# 3 year old waking at 3AM and staying up!



## askew (Jun 15, 2006)

My almost 3 year old has never been a good sleeper. On the best of days he wakes up at 6AM. Often closer to 5:30. Once in a blue moon 7AM. He almost never STTN. He will usually wake up between midnight and 3 and crawl in bed with me or DH. (Newborn and I in our bed, DH on sofa as he can't sleep through baby waking up) Lately it has gone from bad to worse. He takes up to 2 hours to settle down at night and fights sleep. His 8PM bed time can mean sleeping closer to 10. When he wakes in the middle of the night he can take 1hr + to get back to sleep. He wants to get up, eat and "watch a show". TV has unfortunately been our relied upon solution to his early morning waking when we both have to work and get a little more sleep. I am at my wits end! At this point my newborn is a better sleeper! He does nap, and he really needs it. He is a mess by noon. I have thought about ditching the nap, but he goes to a Montessori school 4X a week and nap is not optional there. They all nap from 12:30-2PM. I have even resorted to giving him a small dose of melatonin to see if it would help. It will make him go to sleep a bit easier, but he STILL wakes up in the middle of the night bright eyed and ready to be up. Can anyone help me?


----------



## LadyCatherine185 (Aug 12, 2008)

What if you tried an earlier bedtime, and start implementing some nighttime rules. TV doesn't turn on until the sun comes up.. Give him a choice, his bed or your bed but only if he is quiet. Make a place on the floor in your room that he is also allowed to go if he can't sleep with boring books/toys.. You have to make it unappealing to be awake.

Check out Sleepless in America. It is a great book to help you structure your day so that your LO can get a good night's sleep.








good luck!


----------

