2 year old dd not sleeping at night and waking early

[mamasmissionimpossible]

My 2 year old dd is causing me to tear my hair out with her sleep issues. She won't go to sleep until 9pm and then wakes up between 4.30 and 5 a.m. and screams for milk or daddy, waking up my ds and making him tired in the day as well as us!
Can anyone help? I am at my wits end and getting tired and grumpy as a result!
She is still having an hour nap in the day. Should I knock this on the head? My ds didn't give up his naps until 3, but he still slept all night (he likes his sleep like me!) Any advice welcome. Thanks!

[mamasmissionimpossible]

6 years!!! How do you cope Riven!

[CillySunt]

Cang I hang here too? My 2 year old decided not to sleep last night, at all, until 7.30 this morning, waking younger ds up in the process at 2.30am, who also stayed up

Riven, hope they pull their fingers out for you.

[mamasmissionimpossible]

Sorry to hear that Riven. sounds awful, certainly puts my situation in perspective. Am I right in thinking you dd has special needs?

[BettyButterknife]

We cut our DS's naps when he was 2.4yo. It helped a bit - he went down easily at night but would still wake at any time from about 5-7am.

Having said that, he's back to his old tricks again and it's driving me fucking insane.

Have made a list of things to try, which might help you:
Uber-nappies - really absorbent ones in case he's waking wet
Getting him to run around in the fresh air every afternoon like a dog
Taking him to the dentist to find out whether his molars are through and could be causing him pain
Taking him to the doctor to rule out any physical issues that might be waking him, eg low-level ear infections
Double-glazing - a last resort perhaps, but would be worth every penny if he slept!
White noise machine - apparently some people find it prevents their DCs from fully wakening at 5 or whenever, and helps them get another sleep cycle in there
Oh, and Wake to Sleep - which I'm just about to start a thread on...

Good luck, it's bloody awful. DS lulled us into a sense of security over Christmas, where he only woke in the 5s 5 times in a full month. It's been every day for the past 3 weeks. I just don't get it...

[Shodan]

We leave a small bottle of milk in DS2's cot when we go to bed.

Other than that, you could try leaving in some cardboard books/quiet toys.

Definitely second BettyButterknife's sterling advice too.

Make sure your DD is warm enough too.

Erm.... will come back if I think of any more.

[BettyButterknife]

I'm holding out until the 28th of next month when the clocks go forward. 5am will be 6am! Hallelujah!

[mamasmissionimpossible]

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. It's reassuring in a way that there are other families suffering sleep deprivation torture! I hardly recognise myself in the mirror, I look and feel so tired!

Have tried the book/toy thing in the bed. No chance, she is incredibly demanding and only wants me or dh and screams if not, which wakes everyone up. gaaahh!

I haven't tried a white noise machine. Where do you get one?

The wake to sleep scares me, she wakes up to the sound of gnat farting! So me creeping in is bound to be a loser, she will be wide awake at 4 am!

[Broms]

Your dd sounds exactly like my DS - always been an early riser btw 4-5am every day for 22 months but this continous waking in the night as well and screaming for me drives me mad - have tried everything - sleep in with us, milk, try to settle in the cot, books - NOTHING makes any difference - he just wriggles and moans on and off from about midnight until abut 4.15am when the screaming to get up starts.

This broken sleep makes everyday torturous. I feel like I am going mad. I am also incredibly ratty with him as I am so tired and then spend the rest of the day feeling guilty as I end up shouting at him. It is only 6am and he has already been incredibly demanding and the thought of another 13 hours of this let alone 4 years...............!

Sorry for the moan - I can't offer any advice - can only sympathise.

[teaandcakeplease]

Maybe you should get referred by your GP to a child's sleep specialist?

There is a book by a child's sleep specialist that I find very helpful, but I'm not sure when you'd have time to read it with your situation It's written by a sleep expert with over 30 years experience in the field of children's sleep. Lots of advice in there. Read the reviews and buy it if you like the sound of it. I didn't use his sleep training method, I used the baby whisperer one, but everything in this book is spot on. And at every age and stage of my kids sleep problems, there is advice in there.

If you like the sounds of the reviews and want to give it a go the weblink is: www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/009190255X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=12652&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 76480&sr=8-1

I'm so sorry and want to send you a hug, as it is so so hard when little ones do this. It's so exhausting. It effects every area of your life when you're this sleep deprived.

[mamasmissionimpossible]

Thank for that book suggestion teaandcakeplease, your post is very kind. It is awful being sleep deprived and impacts on the whole family. I appreciate the hug, and send one to all the other mners and their families who are going through sleep deprivation hell.