But he's been killing Joe and me lately. He used to be such a good sleeper (to bed at 7pm and didn't make noise till 7am or even 730am). Over the last two weeks most nights, he will wake up crying sometime anywhere between 2am and 5am. Now, only once or twice has it been where he wakes up screaming bloody murder, so I thought that it might be night terrors, but all the other times he wakes up with only a little fussing--almost just talking-- at first (which I ignore hoping he falls back asleep) but then it gets louder and louder until he actually is crying really loudly and really hard.
A little background so you can form your opinions: the last almost two weeks we have been out of routine a LOT. I was in Jenna's wedding and was gone that whole weekend (Joe was gone too attending the wedding festivities as well). Friday my mom was with him all day from 9am till we got home from the rehearsal dinner at 10pm, so she put him to bed. The next morning I left first thing and my aunt picked him up from our house at 1030 am and kept him all night over night while we were at the wedding and I didn't get home till after lunch Sunday. THEN....Joe and I got sick last week (thankfully Ryder didn't) and were out of commission. When he was with us, we were watching movies/cartoons and weren't really playing because we felt so crappy, but most of the time he was at Joe's mom's house-overnight one night too. Joe and I really didn't feel back to normal until Sunday. I know he was very upset that things were out of routine, even when he was with the both of us, he still could tell things were "off". I will also throw in that all last week when we were out of routine he would barely eat anything. He wasn't fussy at all or warm or acting sick at all, and we're done teething (he has them all!) but he was really fussy only if we tried to get him to eat (even pizza...a favorite...) he would take only like three or four bites and then be done. I think he was way out of sorts.
Anyways...back to the waking up. So when he does the night waking, it's not something you can ignore. He's screaming bloody murder for Heaven's sake and he will just keep doing it. Last night when he woke up at 430, we let him chat...and then eventually cry until I finally went in there at 5am. I don't normally do this, but I had a feeling he was hungry. I made him a piece of toast and he ate the whole thing in about two seconds. He cried hard when I tried to put him back down in the crib, so I rocked him for about 5 minutes and then put him down. He was still awake when I laid him down (so it's not like I rocked him to sleep in order to get him back into the crib), but at that point he didn't cry. He just watched me walk out of the room and never made another peep.
This is kind of how these nights have been going. I have only given him a snack twice now (which both times he gobbled down), but I don't know if the night wakings started because he was out of routine but now it's becomming a routine...? Has anyone else had periods where their once great sleeping children now are waking up? I would like this to stop (obviously....) but how do I stop it? I can't just let him scream for hours in there (which he's a stubborn child...he totally would too). What the heck do I do??? Is he just playing Joe and me for dummies or is this normal?
For those of you who have no kids...sorry this was a long rambling post. But you can give your opinions too! Anything helps!
Car, Could you try giving him a snack right before bedtime (something that will sustain him for a long period of time-- maybe whole wheat toast with Peanut butter?) Just a thought...it sounds like he is waking up hungry. (Maybe he just needs to catch up on his eating from the period of time he was not hungy/didn't want food?!)
ReplyDeleteNo kids yet....just trying to help! :)
Auntie Amy
clearly i have no children... but here's my brilliant suggestion. have you considered getting him a sound machine? like the ones that sound like ocean waves? perhaps, it could be portable with him... so when he sleeps over at grandma's this noise helps create a consistent environment... just a thought.
ReplyDeleteBummer!!! Could he be getting his two year old molars already maybe? I'd try giving him some ibuprofen before bedtime to see if it helps. Has he been tugging on his ears at all? It could maybe be a small ear infection?
ReplyDeleteAlso, a snack before bedtime would be a good idea. And - does he sleep with a water sippy cup? Jack used to wake up in the middle of the night so thirsty. Although this back fired on us when he became attached to it and we started potty training, just a warning.
This too shall pass.
My guess is he is just out of his routine that he is so use to. If he is waking up at the same time every night is there something that is waking him? Like a noise in your house A/C turning on or something like that? This may sounds nuts but i wake up to the sprinklers turning on outside! almost every night. I would also try to feed him more during the day if he will do it, feeding him at that time is only going to become a habit for him :( and you will be pulling your hair out making him toast at all hours of the night. Maybe pushing his bedtime back would help. Its so hard to figure out why kids do what they do! Just give it some time and things will work themselves out.
ReplyDeleteHannah started doing this too a few months ago. It seems to happen more when I work a stretch of nights, so it could be a routine thing. I usually give her 20 minutes to get back to sleep and a few times she didn't so I gave her some water or milk. Sometimes it seems like pain tho' so I give ibuprofen randomly if I think it's going to be an issue. Nikki
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments, ladies, I appreciate it! Teri, it's not at the same time every night--so I don't think it's something specific like a noise waking him up. Camille-he does have a sound machine, but it's on a timer so after 45 minutes it shuts off. Maybe I'll think about one that goes all night if this keeps up. Amy/molly-we do give him snacks before bed--but apparently it needs to be a bigger snack..hahah. It's a waiting game...hopefully he'll sleep through the night tonight. Cross your fingers!
ReplyDeleteHey Carly,
ReplyDeleteZander has been doing a similar routine at night waking up, walking to my room, and just crying. Its really weird too because he will walk silently up to my room then start screaming bloody murder and there is nothing we can do to stop this. We eventually just have to leave him and he will stop. So after a few weeks of this I decided something had to be going on for him to be having this behavior. I figured possibly he was doing it for attention. Maybe he wasn't feeling that he was getting enough time of his own with mommy and daddy since Zaylen has been born. Even though it is usually not a pretty sight during this screaming and thrashing at night he possibly may see it as better than nothing when Matt and I are trying so hard to console him. I made a new bedtime routine for him that is just "ZANDER TIME," we, one of us will do just playing with alone for a bit, brush teeth, change pants, and book time in his room. Seems so weird but it has worked for the last week!??? I donno. I know you only have one and it is always Ryder time but maybe just a decently lengthy book before bed?
Kara Phillips