Right. Feng shui it is then.

[Whatsounddoesagiraffemake]

My 18 mo DD has kindly given me 3 full night's sleep since the day we brought her home and I have tried everything. We've kissed and retreated, done the disappearing chair and she's STILL waking up screaming te place down and won't go back to sleep. Now, to add insult to injury she seems to have forgotten how to fall asleep by herself (my one proud mummy achievement) and now I have to spend 20 minutes a night holding her hand until she drifts off. As I'm now 8 weeks preggo with #2 the clock is ticking!
Please help! Anyone with ANY ideas on how I can make her sleep? Thanks in desperation.

I get how Ur feeling!! Ds2 is a rubbish sleeper too although was great in the beginning. He had a series of illness which reli disrupted him and now on a good night goes down at 730 then up at 10pm then 4am. On a bad night it's horrendous and ends up in my bed! Does Ur dd wake for milk or just you?

music/story cd to listen to and a magic lantern/night show night light?

I did sleep training with ds1 - self settling training to get him to fall asleep on his own and go back to sleep on his own in the middle of the night. I'd gone through all the gradual retreat type stuff and was a few weeks pregnant with ds2 too so it was time to just put him down and leave him. I went back in before he got hysterical (in and out just to replace dummy and comforter till he'd settled) and it was hard for the first week or two.

Was that controlled crying?

sort of. not by the book with a stop watch but basically the cry it out/controlled crying style of sleep training.

Tbh I think we're at the crying stage. I was really reluctant to do it when she was v small (she was a prem and I think I was far too overprotective for far too long!) but I think I'm going to have to try it. On the previous occasions that desperation led me to do it she was sick so I'll have to hope she's grown out of that now.
I think she's waking for me rather than milk but that's largely because we've being giving in lately and putting her in bed with us. As I'm newly pregnant I just don't have the energy that the withdrawal methods seem to require-when we tried the disappearing chair she woke 5 times for 3 night's running which was too exhausting. DH also has lots of job interviews at the moment so the easy option is v appealing!
Oh of only there was a magic wand I could wave!

I've done it with ds1 and it worked! For some reason though im abit precious about ds2?! Going to get an amber teething necklace as teeth really bother him and puts the waking up to 6 or 7 times a night then I just put him in my bed! Also I've heard of serenite jnr for babies who need help sleeping? I don't know much about it though but it's homeopathic.

controlled crying and do not ever deviate from your routine!!!! same time, same things every day and then she will eventually go to bed happily!!!
Ds1 was the same... it was awful and eventually just before heturned 3 things magically improved.
Before that we did controlled crying and strict bedtime routine and everytime we went on holidays or deviatetd from the routine we had to start from scratch again...

yesterday we had friends staying over with their kids (same kind of age) and DS1 told them "and now i am going to bed, it is written"

it is not" written" anywhere but after 3.5 years i think he got the gist of it!!!

How long did u leave it between crys? I've got ds1 who I think may wake up
Also when returning to work and being pregnant you definitely need to sort it. I had to change loads of bad habits with ds1 before ds2 was born!! Xxx