Toddler Week 29

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Precious Sleep

Sleeping is a challenge for many parents of toddlers and the one area in which they stand or fall as parents in their own eyes. It might have been easy to get a baby to sleep, but with a toddler it is a whole other ball game. Not only does putting toddlers to bed require a new set of skills, but keeping them asleep can also be challenging. If your toddler was sleeping fairly well for a couple of weeks and all of a sudden is waking up more at night as of late, there may be a few possible reasons:

  • You might want to look at the length of your toddler’s afternoon nap. An afternoon nap that stretches for more than an hour and a half can affect the sleep he is supposed to be getting at night. Make sure that there is at least a four-hour gap between waking up from his afternoon nap and going to sleep for the night.
  • If your toddler is  not sskipping his afternoon nap altogether, it may make him overtired and more prone to restless sleeping. Over stimulated toddlers wake up more at night because their neurological system is in overdrive.
  • Make sure your toddler doesn’t wake up from pain due to ear infection or teething. Pain associated with ear infection is usually more severe at night because lying down closes the Eustachian tube and causes a build up of pressure in the middle ear cavity. Give him pain medication suitable for toddlers if you suspect that he has pain and lift his pillows to a 45 degree angle to prevent his Eustachian tube from closing.
  • One of my daughters started waking up regularly after sleeping through the night for a while. I was puzzled – none of the usual reasons for broken sleep applied until I realized her cot was getting too small. She bumped herself against the sides while turning around. It was time to move her into a bigger bed!
  • If he is still sharing your bed or room, he might be waking up because of the noise in the bedroom shared by too many sleeping partners. You may want to move him out of your room into a space of his own where he can sleep in peace and quiet.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Sleeping problems are never simplistic. Most of the time it is caused by a complex interplay between different factors. Do your best to eliminate possible causes, but if nothing works embrace the situation and wait a few days. Often the problem will reveal itself if you are patient. Remember – this challenge will soon pass and you will experience the bliss of eight hours of unbroken sleep again in your lifetime.

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