My almost 2 year old is still waking up multiple times through the night. He’s very busy during the day and usually naps for 2 hours. Sometimes he wont nap at all, but he still wakes up every other hour through the night. Putting him to sleep takes an hour unless he’s really exhausted, he talks to himself and smacks the wall, anything to keep himself up. The past 4 nights he has been up 5 times from 9pm until 6am. I feel like he’s barely sleeping. Usually in the morning from 5am he will sleep a bit better for a solid 3 hours if I’m lucky. Mostly everyone I know says their children sleep through the night by now. Is this normal for a 2 year old to wake up so much through the night ? He usually thrashes around and cries while keeping his eyes closed, its like he is still asleep. Sometimes he will walk into the hallway crying but he doesn’t really wake up enough to even find me whenever my room is right next to his, sometimes he will wander into the living room and cry. I’m thinking he could be sleep walking or having night terrors, whatever it is he cannot stay asleep through the night. Has anyone else dealt with this ? Does it seem normal for his age ?
Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. My two year old is still waking up multiple times a night
Watch his diet, avoid sugary things. Don’t over dress him at night.
i try to do yoga n meditating with calming binaural beat music i rub lavender oil on their legs and arms give them a melatonin bath and give them star lights on the ceiling to look at. i have the same issue here but with 2 older children.
Oh man mama! I totally feel your pain! My son will be two Wednesday and what you described sounds like my kiddo as well!! He’s my 4th and none of my other kids were ever this way!!
I’d try liquid melatonin honestly…try it just once and see what it does for you ALL:ok_hand:t5:
My granddaughter is 19 months and the same way but she goes to sleep easy. Up every 2 hours, I’ve tried all the tips. I just don’t understand.
He’s probably having nightmares or something else could be going on you can’t see. My now 2.5yr old used to wake up many times a night and would not sleep soundly till I’d move her to my bed(I found her crying at the walls, facing the doors, and even in the living room) she did this from the first night we moved into our apartment till the day we moved out. Since we moved a few months ago she suddenly just stopped waking up at night. She sleeps fully from 8-8 in her own bed every night in her own room. I’ve just assumed she felt something I didn’t there.
I. Would take. Him. To. Dr
Cut out the daytime nap. When he does wake up guide him back to his room and let him know it’s still bedtime and he has to stay there until it’s time to wake up. You can also try a white noise machine . The thrashing could be nightmares so no loud sounds or trying to shake him I usually just rub my son and say it’s ok mommy’s here until he starts to calm down.
Night terror. Both my grandkids have them. 7&11yrs old.
I used to give mine a banana or oatmeal to keep their tummy full tru night…
Does your kiddo walk around their room too? I have a sleep walking/talking 5 year old that has struggled with this since she was 2. It isn’t constant, more in weeks at a time spurts. Like a gradual sleep reset with a whole lot of action happening. 
Tara Thrasher they have 1mg melatonin for small children
Best thing to do take him to his doctor
Following my 2 almost 2.5 year old is going thru the same thing! Were all exhausted
My little fella was the same, crying hysterically but still eyes closed etc. he still wakes sometimes now but it’s generally only for a few mins due to a dream (that age they really don’t understand what dreams are, but their imagination is so vivid). Its exhausting.
I used to give his bottle in the cot, but started giving it downstairs before we come up, and stopped bottles during the night, it was hard but better in the long run. And tried to stop hand holding etc where possible as they expect that and bottles when they wake in the night.
He recently stopped napping during the day as his older brother stopped napping (afraid he was missing out 
) and i have to say it is easier to get him to sleep(doesn’t take the hr + it was taking before) but 5 o clock mark he gets sleepy.
See what works for you it can be hard at the start but if you get more sleep and they are better rested it’s worth it. Best of luck 
Does he ask for food? My son has ADHD and would wake up alot when he was that age. Took me awhile to get him to tell me he was hungry. His metabolism goes so fast he’s hungry constantly. I’ve literally made a night time snack cabinet for him now at the age of 10. The child is a bean pole but can eat an entire geese pizza by himself
I saw somebody said skip the nap, I don’t personally recommend that you’ll just have a whiny, cranky kid or a really wound up kid and usually when your overtired you end up being wide awake, so it’s not going to help when bedtime comes at all!
My son is now 12. Her didn’t sleep 6 hours straight until her was 4.5 years old. I was a walking zombie for a long time.
Especially if he is only sleeping a few hours a night, he needs that nap
My daughter is 18 months and only slept through the night for a few months after she turned 1. Oh man was it wonderful to finally sleep through the night. She now wakes up 1-2 times a night for a hour or more each time. This has been going on for 2 months now. I found out that toddlers usually age 18 months - 2 years old go through a phase called sleep regression where they wake up throughout the night. Supposedly only lasts a few weeks but so far it’s been 2 months and she’s still not sleeping through the night again. Last night she woke up at 1am and didn’t go back to sleep until almost 4.
Have u tried to change the night time routine 6.30 for 7 we do shower/bath cuddle sleep sometimes if he is struggling to settle we listen to sleepy paws
My baby slept through the night at 11 days old
Yep my last 2 were like this…its a comfort thing he wakes up enough to know ur not there then half cries till u come…its normal…they grow out of it maybe try a night light or music that turns on when he makes noise (that worked amazing with my last one) hang in there momma it will stop each kid is different my daughter stopped about 3 my last son stopped about 4 he still does it some times hes almost 5 now
Take him to the doctor.
