Repetitive Reassurance? Or other alternatives to CC? Please. Please.

[WineGoodChildrenBad]

So we are in the 15 month sleep regression hell with our DD at the moment and we've hit a wall. We've tried just going with it and bringing her into bed with us but that just wakes her up more and it can take up to 4 hours for her to eventually go back to sleep. We did do CC when she was 11 months, again out of desperation but it was horrendous for all of us and I'd rather find a gentler method.

Just found a reference to Repetitive Reassurance and googled it - is it worth a try?

I have tried PUPD and gradual withdraweral (shit, I'm so tired I can't spell) and these just wind her up and make her scream as loudly as CC does. The choice seems to be pick her up and rock her/bring her into bed - which means she not screaming but she's awake. Or do CC which means she screams and screams but eventually sleeps.

Is there a 3rd way? Please say there is...

I have done this thing with my youngest where I go in and out every 2 mins and say night night, it works v well. Couldn't do CC as he was frightened.

I'd be tempted to do whatever she wants you to do for a few weeks to see if she grows out of this regression herself, if you can bear it. Agree PUPD not really doable for this age.

I assume you've thought of all the usuals like night light, comfort toy, wake-to-sleep if she wakes up at the same time every night? How are her day time sleeps? How does she eat?

We did this -- knew it as the kissing game. Was excellent, b/c we knew the tears cd only ever be cross tears, not scared tears. Took a week or so, w day 4 being a toughie as DS tested whether we really meant it. We wrote down the gap and timed and gradually lengthened from 40secs up to 5 mins over the course of the evening. We started by being in the room, then started leaving and coming back after the first twenty mins. Was a big effort but well worth it - he sleeps v well now.

Oh it's already been a few weeks! A month at least, with sleep on a downwards spiral before then. She does have a dummy but this is no longer enough on its own.

Nightlight makes no difference, comfort toy gets lobbed across the room in anger!! She's completely inconsistant so no chance of wake-to-sleep as we never know what the heck she's going to do.

She's picky but not a terrible eater and doesn't seem to be hungry when she wakes.

Thanks though CombineArvester.

Hmm if she's waking up at different times then could she be overtired when she goes to sleep? And I forgot to ask whether she settles herself at the beginning of the night.

The situation with my DS (I think) is - he settles himself to sleep, but when he wakes up in the night he's almost always needed to see a friendly face before he goes back to sleep. And, partly due to being a light sleeper like his mother, partly due to reflux and partly due to the million and one illnesses he gets, he wakes up at night a hell of a lot. So we have had to make it less scary for him at night - shitloads of toys, dummies, a nightlight. We also wait a little while before we go in - no more than 2 mins.

Don't get me wrong - I have also had to dodge a hail of bullets dummies, rabbits, once memorably a bottle of water, when going in and out of the room. But I quickly learnt that he was angry not scared, and he was a lot less angry if DH went in, so he did all the nights for a while. We made ourselves as useless as possible without actually blanking him - so no lights switched on, no dummies / rabbits got out from under the cot for him, no tucking in - just go back to sleep.

After a week we got more sleeping nights than waking ones, we are now in a position where even when he has a cold he wakes up and goes back to sleep by himself most times, about one shout out a week now.