How to manage a restless child?

Q: My daughter is 2 years 3 months old. I am working with a software organisation. She is active and does not have any physical deficiency. She eats well. She never gets tired and if she is allowed to play all through the day she would be more happy. She always wants people around her. We have lot of relatives around us, somebody or the other always gives her company. During daytime she sleeps for only 2 hours. She has her dinner around 9 PM. We take her to bed at 10:30 PM and she goes to sleep around 11:45 PM. But she wakes up at 2 AM and asks me to take her on my lap. She remains restless for next 1 hour or so and then falls sleep and sleeps upto 5 AM. Even during this stretch she wakes up and again falls sleep. She continues this till 5 AM. After that again she wants me to take her on my lap and falls sleep again around 7:00 AM. This time she has a sound sleep till 9:00 AM. I can not sleep during night more than 3 hours and since in the morning I have to go out for my job, I am getting sick day by day because of insufficient sleep. Also I am suffering from indigestion, may be due to lack of sleep. Please advise how to tackle the situation. This has been happening for the last 6 months.

A:A two year old child should be sleeping all night without repeatedly waking up. If a child wakes up and is restless, it is usually due to discomfort of some sort. Check if you are overdressing the child. You may be overfeeding the child and there may be tummy pain due to indigestion. The child may be hungry or thirsty at night. An important reason for waking up at night at this age particularly may be night terrors. One of the methods for improving sleep and lessening the chances of wakening at night is to give the child a warm bath before bedtime. If all these things do not work see your doctor.