My little boy will be 2 years old in May. He goes through phases with his sleep patterns. He went through months of sleeping through the night, from 7pm to 7am, then there were phases when he’d wake up just once every night for a cuddle but went straight back to sleep, and very rarely, when he’s not well, he’d wake up and not go back to sleep for a few hours. So I do expect all kinds of things from him, and I’ve always thought that if he didn’t sleep well one week, he would make up for it the following week by sleeping 12 hours. At the end of the day, his body got the rest it needed.

On March 27th we left the UK, via Dubai for 3 days, to attend a wedding in Australia. He actually slept really well despite the jetlag and time difference. My parents live in Dubai and so grandma and grandpa were more than happy to spoil and dote on their grandson. He slept well both in Dubai and then for the 10 days we were in Australia.

We got back to Dubai about 10 days ago, and since then, my son has not slept at all. He seems to survive on 5 hours of sleep per night! He hardly naps, and when he does it’s 30-45mins. He goes down at 8.30pm, (I delayed his bedtime as I thought it might help him sleep in a bit later in the morning), but then he wakes up at 12.30am, every night – he could be on a timer! – stays awake until 5am, but then goes back down until 7am. He started doing this when we first arrived, waking up for 5mins, then it increased to 1 hour, then 2 hours, and now he’s up 5 hours in the night!

What baffles us all is that he doesn’t seem to get tired during the day despite the lack of sleep. He’s so hyper! We take him to the beach, to play groups, to childrens’ play areas, thinking that if we tired him out enough during the day, he’ll finally sleep through the night! Or at the very least, if he did wake up, it would only be for milk ora cuddle and he could go back to sleep. But nothing seems to work. He sleeps in a travel cot that my parents bought for him, with an extra thick mattress, so it’s really comfortable. And back in January when we visited, he slept in that cot perfectly well, and all through the night, so I don’t understand the change now?

We thought that it could be that he’s missing his father. Because of work, my husband had to go back to the UK, so my son and I have been with my parents, and we’re in Dubai until the first week of May. However, after 10 days, I thought he’d be used to it by now?

He’s also no longer eating well either. He can survive on cereal first thing in the morning, yet turns his nose up at everything else! It’s the same food we eat back home too! He won’t even eat a banana (or any other fruit for that matter!) And I don’t think it has anything to do with flavour, because this isn’t our firstr tip to Dubai – in fact it’s our 6th, and he’s always eaten well here. He was also fine with the different foods in Australia.

I don’t know what more I can do. He doesn’t seem unhappy. If being honest, I think he’s happier here than I’ve ever seen him. He’s outdoors a lot more, in the sun, enjoys the beach, swimming, etc… there’s lots to do here for kids, and he’s enjoying every moment – not to mention the endless amounts of attention and love he gets from various family members!

I can’t help but be worried now. Because even though he’s happy and healthy, he’s not sleeping and not eating! Is this normal?!

Thanks for your help.

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