Change in sleeping pattern (3.5 year old)

Sharon216

Hi, all.  I don't usually post here as I'm normally chatting on the Secondary IF board, but I'm hoping maybe someone here can share some advice.

DD has been a great sleeper most of her life.  She has had night terrors that vary in frequency and duration since she was about a year old.  When she has them, they are usually around 9-10pm (1-2 hours after bedtime).  I sit and talk to her until she snaps out of it, at which point she will respond to questions, tell me goodnight and sleep peacefully the rest of the night.

About a week ago, she started getting up several times/night and we can't figure out what is going on.  She wakes up really cranky.  I try to just let her fuss and go back to sleep on her own, but when she sounds like she's starting to thrash around in her bed, I go in to make sure she doesn't fall out of bed.  It doesn't seem like she's having nightmares and she doesn't appear to be afraid, just cranky.  When I go in, she continues to fuss for several minutes until I'm able to coax her to hold her favorite stuffed animal and allow me to put her blanket back on.  Then she's fine, for a couple hours, and it happens again.  It's pretty much the same thing every time she gets up and it's been that way for about a week now.

So... I'm wondering if anyone has advice on how to get her back on a normal sleep schedule.  We haven't changed her bed-time or bed-time routine and I can't think of anything else that would be causing a change in sleep pattern.

Thanks in advance!  Have a great weekend.