Help….! My patience bucket is empty.

[Itsallaboutme2021]

please be kind I’m at my wits end……

My daughter is 3 1/2 yr old, has been going to nursery since she was 11months old. She’s very clever… for example she asked me why adults don’t get presents from Santa last night, her speech is next level and uses words I wouldn’t expect from a 3 yr old.
When she’s with others she is a well behaved little girl, polite with ‘please’ and ‘thanks you’s’ even throws in the odd ‘you’re welcome’.

she doesn’t eat great, I mean she nibbles bits and bobs, I haven’t ever seen her eat a full meal before ( and I’ve tried everything) we have cook books we cook together the lot.

i feel like we discipline her well and so she knows if she gets the look she’s not to be doing something.

anyway…. The reason for this post is her SLEEP….. 9/10 when she’s asleep she stays asleep but it’s getting her to sleep which is the issue and we’ve tried everything, she now take magnesium ( has done for a while now) , we’ve tried night lights with red to tell her it’s bed time and so she can’t leave the room, we’ve got a star/moon light which projects on the ceiling, we’ve tried sleep music, we’ve tried a earlier bed time, a late bed time, sitting with her, sitting outside the room…… I’m pretty sure I’ve tired it all.
she fights it and fights it, last night bed time started at 7 she fell asleep at 9:30….!

it’s getting to the point where I’m getting so angry I’m shouting and we go round in circles, it’s takes all that I have to control myself.

does anyone else have this? Please say yes! So I don’t feel I’m the only one.

p.s she stopped day time naps around 16months ( took 2 hours for her to get to sleep), she’s never just fallen asleep on the sofa ( even when poorly) I have an extremely stubborn child.

thanks,
from the mummy with more grey hair than a 80yr old.

I've only got a 2.3 year old but he's always been exactly the same. Fights sleep like a 😈. The only thing that's worked for me is putting the Tonie box on at bedtime so he can listen to the story and he thankfully conks out. There's been a couple of times I've had to change the story because it finished but that's been rare. Would your DD be happy to lie on her own listening to stories?

I know it sounds counterintuitive but does she settle if you put her to sleep in your bed?

We’ve talked about getting her one of these to see if it helps. Fingers crossed.

It wouldn’t be our first choice as we want to encourage her to self soothe, x

I know but sometimes you need a reset and it sounds as though you're all exhausted.

Some things you can do are to tank her up during the day with calories. There's a good guide here on how many calories she should be having, suggested menus and portion sizes.

Sleep with her sheets for a couple of nights before you put them on her bed. Babies and young DC are incredibly affected by scent and this will give her bed a very reassuring smell.

A weighted blanket might help too.

And have you read the No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddler & Preschoolers? That has some helpful tips.

I think I'd also do the 42 month Ages & Stages along with the 48 month Social & Emotional Ages & Stages and see how she scores