Help! My daughter turned 2 in August. We have been very fortunate to have a great sleeper who wakes happy in the morning like clockwork and playing in her bed until we come get her...until 3 days ago. She started by waking early at 5 a.m. crying with no explanation. Then last night she decided that she would wake at 9 pm and not go back to bed, so finally at 11:30 we gave in and brought her into our bed for the first time ever. She did not like being in our bed, but we finally fell asleep until waking at 5:30.
She is not sick, no changes, no ompany over, etc. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks Mamas!
Teething? Molars throw my 2 year old off while sleeping. Bad dreams? Is something different about her room? (new night light, sheets, curtains, started turning the heat on at night - too hot or the sound bothers her?) Anxiety? Scared of the dog who lives next door? Sorry you're going through this and I hope you figure out what is bothering her and are able to resolve it quickly. Good luck!
Nightmares? When she wakes up is she crying like she's scared? Does she talk a lot yet in which case you can ask her what's wrong. I know around this age, their imagination gets a lot more active and my 2.5 year old son has started to get more nightmares recently. I would make sure she's not exposed to anything scary like those horror movie trailers (ugh hate those). try not to make it a habit of putting her in your bed though -- trust me, you don't want to go down that road. when she wakes up, if she's frightened stay in her room for a little bit but try to keep her independent. good luck,
You can expect many "never did this befores"...they change habits and behaviors as they grow.
Ear infections can be tricky to spot in children without the capacity to explain what's going on with them. I'd take her to the doc anyway, just to make sure.
She may be having nightmares. Ask her if she was wakened by a dream. Let her tell it to you if she wants.
It could be night terrors. My daughter had those. They wake up crying/screaming but appear to be awake. There's really nothing you can do but ride it out. It's a phase and will eventually stop.
