Has anybody got any experience of a frequent night waker stopping of their own accord?!

[cruisemum1]

Hope wanted here.

She did go 6.30 till 5.30 but gradually pushed her to do 7.00 till 6.00. Which is not too bad. She only has an hour during the day at lunch.

Its an issue for parents with children of different ages, isn't it? My dc's both slept through the night from about 6 months ish (co-incidentally ???? when they went to bed in a different room) but both went through phases at 3 to 3 and a half when they constantly got out of bed at bed-time and/or got up and came into our room in the dead of night. Our DS is still in this phase now. At 3 he was coming in almost every night and we allowed him to sleep with us. Now he's almost 3 and a half and he goes for weeks without getting up, but he does still occasionally, and I just think fair enough, come and sleep with me then, if that's what you want. My DD is 6 and never gets out of bed unless she's ill or has had a bad dream (about twice a year). So yes, I think they probably do grow out of it and I don't have a problem with sleeping with a toddler who is quite happy to go straight back to sleep when he comes and finds us. Its the babies who think its time to get up and play at 4am who can be trying, in my experience.

Actually, I suppose my 3.6 year old DS is no longer a toddler (sniff). He's a little boy now. Oh dear.

It's really hard to say I think you may just hjave to try all of them and see what works. I'd try not giving milk first. I've heard people say to give water until they decide it's just not worth getting up for.
When you say she screams until you give in, is it a full furiopus scream or normal crying?? If normal crying is it constant or intermittent. Also how long do you give her to try and settle before you give in?

My ds aged 4 has always been a fairly 'bad' sleeper, waking frequently as a baby and toddler but has improved slowly since he was about 3 1/4. I have never allowed him into my bed and he never gets out of bed to try and wake me just howls really loudly from his room. He is dry at night and will get up in the early hours to use his potty without disturbing me. He finds it really hard to say what is wrong when he wakes and this has driven me to distraction over the years particularly as his younger sister is a much better sleeper and has been since she was 14months.
I have noticed a particular change over the last few months as he is becoming easier to verbally explain things to and is starting to talk through his nighttime feelings and think of alternative strategies to waking me.

I think it must be the being able to figure out alternatives to waking you than being able to verbalise. My dd1 has been verbally incontinent for quite a while, she was 3 bfore xmas. But some nights still wakes up several times. Like your ds she hollers for me. Slept through last night though. Fingers crossed for tonight. She seems to go through cycles. A good week, a bad week.

I'm not sure if it counts as of his own accord as we did tried pretty much everything, but tbh time sorted it ... but ds has gone from a nightmare (up til about 18mths - would wake for 1-2-3 hours a night, up early, craps naps) to a mild annoyance (now 3) - hes now a 7-7 boy, but wakes maybe 3 days a week & usually settles rapidly

His sister on the other hand still has some work to do...

Thanks all.

If i leave her, and i have a lot, she screams blue murder for 2.5 hours every time and then finally settles for a few hours only to do it again.

I just can't leave her any more as i really find it hard and it obviously hasn't worked as she is still waking.

So i'm now very tired and bringing her in seems to settle her straight away and i get sleep. So i think i'll just let her grow out of it.

She does settle her self when she wakes up earlier in the night it's just if she wakes after 3am she seems to want us.

Thanks for all the comments, really helpful

Thanks all.

If i leave her, and i have a lot, she screams blue murder for 2.5 hours every time and then finally settles for a few hours only to do it again.

I just can't leave her any more as i really find it hard and it obviously hasn't worked as she is still waking.

So i'm now very tired and bringing her in seems to settle her straight away and i get sleep. So i think i'll just let her grow out of it.

She does settle her self when she wakes up earlier in the night it's just if she wakes after 3am she seems to want us.

Thanks for all the comments, really helpful

ops

lexi - you poor thing! sounds like your dd just wants cuddles. did you bring her into your bed when she was younger? I bring ds into bed if he wakes around 6am but am worried that he will want to bring this earlier if he gets used to it. What a bloody trial this motherhood is!

She actually wouldn't come into our bed untill a few months ago (14mths). She used to wake early and that was it she was up. Then i was ill and i tried it and for some reason she fell fast asleep and it's now a habbit. Luckily this am it was 5.45. I guess it means i don't have to get us so early. it's just none of my friends have this problem and tell me off for doing it.

They just don't understand what real sleep deprivation is like. I think bringing her into the bed is the lesser of two evils. She'll hopefully grow out of it, here's hoping anyway.

lexi - and the clocks go 4ward soon!