Toddler waking up in the middle of the night

Started by Perpetua, October 03, 2017, 08:22:31 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Perpetua

Our 16 month old is teething right now and will wake up once per night to eat and drink milk (for the first two nights she had a loose stool). Before she was teething she also had some other episodes of waking up to eat once per night. I nursed her until she was 14 months, and had weaned her off the night feedings for a month or so before I had to wean her completely.

My husbands colleagues (whose children are daycare children) say that it's strange that a child over 12 months old will wake up at night, theirs never did.

Did your toddlers wake up at night past the baby stage? If so, when did they start to sleep through the night every night for the rest of their childhood?

JubilateDeo

It's definitely not strange for a 16 month old to wake up once at night.  Some will even wake up multiple times.  My 97 year old grandmother with dementia wakes up about 15-20 times a night now.  After dealing with that, my toddler always seems pretty easy, rational and low maintenence in comparison. I highly recommend it :)

I think at around 16 months my younger daughter was waking up about once at night, and going right back to sleep after nursing.  I forget exactly when she dropped the middle of the night nursing session, but it got replaced for wanting a sippy cup.  I think like a lot of people, toddlers wake up in the middle of the night because they're thirsty.  So giving them a sippy cup usually solved it.  That still happens on occasion but she can get it by herself now since she sleeps in a toddler bed (she's 3 now).  My older daughter slept through the night a little earlier, I think 18 months.  It WILL get better, and you will sleep again!  Unless you have another baby.  Then I can't promise you anything :)


JubilateDeo

Also, daycare probably has nothing to do with it.  I am a La Leche League leader and many of our moms go back to work eventually, and if anything I usually hear that the babies who go to daycare wake up more often after Mom goes back to work.  It's called reverse cycling.  Instead of nursing 3x a day and once at night, a 1 year old might take one bottle of pumped milk during the day and then wake up 4x at night.  It is their way of making sure they get time with their Mama, one way or another :) 

OCLittleFlower

One of mine is five and doesn't sleep through the night -- he also doesn't disturb anyone else with it.  He gets up, goes to the bathroom, does his thing, goes back to bed.  Has been that way as long as I've known him (adopted at age 2.5).  Some people are just like that.  He used to wake up, play for 5 min, and go back to bed.  His room is far from ours, and his sister (in the next room) is a deep sleeper.  If I wasn't awake when it happened, I wouldn't know about it -- he never woke US up.  His doctor said it was normal, and not to worry, and actually somewhat of a good thing because it means he's NEVER wet the bed.

The thing you're probably asking is "When will my kid let ME sleep though the night?" which is a different question.  My mom is 60+, and has never "slept through the night" without getting up to go to the bathroom.  But she also knows to be considerate (obviously) and not wake her entire household. 

If your child is one of those who never sleeps through the night, it isn't a big deal.  Eventually she will learn to get back to sleep on her own and not wake others.  :)   It's probably a combo of teething and something minor with her stomach, based on what you're saying -- but even the "worst case" isn't all that bad if that ends up being her rhythm. 
-- currently writing a Trad romance entitled Flirting with Sedevacantism --

???? ?? ?????? ????????? ???, ?? ?????.

diaduit

I would say it's more normal to wake up than not. My 2.5 year old has on and off woken up once during the night. He is sleeping through since 16 months old. Usually it coincides with a sickness, teething or a massive change in routine. It normally phases back into sleeping through after a time

MundaCorMeum

It's definitely normal.  I'm pretty sure NONE of mine sleep through the night 100% all of the time.  Even my 12 year old still wakes me with a nightmare periodically.  She told me the other day that she often wakes up around 2:00 in the morning.  I asked if she went right back to sleep, or if she got insomnia.  She said she just goes right back to sleep, so I told her not to worry about it, and it was perfectly fine...nothing to be concerned about.  Say a Hail Mary or prayer to Guardian Angel and go back to bed.  If six year old wakes up and needs to blow his nose, he comes get me  ::) 

At this point, though, except for the 11 month old, all the girls are in one room and all the boys in another.  So, if a younger one wakes up and needs something, they ask an older sibling.  If it's something they can't or prefer not to handle (like vomit, really bad dream, can't breathe because of congestion, won't stop crying, or whathaveyou), they come get me or walk the younger child to my room.  It's not uncommon for my 3 year old son and/or 4 year old daughter to end up in bed with an older sibling during the night.  The big ones will even handle it if they wet the bed, even though I told them they can come get me if they want to.  They rarely do, though.  I've woken up to wet bedsheets in the laundry baskets on more than a few occasions.

I also agree with JD that it's definitely not a non-issue for all day care kids.  My sisters are proof of that.  When their kids were toddlers and young school age kids, they ended up in bed with my sisters more than mine ever did.  Is it directly correlated to stay-at-home vs. day care....I'm sure to some degree.  There's a lot at play for whether or not your kids wake up often during the night or not.  But, it's certainly not uncommon, nor is it necessarily a problem.  It depends why they are waking, and if it is affecting their day-to-day functioning as to whether it is actually a problem, in my opinion. 

kayla_veronica

My sample size is just one, so adding for what it's worth!

My daughter woke up constantly to nurse at night until 14 months. I had to wean her completely to get her to stop waking up ONCE AN HOUR. Once I stopped nursing she would sleep for longer periods, but still wake up 2-3 times a night. I let her fuss for 5 minutes and then offered a bit of water if she hadn't fallen back asleep. I think she was around 18 months before I could rely on her to sleep through the night.
May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable,
most incomprehensible and ineffable Name of God
be forever praised, blessed, loved, adored
and glorified in Heaven, on earth,
and under the earth,
by all the creatures of God,
and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Amen.