13 Mo Old Wants to Play at 2Am!!!

Did your daughter just recently start walking? If so, you've got a little one with wanderlust! She wants to get up and walk and play because now she has become a lot more independent and she wants to use that independence - even if it means waking up at 2 AM to play!

When my daughter did this, we started putting things in her bed to play with for those times when she wakes up - books, stuffed animals, Little People, things that she couldn't choke on or that wouldn't harm her if she played with them. This would keep her busy for a while until she would start crying and fall back to sleep.

You have already reinforced the crying behavior with getting her out of bed. She knows that you will come get her, so now she will continue to do it. If you let her cry it out, it may keep you and the other children in the home awake for a little while, but it would only be for a few days. Bad habits can be broken very quickly in little ones if you just have a little patience and wait it out for a few days.

Good luck!

Hi!
My daughter did the same thing last month(she is 14 months old). We tried going in there and laying her down and giving her her pacifier, but leting her cry it out was the only thing that worked. It actually only took 2 or 3 nights and she is back to sleeping through. I think they are "testing" at this age. We also have a 2.5 year old son in the next room, but we run an air purifier in his room for background noise ever since the baby was born and she does not wake him up. I swear by the white noise. She has one in her room too and the dog barking, daycare kids coming, etc. does not wake her in the morning! Did he sleep through her crying as a baby?

L.

Put he down for a short nap around 4p.m. That should keep her up and refreshed for a little later at night and then she may be ready to sleep thru the night for you. Make sure she gets plenty of exercise until that bedtime then rest and maybe rocking for 15 minutes (cuddle time for both of you).

I don't have any advice since my son just recently started staying up for hours when he gets up overnight as well. I guess I just wanted to share that I'm in the same boat, and it must be a phase at this age.

Try leaving the lights off or dim (night light). When she sits up or stands, tell her it's bed time and lay her back down. Keep doing it over and over. When she settles, rub her back until she falls asleep. Don't play with her or read to her or do anything stimulating. If you like singing, give that a try.

She must be making up for the sleep during the day so consider waking her up from her naps if they are running long after nights she was awake.

Hope this helps!

Hi E., My baby is now 6 lol, but when he was little like that he also did the samething. But when he woke up I ended up giving him a massage with a lavender scented lotion and it relaxed him enough to put him back to sleep. At that time we only had a 2 bedroom house to I couldnt let him cry himself back to sleep because he shared the bedroom with his brother who was 3. Good Luck and I hope you can get your little one sleeping again.

even if you have a 2.5 yr old in the room next door, cry it out is the only effective way to get her to go back to sleep. It will mean a few days of bad sleep for everyone but then it will be over and you will all sleep well. good luck.