Night Waking....aahhhhh!

[Double E]

My DS is 4 1/2 and is waking up during the night. He goes to bed fine but then he's up again 1-5 times a night. He's been doing this for years (literally) so it's not a new thing. But he goes through periods where he'll only be up once a night or sometimes he'll stay in bed ALL night

Sometimes he wakes up and just calls for us but mostly he gets out of bed and walks into our room. Normally we just walk him back to bed (with very little talking) and he'll stay put (until the next time).

We've tried a reward system with stickers and/or coins but it's not working.
We're obviously doing something wrong

I'm wondering why he's constantly waking up??? How do we get him to stay in bed (so that we can all sleep)??

I'm having a baby in March so it would be awesome if he was sleeping so that there's not two kiddos up in the night.

I'm open to suggestions. Advice. Anything
Thanks in advance.

[pinky]

It's hard not to get panicky about an older child's sleep when a new one is on the way. I know when I was pg with dd#2, I would get into fits about dd#1 (3-1/2) needing me to lie down with her until she was completely asleep.

I just don't think there is a magic bullet to get kids to sleep. They sleep through the night when they're ready. My dd is 4 and still wakes up most nights at least once or twice. I don't think you're doing anything wrong, you just have a child who's still waking at night.

My only thought is that he's missing you at night? Would he sleep better if he were closer to you, maybe on a sleeping bag in your room so everyone still has plenty of sleeping room? For my 4 y.o., we've figured out that she sleeps much better when a warm body is right nearby, but that may not work for you.

Good luck. Dealing with nightwaking for years on end is EXHAUSTING. But I really believe that it's just part of the deal with some kids, not a sign of parental failure.

[Siar]

no solution - but just wanted you to know that you're not the only one. My DS is 4.5 years and also wakes many times a night (and always has done). Sometimes he'll go back nicely, mostly it is a challenge to get him resettled. Very occasionally (like maybe once every 2-3 months), he'll sleep through. He often calls out and cries / screams at night. We are also expecting a baby late Feb / early March. Who knows how we'll handle two little ones nightwaking? I don't think there's any magic solution for us. Let's just hope we all manage to get enough sleep and that our babies settle better at night. Peaceful nights to you!

[Double E]

Thanks for the replies.....
oh how I wish there was just a "magic switch"

I'm glad I'm not the only one dealing with an older one who doesn't sleep through the night.
(But sorry that you gals aren't either!!)