Waking up for 2 hours in the middle of the night??!!

[Phoenix~Mama]

I'm going to lose my mind soon, probably. And am wondering if it's possible to die from sleep deprivation? Or what is this doing to the baby I'm carrying?

UGH! Yeah so the past like, two weeks or so, DD has been waking just about every night. And usually not going back to sleep so easy. On average it's taking about 2 hours to get her back to sleep!!!

This is leaving me with anywhere between 3-5 hours of broken sleep. It is really not a good thing.

I can't figure out what is going on to make her wake like this. And usually once I have her with me she quiets down, but if I try to lay with her, forget it, I'm human jungle gym to her and she is crawling all over me and pulling my hair, etc... She will go back to sleep if I'm standing with her, but the second I try to put her back in her crib, or in bed with me, she is right back awake and screaming, and if it's in bed with me, she does the jungle gym thing.

I NEED sleep. Please tell me this phase will pass soon? Anyone else experience this around this age? Help!

[LadyCatherine185]

could she be getting her 2 year molars? My DS always did this when he was teething, and the 2 year molars have been the worst so far.

[Ruthla]

When DS did this, I would put him in the crib (next to my bed) and go back to sleep, even if he cried. I'd already given him the choice to nurse or snuggle, but if he wanted to play, too bad. I thought of this as a "temper tantrum" and not as "crying it out" because I was in hearing distance the whole time (and would have taken him back to bed if he was ready to snuggle or nurse) and he was basically mad that I woudln't play with him. I also put toys in the crib (that he invariably threw onto the floor during his tantrums) for him to play with if he wanted.

He outgrew this after a few weeks, and it wasn't every single night, though it might have been a few nights in a row at first. I think he was simply testing limits, and when he realized that I wasn't going to budge on the "playing in the middle of the night" issue, he stopped doing it.

[Phoenix~Mama]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

When DS did this, I would put him in the crib (next to my bed) and go back to sleep, even if he cried. I'd already given him the choice to nurse or snuggle, but if he wanted to play, too bad. I thought of this as a "temper tantrum" and not as "crying it out" because I was in hearing distance the whole time (and would have taken him back to bed if he was ready to snuggle or nurse) and he was basically mad that I woudln't play with him. I also put toys in the crib (that he invariably threw onto the floor during his tantrums) for him to play with if he wanted.

He outgrew this after a few weeks, and it wasn't every single night, though it might have been a few nights in a row at first. I think he was simply testing limits, and when he realized that I wasn't going to budge on the "playing in the middle of the night" issue, he stopped doing it.

Yup... this is what I am doing already. And she does have toys in her crib, and she also throws out in her tantrum. She even throws her paci and then gets more mad because she doesn't have that anymore.

Well, roughly two weeks down in this... so hopefully she will get over it soon to like your DS did.

[CinCanada]

No advice here but I can definitely sympathise! I'm eager to see if anyone else has suggestions as I'm in the same boat. My previously fairly easy to get to sleep DD has been brutal to get down lately. Either she falls asleep right away & then is up in the night (for 5 hours one night last week!!) or is just about asleep & then suddenly wakes up fully refreshed & wants to excitedly play for the next few hours. Maybe I'm missing a window of opportunity or maybe it's her eye teeth coming in, wish I knew. It sure is hard not to get frustrated with her antics though. We bedshare so I know the mommy jungle gym bit all too well.
*fingers crossed this is just a phase as the idea of night weaning & transitioning her to her own bed is getting more & more appealing....

[grace2008]

a few things to consider:
1. ear infection? My son woke up several times in the night and cried when he had ear infection.
2. too excited during the day, she may have bad dreams at night.
3. eat too much before sleeping.