And a terrible mother to do this?

[daimbar]

DD (14 months) has been waking in the night screaming hysterically for about 3 weeks.

Teething? nightmares? Tummy ache? Who knows. She is usually awake 1-3 hours in the night and will only settle after a bottle and / or being cuddled back to sleep. I work full time and am struggling.

She's exhausted, I'm exhausted, DP is exhausted the neighbours are probably exhausted too.

A week or so ago she had a heat rash and had a spoonful of baby piriton before bed. It made her drowsy and she slept a solid 11 hours.

DP is away this weekend. WIBU to give her piriton tonight as a one off, just so we both get a night of sleep?

I would. It won't harm her and a good night's sleep will benefit her as much as you. I'd do it as a one off before I'd leave mine to cry.

My parents gave my sister phenergan almost every night when she was around 3 because she was such a shit sleeper - she's still here!!

I have to say that in the past, if my DC have appeared to me to be off colour (higher than average whinging levels, inability to be soothed, irritable etc) then I have cheerfully dosed them up with calpol/calprofen in hope that a) it will help them feel better and b) that it'll knock them out overnight. No-one enjoys feeling ill and tired, after all. I'd feel guilty giving it without medical need though - sorry op. I do understand the temptation though.

Good luck for tonight - it does sound like tummy pains may be the culprit on your case.....

She made it to 5am! no piriton required and I got 6 hours sleep and feel like a new woman! (Shows how bad things had got when 5am feels like a lie in). She even had another hour in my bed, lying curled up on my arm while I lay there trying not to move, needing a wee, with pins and needles in my arm.

Vast improvement on the screaming, it must have been the goodnight milk giving her tummy ache. Poor thing, I feel dreadful for giving it to her now.

Fantastic news! Don't feel bad, how could you have known?

I feel your pain btw, 6.30 is a lie-in for DS1 he regularly wakes at 5.30 but has got steadily better at waiting!

Aww great news you will be like a new woman don't feel guilty you didn't know but now you do move forward and bin the milk. I had similar with hungry baby milk years ago gave Dd horrific wind bit it happened right away she only had two bottles. your baby was fine for a week on hers

You're not a bad mother for thinking it, and as a one off you're not a bad mother for doing it.
The trick is, not to tell any judgey perfect people you're going to do it !
You have to survive your own life, there's no prizes for doing it the hard way.

And don't feel dreadful about the milk either. How were you to know?
So glad you found out what it was.

Well if he is obviously distressed and can't sleep that can lead to more distress and more lack of sleep. My ds was similar at one point. I would try calpol and then the Piriton. It's an antihistamine and won't harm. If he is teething he probably has high histamine release too. All of the immune chemicals interact with each other so high histamine may well affect seretonin levels. BTW I am a nurse and sleep is an important restorative process. Prolonged insomnia is harmful helping to rebalance that process is not drugging with its negative connotations. ... you take pain killers for a headache don't you ?. Lack of sleep will affect his whole day and its been going on too long. One good night may break the cycle

Yay, a lie in til 5 am! It must be a relief to get some sleep. I hope it continues.

Sorry but can I just ask why everyone uses abbreviations? Why not actual words? What does YABU, YWBU, YNABU even mean?!!?!

I give my boy Piriton a lot at night at the moment to help him sleep. Do you know why it works for him? Not because it's an evil drug, but because he gets a allergy-related postnasal drip that makes him cough all night if he's got it. It doesn't sedate him at all! Seeeeeeriously, it's just an antihistamine, people. OP, good luck :)

You're asking if it's unreasonable to drug your child to make it sleep?

What does YABU, YWBU, YNABU even mean?!!?!

You are being unreasonable

You were being unreasonable

You're not actually being unreasonable (?)

Shorthand innit. Avoids RSI of the thumb.

You must be exhausted especially working full time with broken sleep! I'd be tempted but it's best not to.

Might she have threadworms? V common cause of nighttime screaming.

Daimbar sleep deprivation is awful. One spoonful of piriton once isn't going to harm.

Yeah you know it's bad when 5am is a lie in.

Good luck tonight OP

Sleep deprivation is just awful, you have my every sympathy. I put my DS on cow's milk at age 1, he then cried and wouldn't settle for about six months. I was so tired I didn't make the connection but eventually put him on soya milk, whereafter he slept through. I just get the bog standard one from whichever shop or the alpro chocolate one.

Think someone already mentioned, but bananas can also help to induce sleep.

Good luck, you're doing a great job.

Hey thanks everyone! Really nice to read your kind words of encouragement.

Just finally sat down after a full on day entertaining visitors.

They have now gone home, DD went to bed shattered (after showing off all day and only napping once) and I plan to join her v soon after a nice hot bath.

Desperately hoping she will make it to 5am again...

I accidentally overdosed on antihistamines & slept all weekend. I ended up in a & e though, so wouldn't recommend it!

Loving the term sanctimommies Miaow. Brilliant. So much if it about.

I had two crap sleepers. It's hell on earth. 8 years of broken sleep between the two of them (and crying techniques didn't work either, I was that desperate I tried everything). I tried this once but it didn't actually work. In all honestly if it was between a spoonful of anti-histimine (you know, the drug people, including children, can take everyday for allergies) and my sanity I think choose sensibly.

Hope it was the milk OP and you start to get some decent sleep.