Waking
For the past 3 weeks or so, Big C has been waking several times a night. It’s been for various reasons, but one thing is always the same. I’m exhausted in the morning…and crabby and stressed and unmotivated. OK, so that’s a lot of things, and that’s just me. It’s really impacting the whole family.
Every time he wakes, Little P wakes up too, since they share a room. My husband tries to sleep through it, but sometimes I just can’t get up that third time, so I gently push him out of the bed to go check what’s going on. Mr. B seems to have slept through everything, which is great, since he still has summer school/camp every day.
Let me give you a little background on how we got here.
The Sleeping
The twins have always been great sleepers. When they were babies, it was bed at 6 pm, and up at 6 am. They slept through the night as soon as we transitioned them to their cribs around 6 months old.
When they transitioned from cribs to toddler beds, we had a few days of craziness, but then it was back to bed at 6:30 pm and up at 6 am.
As the days have gotten longer this summer, they’ve been staying up later, but still getting up at 6 am. Plus, we’ve had a problem with the nighttime routine.
Every night, they gather their toys to sleep with (trains, of course, not stuffed animals,) jump into their beds, I tuck them in, and then I start their music. I also have to pretend to rub cream on their cheeks, but that’s a whole other story. I then let Mr. B turn off the light and shut the door. They also have a baby-proof door knob, so they can’t run around when they wake up in the morning.
Anyways, every once in a while, they would still be awake at the end of the CD, so they yell for me to start it over. Which I do.
A couple of weeks ago, Big C started waking up in the middle of the night requesting it to be turned on again rather loudly. And with crying.
A week ago, Big C decided he is afraid of the dark, so needs the door to remain open, the hall light on, and he now wakes up at least 2 times during the night for the music.
My Own Sleep Issues
In complete honesty, I’ve never slept through the night. In my baby book, in the spot that says when baby has slept through the night, my mom wrote NEVER.
I’m sure I’ve had a few nights where I haven’t woken up, but those are few and far between. My anxiety paired with my bladder issues does not make for an ideal sleeping situation. I do take some Melatonin that helps me fall asleep, and most nights after waking to use the bathroom, I fall asleep within 20 minutes or so.
The problem lately is that Big C wakes at different times than I wake, so instead of my usual 1 to 2 times waking up, I’m now up 4 to 6 times a night. It progressively gets harder and harder to get back to sleep.
So, we’ve got to figure this out before I’m not able to function. I’m not even sure that this post is making sense.
What we’ve tried
- As I mentioned, we now leave the door open and hall light on to combat the scariness of the dark.
- Moving the twins’ toddler beds close together so Big C would not feel alone in the dark, as he often asks me to sleep in the room.
- Being sensitive and giving hugs when he wakes.
- Being firm and not playing the music every time he wakes up.
- I’ve added three different night lights to their room that change color.
None of these thing have worked. At all.
So, we’re going back to square one. We’re moving the beds back into their original position. I’m thinking of adding a comforting story about sleep right before bed.
We’re going to have to go back to lights off and door closed too. I’m not sure how anyone can sleep with all that light coming in. I’m going to be very clear that the music only gets played once, and I’m going to be strong and not go in at every cry. I’ve tried to wait him out many times, but he just keeps crying louder and louder, so to stop him from waking Mr. B, I end up going in. With the door closed, I don’t think that will be a problem.
If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them! I need my sleep desperately!
I can relate to all of this! I have never been a very good sleeper (the smallest sound wakes me up!) and my kids SUCK at sleep. Both of them. Hudson is better now that he is 7 but Mila still wanders in at night and once she gets to staying in her room all night we will have a routine change. (vacation, she will get sick, etc) and then her middle of the night visits start all over again. I am woken up at least 2-3 times a night!
LOL about what your mom wrote in your own baby book! Looks like things are finally coming full circle! I wish so bad things were going better 🙁 I have more knowledge about infant sleep cycles but not so much toddlers. Hoping you could get some sleep soon!!!
HUGS!!!! Ugh sounds awful! My little guy was up two nights ago from 2:30 am – 5:30 am. It was awful. And I had NO idea why. We broke are cardinal rule and brought him in bed with us (also awful because he tossed and turned and kicked us for hours). It’s so hard when you get in to a groove and then something screws it up!!
Oh, no. Sleep issues are the worst. Something that should be easy and comforting and feel good…is just wrecked. Sorry–btdt.
