Two-year-old daughter wakes up EVERY NIGHT...anyone tried this product?

a reply to: SlapMonkey
It's possible that she has insomnia. I'm not sure how early people can get it. I have it and what she's doing sounds like the early waking kind.

A little off topic but I thought you could relate.
Go the F to Sleep

Interesting question. As a very young child I usually woke up during the night, as did my two brothers, and walked into my parents' bedroom and slept in their bed. We probably did this til we were about three and then just naturally stopped. My parents never turned us away and I always felt safe and comforted growing up. My son had night terrors til he was about four and this scared me to death. I consulted doctors who told it wasn't that unusual. So my husband and I just held him in our arms til he fell asleep and that only occurred every now and then til he was about 4. As an adult he has no memories of this. It still bothers me though. By the way, my children never wanted to sleep with us.

Why not just buy them a teddy bear and not let them watch scary movies where people get attacked by bears.

Night terrors wake kids screaming and crying. They don't just get up and start knocking on a door. That's learned behavior and can be unlearned. Just curious about light levels in her room. We had much better results with staying asleep once we made sure the room was dark. Not even a night light as even that much light can stall melatonin production. It's the same principal behind sleep masks . Block out light and the body will produce sleep hormones all on its own.
I feel for ya though. Take heart because before you know it she'll be begging for rides to the mall to hang out with her friends and the next moment she's married and busy being a mom herself. I know hard to think of but I swear it was yesterday I was holding my son's two wheeler so he could learn how to balance and today he needs a new tire on his car.

My little boy was like this and I was exhausted. My sister told me to stop his afternoon nap and that helped considerably. He then didntwake until about 6.00am. Some children grow out of the afternoon nap far earlier than others.

Also is there anything in her room that could be frightening her when she does wake up? Is she potty trained or is she still in nappies. If she isnt trained yet she may be getting to a stage where her wet nappy is bothering her, so maybe leave her without nappy ande put mattress protector on and try and wake her to sit on toilet about 11.00pm.

My son was frightened of a dressing gown on the back of the bedroom door, it had a hood and looked like a small person and it bothered him for along time before he had the words to fully explain to me.

I dont think it will be night terrors as you would definitely know about it, once seen never forgotten. My child had them from about 10 months old and when it first happened I thought he was seriously ill as his eyes were open and he was hysterical but I could tell he couldnt see me. I was trying to hug him and found out later that just makes the terrors worse, he now sleep walks, so I just think she would be really upset if this was the case.

The other solution is just put her in bed with you. I know some believe this is a definite no no but I dont. As adults we like the closeness of someone to snuggle up to and if it makes a child sleep better and ultimately helps you both to sleep I dont think it matters.

When my son was scared of dressing gown I let him come in bed with me. Last year he said he was happy to sleep alone, he was 6 and he has done ever since.a reply to: anxiouswens

originally posted by: rickymouse
Why not just buy them a teddy bear and not let them watch scary movies where people get attacked by bears.

I'll let her watch "Ted," then "Ted 2."

a reply to: Sillyolme

Yeah, that's another thought--I've always felt that her night light was a bit too bright. Maybe I'll try to wean her off of that by maybe covering it with a cloth (it's an LED light...no heat), and then removing it altogether. Or even just unplugging it after she's asleep and seeing if that keeps her in her room--that might not be a bad idea, actually. I think I'll run that one past the wife.

a reply to: anxiouswens

You know what Wens? I completely agree. X

a reply to: SlapMonkey

You shut her door? Try leaving it open a smidgen, with a hall light on. Thats a cheap thing to try. She might feel she can 'sleep better' knowing she can escape (whatever) if she needs to. Give her a choice how much to leave it open, when you go to bed.

Say this much, this much, until she says okay, gives her more feeling of control.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Our son is 4 and here and there he had sleeping-through-the-night issues (although they were usually around "growth spurts" where he was learning in leaps and bounds).

I never used the product you mentioned so I can't say anything about that.

I will tell you one thing though that might possibly be going on. How quiet is her room? When our son was VERY young we had a small space heater in his room. It took us a few nights to realize that as it would "click on" and "click off," even though it wasn't very loud, it was enough to wake him up. Once we replaced the forced air heater with a quiet oil heater, that particular issue when away. So, is there any mechanical equipment above or below or adjacent to her room? Something that might periodically turn on and off?

