2 year old wakes up more than the newborn!

[MonstersDontCry]

My just turned 2 year old DD has always been an awful sleeper. We have come so far with her. 6 months ago she was co sleeping, bfing to sleep and waking every hour. We managed to night wean her, into her own bed in her own room, with just 1 or 2 wakings.

Then DS was born and everything has gone horribly wrong.

Last night DS (5 weeks old) woke up twice. DD woke up 7 times. The night before, it was 11 times. Most of the time she will go back to sleep within a few minutes but most nights, there will be at least one time where she will just cry and scream and throw herself about and refuse to go back to sleep.

I dread bed times as they take an hour +. The evening is also DSs time to get fussy and cluster feed. It's so stressful.

All thus wouldn't be a problem if DD would let DP go to her occasionally. She only wants me. If DP goes to her she goes mental.

I know this is her way of showing her jealously of DS.

What can I do? I'm exhausted. Sometimes I don't have time to get back to sleep at night without her waking up again. I really can't go on like this.

Thanks for reading. Sorry it's so long.

[nextphase]

Snap, although we are 2 years down the line now. We had a 24 month gap.

We made it very clear to DS1 that when he was a baby, he got Mummy milk, and now he was a big boy, he ate food.
Now DS2 was here, and he needed Mummy milk. So, at night, Mummy had to look after DS2, and Daddy would look after him.
In the day, I was there for him, and he would get his special Mummy time when DS2 was sleeping during the day.

DS1 and daddy got the baby monitor linked up. I got the spare bedroom with DS2.

I still got to DS1 before DH on occasions, but it made a big different to a) no of wakes and b) the proportion I was expected to deal with.

Good Luck! Its knackering.

[MonstersDontCry]

Thanks for replying.

How long did This phase last for? I've got images of having to get up with DD when shes 5!

I have tried explaining to her that 'daddy will look after you at night time' but she still just screams for me wgen DP goes to her.

[nextphase]

I'd say we've had decent nights (and by that I mean if one of them wakes up, its a put the covers back on, give a kiss, and colpase back into bed, but not every night, and not predicatable, sometimes we go weeks without a wake) for at least a year, so from 3 years. I was a wreck when DS1 was 1-2 years old. that was the worst in terms of sleep for us. Are her back molars coming through? Might something to numb the paint be worth it for the unsettle-able wake?

If she screams does she get what she wants (Mummy?) you might need to be tough to get her to understand it WILL be Daddy. I'm totally against CC or CIO, but if they have Daddy, I'm ok with it (well, I had to be! I needed sleep!).

By aboit 2.4 / 4 months I was getting more sleep with a bf baby than DH was getting.