Night weaning all over again

[BarchesterTowels]

My 22 month old has been sleeping reliably through the night for ages, until recently. A week or two ago she started waking in the night and could only be settled with a bottle of milk. Most nights since, she's woken multiple times and needed a feed of some description to get her off again. I've also had to change her at 4 am more than once because she's been soaked through! I thought night weaning was done and dusted months ago, so this is all a bit of a surprise.

This seems to have coincided with a bit of a developmental leap - suddenly she's learning new words every day and running and climbing everywhere like a proper child rather than toddling like an overgrown baby - so I'm wondering if this is one of those weird blips and it'll end as suddenly as it began. But I wondered if anybody had experienced anything similar and if so if you had any tips! I'm not particularly enjoying all the unexpected 3 am feeds and nappy changes (and before you ask, I've tried reassuring her or leaving her alone, both of which were totally ineffective)...

Thanks in advance!

Sounds like it could be a developmental leap, like you say. Not envying those 3 am wake ups though. Mine are older now so the only time we get woken up at that time is of they're ill.

At nearly 2 I would definitely not be giving milk in the night (assuming you’re not brushing her teeth again afterwards?)

How about giving her a small supper closer to bedtime and then just offering water in the night.

Growth spurt, they continue to surprise you just when you think you’ve got it nailed. Growing and developing every day, you aren’t doing anything wrong. this too shall pass.

It’s very normal. All 3 of mine stopped sleeping well around the 2 year mark. My middle child actually opted for all nighters for a few weeks and then it took her about 6 months to get back to normal after that.

It was HARD but it didn’t last forever xx

Shes just hungry. Have you tried giving her supper before bed, milk isnt enough now. Something filling like toast , cereal; porridge. Its a long time from tea time to morning

Don’t give her the milk, it’s now a habit that’s what she’s waking up for. I know it’s hard and it’ll take a while but stop the milk (make sure she’s having a decent milk feed before) settle her by cuddling. Don’t talk to her or bring her out of the room, it will take a while but she’ll get there eventually.

Try water instead of milk, I am completely contradicting myself though as just been up with 22mo demanding ‘ilk!’ And refusing any other form of comforting! He’s doing the same though, new words daily and new things every day. Also the soaking through thing is driving me nuts! I’ve bought night time nappies from Morrisons and after a google I’ve been putting them on backwards because he’s a belly sleeper so that has been helping. I think spurts don’t last long, do they?!

also look at daytime sleep, as sleep needs start to change as they get older. My son actually used to wake more if he wasn’t getting a long enough nap in the day, but could also be affected if his nap was too long. It’s a minefield but worth playing around with nap timings to see if it works.

My little one is the 23 months and has just started waking again in the night. We initially thought she was waking because she was cold, but I’ve had a look in her mouth and she’s actually teething again and her second molars are visible through the gums. Hope you get some sleep soon x

Sounds like little one is in a growth spurt 🙂
As others said, I’d try adding in an extra meal, close to bedtime. Something that has complex carbohydrates and some protein (cream cheese on wholewheat toast for example) to sustain glucose levels through the night. Hopefully it’ll resolve quickly once spurt is over!

I had to change bedtime to 8.30/9 with late supper of weetabix as otherwise it was the middle of the night wake up....I would only ever give water during the night but it sounds like hunger so later supper could be the answer. My one staying up late suited me as husband didn't get home till about 7.30 but I know it doesn't suit everyone.

Thanks for the tips, all! This is terra incognita for me so I was at a loss. I'm going to try giving a late snack before bedtime and offering water if she wakes in the night (though I have a feeling I know how that will go down at first 😕)

Totally normal. Feed, cuddle and wait for this stage to pass... which it will!

My baby is the same age but has never slept though. Always woke for a bottle. With the help of a sleep nappy (via zoom call) we have stopped with bottles all together. She has sippy cups now and when she wakes we do not feed or change her (unless she has leaked) we do controlled crying at bedtime and she wakes up now. Out of the 6 days we have been doing this, she’s slept though 2 of them, so hoping we are cracking it! I definitely would stop with the milk. Sounds like he/ she has realised they will get milk if they wake. It will probably take a few nights to re learn that.

Completely normal. Give her milk, settle her down. My son was exactly the same. Lasted a few weeks but he needed the comfort and the milk so I gave it too him

Both of mine had bad patches with sleep around 2, but I really would try to cut out the milk in the night and not add in any other nighttime treats she’ll continue waking up for. She definitely doesn’t need this nutritionally and if you’re worried she’s really hungry, I would try to feed her dinner closer to bedtime. Just offer water in the night -
you’ll probably have 3 bad nights but after that she’ll settle again (in my experience) it you can stay consistent!

It's been a few weeks so thought I'd post a quick update in case it's helpful for others!

Many thanks for your tips, especially @Twitwooooo and @Oranesandlemons who suggested a late snack and offering water overnight. She was not amused the first time I gave her water at midnight, but there was an almost immediate improvement! She's still waking typically once or twice a night but is much easier to settle, and usually has only a mouthful of water before rubbing her eyes and going back to sleep.

Hoping (praying!) she will eventually get back to sleeping straight through, and no doubt she will. But she's obviously going through a big leap at the moment with speech and walking/climbing all improving rapidly, and daytime naps have become much more unpredictable too. Just another stage to enjoy or endure before she finds another way to surprise and delight us!