Best of luck to you.

a reply to: intrptr

I think that you're missing the point that she's only two. And not an almost-three two, but a just-turned-two-in-December two. She does not quite make the best decisions in situations like that.

Plus, our current home situation doesn't lend itself well to doing that, plus our animals would go in her room and keep her awake or wake her up.

I get the suggesting of it, so I'm not trying to be outright dismissive, but my situation doesn't give that idea too much credence. Now, if we lived in our prior house where all of the bedrooms were upstairs, maybe, but not in a single-story small home that we live in now in order to get out of debt.

a reply to: eluryh22

Nah, it's just the traffic noise (we live on a corner lot with a four-way stop, so all of the lovely cars that have less-than-perfect mufflers are very loud) and the train horns. We do keep a fan in there for a steady, light humming sound, but it doesn't kick on or off, and it's quiet other than the wind noise (used to drown out any other noises in the house).

We do have a few squeaky floors in the hallway adjacent her room, but that never wakes her up...she just wakes up at hours usually after everyone else is asleep.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Gotcha. I feel for you, man. I really do.

The only other thing I can suggest (and it sounds like you do it sometimes already) is just bite the bullet and take turns sleeping with the kid in your bed and the other person in her room. During his sleep-issue times, we ended up doing that because as much as people have opinions on that (not teaching them independence or whatever), ultimately mom and dad NEED to get some decent sleep during the week or the whole thing falls apart.

Here's to hoping her pattern changes soon.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Then get one of those barriers to block the hallway from the dogs. Or are they more important? Sorry, just wondering about, if you decided to have kids you get all that sleeplessness thing that goes with them. Have patience, just a little more than you can bear will suffice.

This will pass one day, don't sell her fears short, she doesn't like being locked up.

I didn't either.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: SlapMonkey

Then get one of those barriers to block the hallway from the dogs. Or are they more important? Sorry, just wondering about, if you decided to have kids you get all that sleeplessness thing that goes with them. Have patience, just a little more than you can bear will suffice.

The passive-aggressive douchebaggery is strong with this one.

Yes, I have a barrier, both one I can move to different areas of the house, plus one that is on a hinge and semi-permanently located at the entry to the hallway. Our cat can jump over both of those, and she is the one who causes the most problems with her meowing and wanting to sleep on anyone who is asleep in our house.

We're having patience. Sheesh, I'm not trying to be defensive here, but you sure came out swinging, didn't you?

Then get one of those barriers to block the hallway from the dogs. Or are they more important?

I'm mean, seriously, you just relegated your entire opinion on this matter to the recycle bin.

And she's not locked up...she's in a room, with the door closed, that gets opened by us whenever she knocks on it and wants out.

Jackass comments are unnecessary in my thread. Please take them elsewhere, as they are not constructive in the least. Save your comments for someone who hasn't swapped sleeping on the couch with their spouse so that we could accommodate a toddler with sleeping problems for basically months now.

"Or are the more important?...If you decide to have kids...she doesn't like being locked up..."

Give me an effin' break. You don't know me or how I parent. Go be an ass somewhere else, please.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

As others have suggested, I would advise cutting out her nap times during the day.

Some kids just don't need as much sleep as others and she may be one of them... by the time you do put her to bed, she's zonked out.

I would also try to do a lot more physical excersion type of activities with her during the days, things that will expend her energy more... she might have more of an energy reserve to use up than most others. My husband is a high energy type of person and the only way he can get a good night's sleep (a deep sleep) is if he does some physical stuff during the day to help drain his battery.

Good luck and just remember (as you already know), these phases don't last forever.

Eventually you and your wife will get a full night's sleep !

Nothing wrong with milk. If you can organic. Food sensitivities could be an issue. But out of my 5 boys, I had one who wouldn't wean from the breast until 2, and woke every 2 hours for a feeding day and night, and stopped his daily naps in the first year, and stayed up very late, then woke permanently very early. Thats just him. So, you could try a few things but having her sleep in your room may end up being the most feasible way to get some sleep. I am the kind of person that would have ordered that to give it a try if I was desperate.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

And she's not locked up…she's in a room, with the door closed, that gets opened by us whenever she knocks on it and wants out.

2years old and already caged. She's going to have issues behind that when she gets older.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

You could see how she feels about a frilly sleep mask instead. That way the light is there if she needs it.
Maybe one with long silly eyelashes. I swear by mine. Better than a sleeping pill.