I’m exhausted as a result of getting an average of 4.5 hours of sleep a night for over 3 years now. You must know though that despite what professionals say I feel like sleep is a waste of time and it’s not something that I look forward to like some people (like my husband). I am not, however, a night owl or party girl. I know that I need sleep for health and sanity reasons so I go along with the whole sleep thing even though I think it is time waster.
Here are a few facts about the situation that I am desperate for help with, for my 3 year olds sake and ours:
– She’s 3.5
– She always goes to the bathroom before going to bed
– She doesn’t fight going to bed
– We have a consistent bedtime routine that she enjoys that includes bathtime, stories and singing
– She starts stirring and/or crying after being asleep for about 1.5-2 hours
– She doesn’t remember crying the next day
– My husband and I don’t run into her room after every sound she makes
– If we don’t go into her room to soothe her pretty quickly she’ll stir or talk herself into a full wake
– She seems to get her best sleep between 4-7a.m.
My husband and I are EXHAUSTED. This has been going on every night for over a year. She doesn’t ask to sleep in our room, but we’ve thought about moving her into our room. We aren’t sure what good that would do except that we wouldn’t have to get out of bed to help her.
Your tips and feedback are appreciated!
Please forgive any spelling errors. I wrote this post on my iPhone.
Is she upset when she wakes up? Is she fully awake? My son dealt with night terrors a few years ago where he would wake up at the same time every night, crying, but wasn’t actually awake-he wouldn’t respond to us if we talked to him.
I would talk to your doctor. Maybe they have some advice that would help. Though mine is now 5 and I still rarely get a full nights sleep.
Good luck!
Well, I wouldn’t bring her in your room–you might create a new problem–that she wants to sleep in your room forever. It sounds to ME like you are doing the right things. I agree on Dr. Weissbluth—helped us through the newborn/infant stages. Have yet to run into this specific problem with my 3 year old. She only rarely wakes at night and that is when she is overtired, i.e. hadn’t napped that day, or the day before, had been out a lot, very active during the day, etc. Does your daughter still take a nap?
Have you read “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child” by Dr. Weissbluth? It talks about sleep patterns and needs as well discussing the various methods out there. It was a life saver for me with establishing quality sleep for my two boys. Good luck!