My little man goes in phases with sleep. Granted he’s always been a terrible sleeper but we’ll go stretches of 1-2 months where there will be no issues and then all of the sudden he is up 3-4 times a night. For him it’s either a noise or something. I tend to lay down with him but I used to rock him back to sleep as a baby. I know they say not to do that but for my own sanity sometimes just crawling in his bed helps get us all some better sleep! I hope it gets better for you!
I can totally relate! I think once you become a mom sleep deprived is the new norm
This sounds so frustrating. I hope you’re able to find something that works for you soon. I wish I had some good tips to offer!
Poor momma! I am a bad sleeper as well, I have some insomnia but I can usually stay asleep after the HOURS it takes me to FALL asleep. Your problem sounds much worse. 🙁 My daughter will be 4 in November, and she literally just now started sleeping through the night. For years she woke up 1-2 times a night screaming I just started staying up until after the 1st wake up around midnight. For a while it was growing pains. She would cry that her feet hurt. For this, tylenol helped, but since I didn’t want to give her it when it wasn’t needed I would wait until the midnight meltdown. Then, it turned out that she had a UTI infection that kept returning before she would show symptoms. We had to take her to a specialist and she is just now sleeping all night most of the time. So maybe (hopefully) its something normal like growing pains or a phase. But sometimes, it’s something worth asking the doc about that we cant see. Good luck, may your coffee be strong!
That sounds really rough. I’m not a good sleeper myself so if I had someone crying I know it would be very difficult for me too. It’s bad enough that the cats sometimes wake me up! Good luck, I hope you find something that works in this situation.
Unfortunately I do not really have suggestions other than valerine or chamomile tea!
You poor thing! I wish I had advise, but Benson is still in his crib and hasn’t had any major sleep issues! I hope that it’s just a phase and things get back to normal quickly for you!
It must be tough making sleep arrangements… I have so much respect for mommies everywhere. I don’t really have any tips, but here’s wishing you the best of luck 🙂
Our little one sleeps through the night, but our dog has started waking me up like crazy. It’s obnoxious because I had JUST started not having to get up in the middle of the night because a baby is also hanging out on my bladder. I’ve just decided that yep, I’m never going to get a full night of sleep anymore…
Oh Shann I hope that you and the boys sleeping situation gets better. I have been having issues with sleeping myself lately. I wake up anywhere between 1-3 am and I am wide awake. I am not sure why but it is annoying. I even have taken sleep vitamins and I still tend to wake up. I think that has also contributed to my moodiness. Let’s hope we both start getting some better sleep!
While my son is younger (14 months) he has never consistently slept through the night. We’ve tried so many things too. Every time we think he’s got it, he starts waking up at 1am, 3am, 5am…ugh. I haven’t slept all night regularly in 2 years so I feel your pain, and sadly I am no help since we can’t figure it out either.
So first – HUGS. It’s SO hard when no one sleeps, and sometimes the cycle becomes unbearable. It sounds like he’s using the music as a crutch, it’s a negative sleep association. I would TRY if you can to eliminate it. Replace it with a white noise machine that goes all night maybe? Or something he can turn on if he needs it. I know you will get through this!
I don’t have any advice to give. My three year old does wake at night, but he is nice enough to just quietly come into our room and climb into bed. Oftentimes I don’t even know that he’s there until I wake up…
Lol, I am nursing my 6th baby now who still doesn’t sleep through the night. I don’t think I have slept through the night in 13 years! All I can say is…there will be a time when you will miss the night time waking and snuggles. It goes by in the blink of an eye.
That is really challenging! I feel for and relate to your situation. Our kids have gone up and down with their sleep patterns. Just when we think we have things figured out, something (or someone) changes. Sleep deprivation is hard. I hope things turn around for your household soon.
My youngest keeps waking up multiple times every night and at nap time the past week. UGH! Mama needs sleep! lol
my child never enjoyed sleeping, and still at 13 she don’t.
Ughhhh so sorry!!!! I’m one of those lucky ones who has a kiddo who loves sleep as much as I do! However I have a bestie who’s kid never sleeps and also wakes up at 4 am everyday…. I couldn’t even imagine dealing with that. Hope things get better loves 🙂 xoxo
I feel ya mama. My youngest is 19 months and sleeps through the night sometimes but here lately since she was sick she wakes super early in the morning. Like 3 am and wants me to lay on couch w her while she watches Kate & Mim Mim til she falls asleep. I cant get my 3 year old to sleep in her bed so she sleeps with me and my husband. Mama life can me rough!
Girl, been doing this for 9 years! We just recently started sleeping through more nights than being awakened. I feel your pain!