3 year old wakes up 2-3 times a night

[boboman]

My 3 year old (4 in May) has been waking up 2-3 times a night for what feels like months now. We have a strict bed time of 7:30-8 ish. We start the process at 7:30. We read a story, go potty, brush our teeth, put on pjs, etc. he wakes up literally screaming multiple times a night. Then is usually up for the day between 5-6am. Today it was 5 am he got up.
When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he just sits in his bed crying so loud. He shares a room with my almost 2 year old who gets woken up frequently. Anyone have any tips or advice on what to do? It’s been weeks of this and I’m exhausted. We’ve tried melatonin. That doesn’t do anything. Falling asleep isn’t the problem. Sometimes he says he’s scared. Other times (most of the time) he’s just crying because he wants someone to fix his blanket.
We tried magnesium lotion too. That did nothing.

I just don’t know what to do anymore. Sometimes he’ll wake up my two year old for the day at 5 am and that kid normally will sleep till 8 if you let him.

 

[j0shbegss]

@boboman Have you tried pushing bedtime later to see if that helps? And is he still napping?

Also, if he says the blanket is the problem have you tried a sleep sack or footless sleep sack?

 

[boboman]

@j0shbegss Yes. Even on the days when we stay out late or have plans, he does it and still wakes up by 6.
He’s very attached to his blankets so I’m not sure if he’d let me replace them.

 

[reeses]

@boboman You could add a blanket to cover him and then have the comfort blankets for cuddling.

 

[weepingwillow422]

@boboman Hello! I would recommend something like a nest and a weighted blanket. Weighted blankets can be really comforting, and the nest sets a routine of when you will be back in to get them along with sounds. Good luck!

 

[boboman]

@weepingwillow422 We have a hatch so I can try the schedule. I’m not sure about the weighted blanket. He’s very attached to the ones her has so we’ll see if he lets us take those away

 

[destiny2103]

@boboman My 3.5 year old is going through this right now- he tells us he is scared and I do believe it’s a developmental thing. I think the mix of becoming aware of dreams, internal monologue and imagination leads to them getting scared. We’ve had to give him two night lights and leave the hall light on with his door open. He also has a bed full of comfort loveys. Sometimes he still gets up crying for us or making an excuse that would get us up to be with him. I’ve also found he sleeps better if he’s tired and hasn’t napped too long. He’s been napping 2-2.5 hours at daycare so I’m going to ask his teacher to start capping the naps.
I’m so tired- I’m hoping this phase goes away soon. Solidarity my friend.

 

[nkhra]

@boboman I could have written this! Right down to asking for help with the blankets. It’s getting slightly better for us.. we now have the occasional night where she doesn’t cry out at all. Here’s what we’ve done:
- let her choose what color light will be on the hatch all night as a night light
- got a Yoto player to play stories for her to lull her back to sleep after a wake up
- basically stopped naps
- hatch light turns green at 6am, this means she can call for us

With the light turning green at 6, I found really good success in turning it on before I went in her room to get her up for the day, even if it was because she was screaming at 5am. I think it gave her comfort and confidence in knowing it does turn green eventually.

Like I said, none of this has been the ultimate cure. This has been going on for 4 months now and we are complete zombies for us it coincided with the move to the preschool room at school (turning 3) and bringing a new baby home.

 

[faithfull_fella]

@boboman I can relate. My 3 year olds share a room and it’s so annoying when one of them wake the other one up. They went through a big phase of calling me in multiple times for random crap right after they turned 3 (like finding random toys in their bed or tuck in) but it’s getting better now after a couple of months. It’s the age I think, they’re so aware of everything now and have the ability to be scared. We talked about it a lot - telling them not to call mama in becuase we all need sleep, sleep is so important, sleep makes you grow big and strong, we can find whatever you lost in the morning, etc etc etc.