He was falling asleep late, waking up a thousand times a night, and was in a terrible mood in the mornings. I thought it was a phase, but after weeks of seeing him tired, irritable, and unwilling to do anything, I decided to seek help. We are now starting sleep therapy, and although I was initially afraid it would be too complicated, I realize that many families have been through the same thing. Has anyone else tried this? I’d like to hear experiences, advice, or just know that we are not alone in this.
What have your experiences been like with this topic?
Oh wow, this sounds so familiar. My daughter went through something very similar when she was 3, and I was losing my mind from the exhaustion. It started with bedtime getting later and later, then she’d wake up constantly, and the next day she was just a grumpy mess. I kept telling myself it was a phase, but after months of it, we finally talked to a sleep consultant.
Honestly, I was skeptical at first, but the small changes made a huge difference. We adjusted bedtime by 15 minute increments, introduced a stricter wind down routine no screens, dim lights, calm music, and made sure she was getting enough outdoor time during the day. It wasn’t overnight, but within a couple of weeks, she was sleeping so much better.
It’s rough, but you are absolutely not alone. So many of us have been there, and I promise it does get better with the right adjustments. Hang in there!
We went through this exact thing when my son was 3. It turned out that a few things were messing with his sleep: he was overtired which actually made it harder for him to sleep, and we were unknowingly reinforcing the wake-ups by responding too quickly.
A few things that worked for us:
We moved bedtime earlier. Counterintuitive, but being overtired makes falling and staying asleep harder.
We stopped responding immediately when he woke up. If he wasn’t in distress, we gave him a few minutes to settle himself before going in.
We used a toddler clock so he knew when it was time to get up. It took a few days, but he started waiting for the “green light” before calling for us.
It took about two weeks, but we went from 4, 5 wake-ups a night to sleeping through. Hope sleep therapy helps, keep us posted on what works for you!
Ugh, sleep struggles are the wors. It messes with their mood, your mood, and just makes everything feel ten times harder. We’ve had weeks where my son woke up at 3 AM ready to start his day, and I was just like… how do humans survive this?!
I don’t even have a solution because we’re still working through it, but I just wanted to say, you’re not alone. It’s so tough, and I totally get that feeling of hoping it’s just a phase, only to realize it’s not going away on its own.
Would love to hear how the sleep therapy goes! If you find anything that really helps, please share because we are struggling over here
Oh, I know how exhausting this is, but you’re already on the right track by getting help! Sleep therapy can be a game changer. I was nervous about it too, but once we started making small changes, things improved.
The hardest part is sticking to the new routine, especially when you’re sleep, deprived. But I promise, one day you’ll realize your little one is finally sleeping better, and you’ll feel like a whole new person. It doesn’t happen overnight, but keep going, you’ve got this!