Help..DS still waking every 4 hours for milk / not sleeping!!!

[Discomonkfish]

Any help with a ds who is 14 months old. He is waking every 4 hours for milk regardless of how much food we cram down him during the day. We've tried everything to fill him up. The last 2 nights he has woken up and been very agitated pulling his knees up to his chest and fighting to get away from me or my dh. He has never really liked eating and we really have to try to remain patient as we don't want to make the situation worse. He only has 2 front teeth and I think he could be teething but there's no sight of any in his gums??!! Just don't know what's wrong with him but the lack of sleep is driving me mad, anyone else had this problem?

what's his non-milk fluid intake like?
could he be thirsty?

He drinks quite a bit of water during the day, funnily enough my sister said this today. I'll try him with water before I give him milk straight away. I'll have a go tomorrow night if he's the same as he's gone off to sleep finally now. Thanks

My DS is 17 months old and I have a similar (but less troublesome) problem. My DS wakes up once every night for a feed - and, like you discomonkfish, it doesn't seem to matter how much I've managed to cram into him. Mind you, what he will eat in a day can vary enormously (e.g. yesterday really good including 3 fish fingers; but today absolutely hopeless). Advice I have had is to just keep going and it will sort itself out in the end. Not much help in the middle of the night I know! I am interested to see what advice is posted here!

I would say don't give milk in the night .. offer water in a cup if you must .. but go to the shhh-pat pick up put down method

he doesn't understand how to sleep through yet ...and really needs a little guidance

it might get worse before it gets better .. maybe steel yourself for a week of little sleep (maximum) but then look forward to unbroken sleep

oh and if he's teething give him some calpol

although the legs to chest sounds like tummy pain to me so maybe look at diet and see if there's any food - pain link

HTH

you also need to know that the average 2 year old will eat 11 tablespoons of food per day and that is averaged over a couple of weeks .. so it is a normal pattern to eat then not eat .. don't worry about it

measure out 11 tablespoons it's not much and it counts for everything (including snacks not just meals)

Thanks all, he used to sleep through ok it's just in the last 4 weeks or so. I'm sure it's his teeth as he's also chewing his finger when I go to him. I've been giving him Medised but even this doesn't seem to touch him. He's never been interested in a dummy or comforter of any kind so until you give him what he wants he screams. I know I'm probably making the problem worse by feeding him milk during the night but this is what gets him back to sleep, which is maybe causing his lack of interest in food the next day? I will steel myself and attempt the shh-pat pickup put down it can't carry on like it has been my dh and I are absolutely knackered. At the moment I work fulltime (packing it in shortly as it's too much with 2 little ones under 4) and having to deal with his screams through the night up til 4 in the morning and then have to get up at 6 is probably making the situation worse. Anyway....moan over, these things happen I suppose!

We had this with DD and we do our sleep training on her and it resolves it all again. It's so much better for them to have a full night's sleep as well as us! I personally recommend going cold turkey and refuse milk at night - oh and I always start these things on a Thursday or friday night . It won't take long and then you'll all feel better.

It will all come good and if the drugs aren't helping, then it could well just be habit rather than he's in any discomfort?

When i say 'we had this' I mean that every time she's poorly or teething, she gets back in to night waking etc and her sleeping through all goes out of the window. We have to actively do something about it once she's well enough again or it just stays like that.

Thanks, I know it's going to be a pain you're right. We're just making a rod for our own backs by feeding him thru the night. I can't do without my sleep. My dd is and always has been such a good sleeper, she even sleeps through ds wailing but my ds is the complete opposite. I'm also paranoid about him waking the street up! I'll let you know how it goes...;)

oh I know and I am a complete sleep hoover - I get sick if I don't get the hours. A complete wimp. For what it's worth - DD responds much better to a gentle, kind but absolutely very firm no messing approach. Since I got my act together last night after a spate of poorliness, she has been far less clingy today and responding much better to me generally.
Sod the street - charity starts at home . Brace yourselves, be firm in your resolve and have some water on standby incase he's genuinely thirsty but don't get him out of his cot to give it to him!!

Hi PTIYPASI, it's definitely his teeth, his cheeks were really rosy yesterday and I can feel a bottom one poking through. He slept much better last night and did what you said with the pick up put down etc and all was ok. He woke once from about 1am and took an hour to go off again but fingers crossed hopefully it's just a teeth thing. I gave him ibuprofen and I think that really helped with the swelling and pain. Thanks for your advice

Oh goody - I always think that these things are easier once we can find a good reason for why it's happening. Poor things - I feel so sorry for them - nasty teeth

Good luck for tonight!