I understand why some mothers abandon their children.

[dontpokethebear]

DD age 2.4 (dc 3 of 3) goes to bed no problems. But from 11 onwards she can wake up anything from once to 30 times. Screaming, crying, demanding drinks or cuddles, just wandering into our room, or any combination of all or none of the above. It is not night terrors, she is definitely awake..

We have done CC, CIO. The HV has sent us on sleep workshops. We have followed the advice, but to be honest it is all geared towards children that won't go to bed. I have even tried a couple of doses of Piriton. Nothing is working.

She shares a room with her brother (4), so he is being disturbed too.

I suffer with depression. I am fairly sure it is a direct result of 2.5 years of sleep deprivation. My fitbit says I have an average of 3hours and 6 mins sleep a night.
I am just about ready to walk out and no one wants to help us.

dragon no signs so far to make me think there is? I didn't think melatonin was routinely prescribed?

kahlua thanks for that. She does cough a lot at night. What is the treatment nosy

I think I'll have to go back to the GP. Last time I went regarding this, they referred me to the wellbeing service.

Also the doctors is half an hour walk away, bus usually full so I can't get on with the buggy and the GP is usually running late so it's hit or miss whether I can get seen with enough time to get back for the preschool pick up. Some days it's just too much.

maverick she doesn't quite get the whole star chart thing. We tried one for potty training, but she just wanted to pick the stars off.

I would write a diary out and read it to theGP. Perhaps take a video or something and be very clear that you want her referred to an ENT specialist.

Sometimes I find that you do have to push GPs a bit. Do you have a GP which specialises in pediatrics? One of ours did and was always much better with the dcs (the receptionists usually know who is the best with a child!)

My Dd did this for 6.5 years, she has only slept through in the last 2 weeks and even that is not consistent. 3 years of reflux, followed by battles, screaming, fatigue, depressive thoughts, anger I didn't know where to turn. Spent every day on the net looking for a solution. GP was no help, I felt everyone didn't believe us.
It affected her schooling. I requested meeting with special needs coordinator and got one 6 months after the request. She suggested one of those heavy blankets for autistic children. That combined with a 'how to sleep' book for kids has helped us turn a corner. It may be a coincidence but I am crossing my fingers it lasts. Try everything you can as it nearly broke us.

How's her breathing? If she coughs a lot, does it wake her up? DS2 is asthmatic, and the coughing definitely disturbed his sleep until we got it under control. He would wake, then get in a terrible state.

No treatment needed for DS as he was reaching his milestones, and they do eventually grow out of it. It certainly helped us as I had a reason for that sleep deprived fog I was in and my mum would take him regularly so that I could sleep through.

Consultant said that he will probably improve when he is about 5 and sleep through when he is about 13!! All spot on! He started sleeping better when he was about 5-6 and now 13 he is finally sleeping past 6am....

One thing I did notice with DS is that if he fell asleep in his car seat he would sound like he was choking at times. It used to make me panic if I was on the motor way but not something I ever thought to mention to anyone as only talked about sleep at home.

Can you put your son in your room? Then you would feel less anxious about him being woken (only as a temporary measure, until this is resolved).
I have had success with showing stickers at bedtime (really lovely ones that you know they'll like) and letting the child choose one to have in the morning. Then, suggesting she needs to stay in bed if she wants the sticker. She may not. She doesn't get sticker though. You are just asking her to stay in bed (she may wake, scream etc) but if she stays in bed she gets the sticker a breakfast time. Then, bit by bit, sticker for not screaming (just calling your names).
Leave a cup of water by her bed. Leave a night light on.
Obviously none if tjis will work if it's a physical problem. But may be worth a try. Good luck.

I really feel for you. Poor preschooler sleep is very difficult.

What is your bedtime routine?
When is bedtime?
What time does she get up?
Is her bedroom fairly clear from stimulus?
How do you respond at night waking? Are you always consistent?

Sleep deprivation does terrible things to your mental health - I thought I had PND at when DD was 6 months, but I was just exhausted - DH took over the nights, and after a week of sleep, I felt human again (and I'm well aware that wouldn't cure depression).

DD is now 4, and rarely sleeps through (OK, never, as I think I can count the number of times she has on one hand). We currently have two full size single mattresses on the floor in her room. She usually wants one of us at some point in the night - often more than once, though it's slowly getting better. We've found that having this much bed space gives her room to thrash about while DH sleeps (he goes to sleep easily, gets back to sleep easily, and is not easily disturbed. Entirely unlike me). It maximises everyone's sleep, and at the moment, that's all we care about. I realise we're lucky to have that much space (though we can only just open the door into DD's room at the moment).

My 11 year old daughter has never slept. We have just started melatonin. It has changed all our lives. Very difficult to get it prescribed tho (GP can't do it) so good luck. You can buy on Amazon and is just as effective but need to work out correct dosage.