Almost 3 yo waking every night

Feeling Very sleep deprived right now! One of our twin boys, almost 3, wakes every night and asks for milk and then will not go back to his crib so he sleeps with us. I don't sleep well with him right up next to me. Therefore, I am turnig into a grumpy Mom! This started a few months ago and I thought maybe it was just something that would pass but it's not! It started bc he was soaking through but that has stopped. I am leaning more towards a habit?? I have tried a bedtime snack thinking he might wake bc he is hungry and that doesn't help. He shares a room so trying to put him back into the crib and cry is not an option and I don't think it would work with him either knowing his personality. Should I just stick it out and hope it passes. Anyone experience this with their toddler? He takes a great nap everyday, usually 2-3 hours.

Thanks!

 

He's created a habit. It's not going to go away unless you do something about it.Personally I wouldn't give milk, just water (but I'm paranoid about cavities). If you don't want to do CIO (which I've done even though the kids share a room), put a mattress in his room and sleep there, the progressively move the mattress towards the door, until you're just out of it. Not seeing many options at this point.

 

Thank you Fran- definitely will switch to water as a start!!

 

I agree with Fran...you are just going to have to break the habit! I wouldn't worry about waking up your other child by letting your son CIO. It will be a rough couple of days but it will be worth it in th end. I also think that your son is at an age now where he can understand you saying "mommy is putting a sippy cup of water in your crib, so when you wake up, it will be here". Hopefully over time you can decrease the amount of water that is in the sippy cup and he eventually won't wake at all!!

 

When my girls started doing that we set up a little sleeping nest on the floor of our room for them. That way they could be close to us, but not too close!

 

We had problems with night waking starting about 6 weeks ago. We instituted a sticker chart. If they stay in their bed all night, they get a sticker. Five stickers = a prize. I honestly thought this wouldn't work, but it improved things a lot. LO1 does still get up about 3 times a week and comes into our bed (she just walks in and crawls into our bed with no real disturbance), but it is getting better. At this age, I think rewards are often the only thing that works. They love feeling like they have control. The girls now get so excited when they wake up in the morning and get a sticker!

 

I hate to be a downer, but if you don't intervene I think it will only get worse. He will start waking earlier and earlier wanting to be in your bed. We went down this road with my oldest. I would tell him that starting next week, he's not going to be able to sleep in your bed anymore (i.e. give him some warning) and that when he wakes up in his own bed, he will get a special surprise (e.g. a sticker on his cheek or something). And then be very firm. And I would also try having him pick out a really cool water bottle to keep by his bed at night, and prompting him to sip from it when he wakes up. It might take a week or two to train him, but just think about the months of good sleep you will get in return. Good luck!!