My great grandson did that when he was almost two,the dr.dsid it was night terrors,and for us to ignore it and just make sure he was ok,and not and try to wake him, I told the Dr. easier said than done with a little one,I held him or put him in bed with me,he would walk upstairs where I was in his sleep,while mommy and daddy was downstairs.he dud this for about 6 months and it just quit.
I’ve heard that giving a banana half hour before bed works wonders
Definitely discuss with your GP…he needs more settled sleep so he can recharge properly and to grow. ADHD comes to mind but GP will be your very best bet. Also Melatonin may well be an issue.
Good luck…I hope you are able to get him more comfortable!!
Maybe have his/her eyes checked. My 4 year old was like this (1 and a half/2 years old) until I took him to an eye dr and he ended up needing glasses.
I could of wrote this myself, my little one was 2 a couple of weeks ago and he is exactly the same and has been since he was a baby as soon as he learnt a new skill as a baby he would practise it in his sleep and he’s still the same now in regards to he doesn’t stop moving whilst asleep He talks in his sleep about things he’s done that day and He sleep walks around his bedroom I spoke to a doctor about it and they said he just has a very active brain I’ve just got use to the fact that I’m never getting a full nights sleep xx
My son was like this until he was almost 4. It was exhausting to say the least but he grew out of it. Now he has hit puberty and the sleep is a beautiful thing. I’d definitely take him to the doc and get everything checked out and they may want to do a sleep study (my son had to have one because of the lack of sleeping) to rule out any serious issues that may be causing it. Turned out to be because of his adhd and the doctor had me start a melatonin supplement and it helped tremendously.
My child did this she was suffering from ear infections and for some reason it was only bothering her at night she would wake up scream crying we ended up having to get tubes and things where so much better
My oldest didn’t this when he was 2 he had night terrors it took a bit he is 7 now but my daughter she sometimes does this but not to often only when our schedule is off
Talk to your pediatrician. Have a list of b havior a. Documented if possible.
What happened during the day preceding bedtime.
My daughter was adopted from Korea. She was frequently up during the night Big schedule change because of time zones. We took her bed down so she wouldn’t fall escaping. She stayed in her room and reenacted her life in the orphanage. It took a while but she eventually began to sleep and took naps
My son is 5 and still wakes through the night. His brain probably isn’t able to shut down. We play music or white noise and now my son will wake once in the night for a drink. Better then every 2hrs
Possibly adhd. From experience
Pediatrician and ask about melatonin.
Get a quiet routine if you don’t have one. Bath, book, bed. No tv after dinner. Maybe some kid music but NO TV or Devices. The light can trick their brains and wake them up.
Try to get him down earlier.
It can take a week or 2 to figure what time is best so make sure to stick with it.
I’d also try and move the bed so he isn’t smacking anything.
My son did this from 1-2 years old. He had night terrors
We had similar sleep patterns with my daughter. She did eventually get better but still sleep walks most nights at the age of 14. Does your little boy snore, our daughter had apnea from her tonsils and because this disturbed her sleep it would wake her enough to know I wasn’t there and she would come looking, very tough for a mum not getting sleep either, my thoughts are for you because they just seem to power through
Possibly adhd but I know who is 24 now was like that. And not because it’s my son but real smart children have a tendency to do this. Their mind can’t always shut down. This came from him pediatrician. I just didn’t make it up! He’s always been really smart! Advanced classes etc.
My so I left out is who I am talking about
Our third baby was like this! We referred to her as our poster child for birth control! It takes a toll on you as a momma both mentally and physically. She didn’t start sleeping through the night until she was almost 4. She refused to take naps too!
This daughter is now 28. I had gone in to the Dr. office for one of the other kids at the time. While waiting in the room, I dozed off. Doc came in and asked me if I was ok. I told him I was just exhausted. He suggested I help her sleep by giving her benedryl or dimetap. (At the time it was available in the drugstores).
Needless to say, it did help!
Have you tried melatonin?
Wishing you all the best! 
My son woke up every two hours every single night until he was almost 4. He was a happy and chunky baby. He just would not sleep. I began to notice when he was able to eat real food, he ate pretty good but some things he would chew up and spit out. He also stayed pretty congested (nasal congestion not chest congestion) starting at about 4 months and it never left. He didn’t have many ear infections, maybe one or two his whole life. He did have strep once. His doctor always made comments about his tonsils at his checkup saying they were “rather generous.” His weight was fine. He was happy. Just didn’t sleep and he was snotty McGhee. Doc figured it was allergies. We tried allergy medicine and inhalers. Nothing really seemed to work. As he reached 2 and 3 yrs old he began to spit out his food more and more. After no resolution with his congestion, we are referred to an ENT doc. We do hearing tests and several different things. ENT doc looks in his throat and immediately says his tonsils are almost touching and they need to come out. I’m like… huh? He’s 3! So, at about 3 and a half years old, he got is tonsils removed and turbinate surgery, which basically cleans out nasal passages, reminds me of a pipe cleaner up the nose or something. The surgery went well. Post-op was HELL but after about 8 days, he slept thru the night for the first time in his life. And has slept all night, every night since then. He just turned 6. He wasn’t sleeping thru the night and waking every 2 hours bc he couldn’t breath well. His tonsils were literally almost touching. And he didnt eat bc he couldn’t swallow. He maintained his weight bc he drank milk like a champion. After he recovered from the surgery, he began telling me he was hungry and ate food without spitting it out and slept… finally. Good luck momma!!
Maybe too hot or cold. Or hungry or thirsty or try a stuffed animal next to him at night with your purfume sprayed on it
Sounds over and under tired. 2 hour nap should be from 1130-130 or less of a nap. No napa cause to be over tired… there should be at least 5 hours of wake time before bed.
Try a weighted blanket