Toddler restless and uncomfortable in the middle of the night
Hello! Looking for some advice about my 22 month old’s discomfort in the middle of the night…
Our son has always been sensitive - had food allergies as a baby that he has grown out of, had some really terrible rash outbreaks as an infant, a long-term very uncomfortable yeast infection, and so on. He has also never been a great sleeper.
He often wakes up and seems uncomfortable in the middle of the night - sometimes he's itching a lot, sometimes he's just tossing and turning and can't settle, and gets very frustrated that he can't fall back asleep easily. He never has any visible rash or dry skin. The tossing and turning can last for a few hours. During the day he seems perfectly happy and not itchy/uncomfortable at all.
has anyone experienced this before and do you have any advice?
Parent Replies
The first thing that comes to mind is that he might be a little too warm to be able to relax back into sleep. My kid has had that problem. We’ve adjusted sleepwear/blankets/thermostat to make things a little cooler. Often what feels cozy at bed time gets a little uncomfortable after body heat builds up under the blankets. We used to heat up the bed a little with a heating pad before bedtime (removing it when getting into bed), which made things feel warm and cozy getting into bed, without making things too warm overnight.
Could certainly be some physical ailment disturbing him as you suggest but I think nighttime restlessness and awake periods are also pretty common for kids this age who are getting too much daytime sleep or daytime sleep too late in the day.. have you considered moving his nap earlier in the day or waking him up early from his nap if it’s longer than 2 hours or so? I wonder if that would increase his sleep drive enough to get him through the night. And nighttime sleep tends to be more restorative than daytime sleep…
Could the tossing and turning be an indicator of needing to adjust his sleep schedule? It's possible his nap could be too long or too late in the day, so he is undertired and wakes up in the middle of the night and tosses and turns before he builds up enough sleep pressure to fall back asleep. I thought I'd throw it out there as an idea given what you are stating about not seeing any signs of itching or visible signs of skin discomfort during the day. The facebook group Respectful Sleep Training/Learning has some good files on how to adjust sleep schedules as your LO ages. Good luck!
Might he have restless leg syndrome ?
I agree with what others have said - in the absence of an obvious medical problem or concerns from your pediatrician, this is most likely an issue with sleep. Frequent night wakings are a common sign of overtiredness. He may need some tweaks made to his nap/sleep schedule.