud now, and put up w/ the sucky part now, she'll be doing this for years. And for babysitters,, etc.

Hi K., I agree with two of the other moms,the best solution is just to stay with the child and not remove her from the bed. I've had similar problems like that as well, and it seems the less movement going on and keeping the room dark and quiet helps the child to stay a little more sleepy and to promote going back to sleep on their own. I also have one of those rocker/glider chairs in my youngest child's room (he's now 5) so that I can sit if I do need to remove the child from the bed. I couldn't tell you how many times I've slept sitting up. I don't do that anymore obviously because he's 5 and he comes to my room and wakes me up, but it worked awesome in the past. I know how the screaming two yr. old can wake everybody up and you have to scramble to make the situation better so you'll do anything to get it done. Hang in there you sleep deprived mom, I'm pulling for you! :)

M. B.(age 39 (and holding!!) mom to 6 kids ages 5 1/2 to 19 1/2)

I fill a cup with ice before bed and leave it in his room. Cold water is ready if/when he wakes up without leaving the room! When he wants mommy, I make a palette for me right beside his toddler bed and that usually will keep him in his bed. Of course, I do cave occasionally and we both end up sleeping cuddled in a recliner!

Hope this helps!

Instead of taking her downstairs, leave her in her bed (tell her 'mommy will be right back with a drink') & bring a drink to her. When she is done rub her face or back until she is relaxed & almost asleep. I do this with my 2 y/o son when he wakes up at night.
If she seems to just want you to be with her you could try sleeping with small blanket or stuffed animal for a few nights to get your scent on it. Then she would have a lovey that smells like mommy to cuddle with. If that works you will need to do this every now & then to keep your scent on the lovey.

God Bless!

K.,
I can't say that I have any grand solution. We have had our ongoing problems as well. We sought out advice from a social worker who gave us a few ideas. One is putting a mattress on the floor in our bedroom and allowing her to sleep there when she gets up in the middle of the night. If you don't want her in your room, or she isn't out of her crib yet, another option is for you to either sit somewhere in her room or lay on the floor in her room and then letting her know how long you will stay. The first week it might be an hour (or as long as you can handle) and then shortening it maybe by 10-15min per week. Not getting in bed with her, but reassuring her you are there. Hopefully over a period of time it will only be 5 minutes with the goal of a simple check on her and go back to bed. One other idea is to bring her back to her room and let her know you will be back to check on her in 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes is up, check on her. And maybe do it for every 5-10 min that night and then continue to lengthen the period of time between checks. Again with the goal of a simple back to bed guidance and her falling asleep without needing any further assistance. One last thing that we were told is to give our daughter a soft object-maybe a shirt of ours that she has strong associations with to sleep with. Keep us posted!

I know I'll probably get a lot of flak about this, but I could never let my kids cry themselves to sleep and I always went to them at night. And they so far are both very well adjusted, independent teenagers! Even my mother in law comments on what great kids they are and enjoyable to be around and she has 10 grandkids! *My sister in law who was the "let them cry" type of mom has a very cold, impersonal relationship with both of her kids. Now I realize there is always more than meets they eye, but I hope you understand the point I"m trytin to make.
I do think I, like another poster suggested, would go in and rub their backs until they went back to sleep. I also always had soft music playing in their rooms and would leave thier doors cracked so they could hear my husband and I watching TV, cleaning up etc. and they would know we were still there in the house and all was OK. As they got to the point of crawling out of the crib, they would come in with their bankbank and finish sleeping on our floor.
From my experience, it just seemed to be a phase which I had forgotten about until I read your post.
Best of Luck!

Lori K