2 Yr Old Not Sleeping like He Use To

First of all, this is only temporary. Sleep schedules change as children grow. Like your son, my son was always the best sleeper until his 2 year molars started to come in (this could be what is causing the disruption). At the time, we had no idea they were coming in because they were still under the skin. We had no idea why he was waking up nearly every night until we noticed the first tooth. He would also be awake for 2 hours before he'd fall back asleep; it was so frustrating. Once all 4 molars came through, he got back on schedule and we got some sleep again (the whole thing probably lasted a couple of months). Every once in a while, he'll have a bad dream and wake up in the middle of the night. He's almost 5 and will still be awake for 2 hours before he can go back to sleep. Good luck. It's going to be crumby but just know this phase will pass.

Sleep schedules do change from time to time. Could be a growing spurt. You did not give the exact times of his nap and then time he is placed in bed.. See if you can adjust it 1 to 1/2 hours later. That may help. I do not suggest eliminating the nap time. He will be over tired and that can be worse.. Also make sure towards the end of the day he has lots of active play.. Riding his tricycle, swinging, climbing, running, swimming. He probably just has lots of new energy.

Also remind him that if he wakes up, he will be safe and fine in his own bed. That mommy needs to wake him up when it is time. Help him figure out a way to calm himself down when he wakes up. He can hug his "lovey" or take a sip of water (next to his own bed) and then go back to sleep. Does he have a night light? That may also help.

Do not allow him into your bed, it is so hard to get them out.

I know this is hard, but it is normal.

This is probably just temporary. 2 yr. olds are always doing stuff out of the norm! I agree with others is may be his teeth or a bad dream that has him still scared and he just can't communicate it to you what it is. Try to figure it out quickly or he will soon realize no matter the problem he can get up at night and be with momma and daddy. I do think you should decrease his nap time to about an hour. This may not help with this actual situation but will help overall. My daughter just turned 2 and although she sleeps through the night I am suddenly having a hard time getting her to take a nap. I know she is tired and at her age needs a nap but it is always a battle despite consequences or rewards. Some days she doesn't sleep at all but when she does it is never over an hour and she still isn't that sleepy at night. I do allow her to have a nightlight when she is good and that does help her to sleep and stay in bed when she wakes up before it is time to get up but if she plays instead of going to sleep I take it away because then she can't see to play anymore. she knows the rules. Good luck! Hope this phase goes by quickly.

Hey so sorry you are dealing with this, lack of sleep is not joke. Since I see you guys are Christian I wanted to ask, have you prayed in his room yet? If you are comfortable maybe walk around the room and pray that the presence of God would fill the room and that any fear would go, etc... Just whatever God gives you. Every time we have had any sleep trouble that is what I have done, I have asked God to have His Holy Spirit fill that room and bring His peace. It has really worked well. I also had a thing happen where my son was waking up, I started to pray for him before bed that he would have peaceful sleep and dreams and that he would sleep all the way through. My little one is recently two and sleeps 11-12 hrs at night and takes a 1.5-2hr nap during the day. I think that is because he is soooooooooooo active when he is up!! I hope that helps and that you get it resolved soon!!:)

I will tell you what we do for this. Most others will tell you that we shouldn't, but it didn't back-fire on us with the first one of our children that were like this. Our oldest daughter is now 5. When she was about a year and a half, it started. She would wake up crying at night. No apparent reason. We would let her sleep with us when she woke in the night. After a while, she would get in bed with us in the middle of the night, instead of waking us with crying. When she was 3, she began to sleep through the night again. Our next child in line, our son, never woke in the night (he's now 4). Our next child, a daughter, is now 2 and has been waking in the night for at least 5 mos. We do the same thing with her. We lay her down in her bed, but we wake up in the mornings with her in the bed with us. I do not believe that taking the nap away will help, beacause we've tried it to no avail. Trust me. We would like dd to sleep through the night, but she doesn't. I do believe it's a phase that will be out grown. So, to keep our sanity and our sleep, she crawls in bed with us. We have tried different mattresses, but that hasn't made a difference. Basically, I don't know what you can do to remedy this now. You may just need to let him out grow this. Good luck and God bless!