help for 2.5 yr old, struggling to stay asleep

[pdxcox]

we coslept until he was about 22months and he decided he liked his room better than ours, so here's our routine now.
to bed about 8ish nursing in his bed, white noise machine on and he is usually out in 10min or less. goes to sleep happily.
its the hours between 12am and 5am that are tough. he wakes up really sad, scared or just angry. he really wants to be asleep and just cant seem to settle back into sleep from light wakings.
i thought it was tied to his pottying and was convinced that he would start sleeping better once he learned the potty.
well he quit diapers at 2yrs 1month and it doesnt seem to be any better!
since he is used to nursing to sleep, that is the only way he'll go back down, and that can happen anywhere between 2 and 6 times in those 5 hours! I am a tired mama! and it doesnt seem to help him. he can be back up in 10min.
i've tried not nursing at night it just makes him angry and then we are all wide awake.
not sure what to do, but this doesnt seem right for anyone.
how do i help him stay asleep?

[rzberrymom]

t might be worth a try taking him to the potty before this waking happens. Even after my DD gave up diapers, she couldn't always realize that she needed to pee when she woke in the night. She'd be sort of half awake and angry or distressed--she had to pee but couldn't tell me and couldn't get herself there since she was only half awake. I started taking her to pee when I go to bed (about 3 hours after she goes to bed) and those wakings stopped. Even at almost 5 years of age, I still have to help her get to the potty each night before I go to bed or she'll be restless and wakeful at some point in the night.

But, my DD also did this kind of thing as she got to that age and developed more awareness about being alone (I've even seen people on here talk about a 2 1/2 year old separation anxiety phase). What we did was put a twin size bed next to ours for her--DH and I had our bed back, but she was still right there and I could comfort her in the night without all of us waking up completely.

[sugarmoon]

ugh.

No answers, but I'm here for the same reason. My son is just about 28 months and wakes every 2 hours. I've long since night weaned him, and recently transitioned him to falling asleep without nursing (but with me lying with him). Neither of these things have made a difference in helping him sleep for longer stretches at night.

My next step is to work on getting him to fall asleep without me lying next to him, and see if that helps.

But I'm here, trolling this forum for ideas!

[flower01]

I'm another one that could use help with my 2.5 year old. We haven't nursed for months and she is potty trained. She does get upset and restless when she has to pee, so we recognize it and immediately take her to the potty. But, she still wakes up after that sometimes and is so upset...she sleeps in her own bed next to ours, but every night ends up in our bed because she's crying or calling out for us in her sleep.

[transylvania_mom]

what we did

ds started sleeping in his room after 2years of cosleeping. I would let his door and our door open, so he could join us in our bedroom if he needed to nurse. Some nights he would come, some nights he wouldn't, but it was a lot easier on me.
HTH