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Toddler sleep gone to pot. Help!

3 replies

Rainatnight · 16/07/2018 08:14

DD (2) has always been a great sleeper - till now!

The trigger was that, over a week ago, I was out, and my DP, who is hard of hearing, didn't hear her cry in bed. When I came back, she was absolutely hysterical in her cot and took a very long time to go back asleep.

Problem 1; Ever since, we've had hysterics at bed time. Proper tears, begging to come into our room, standing up in the cot with arms outstretched.

She'll only go aslee if one of us sits with her, and it can take till nearly 9 to get her off.

On the rare occasions she's had sleep trouble before, I've dealt with it by doing the going in every couple of minutes thing, and saying 'night night time to sleep' so she knows she's not alone but nor is it party time. That's worked very well for us in the past but it's just not working now - she doesn't calm down at all.

Problem 2: she's waking up quite a few times in the night, cries for us and can't go asleep till I'm sitting there with her.

Problem 3: she's waking up at 5 - for the day! - and won't re-settle.

I'm absolutely exhausted.

She's clearly very fearful because of what happened and that's making me reluctant to take any 'tough love' approaches with her.

She started potty training a couple of days before this started so could also be unsettled from that. And just generally has been more of a toddler, with boundary pushing etc over the past couple of weeks. So I don't know how much of it is to do with that, but again, I'm reluctant to be too tough because she seems genuinely frightened.

I'm at a loss as to what to do and I'm so very, very tired.

I'd be so grateful for any advice.

(And yes, DP feels absolutely terrible and she's investigating baby monitors for hard of hearing parents, so this isn't a thread to pile in on that )

OP posts:
Rainatnight · 16/07/2018 09:31

Bump

OP posts:
youknowwherethecityis · 17/07/2018 15:31

Are you sure that's the problem? (with your partner not hearing and her getting upset)

Our DD has always slept brilliantly. Now we are having the exact problems you describe: she struggles to get to sleep and wants us around before she will settle, and wakes twice in the night, crying, needing cuddles and milk. It's the heat, 100%. So many people I know are having the same problems at the moment.

piscis · 18/07/2018 11:53

I am having very similar problems with DD (13 months).
She was sleeping great, took us a little while to get her to sleep, but it was manageable, no dramas and then she would sleep through until 7am.
Now bed time is a big drama, she just cries like crazy, and it seems like the only thing that makes her stop is me sleeping her in my arms. Even my partner cannot calm her down holding her...it is a huge change because my partner was the one normally putting her to bed, and I would even say he was better than me at that. Now it has to be me, hold her in my arms until she is asleep, then put her in the cot. She also wakes up at 5am (7am before). I can make her sleep again by putting her in the buggy and walk around, but it takes me like half an hour.
We have moved house and we think that may be the problem, she is scared of the new place, new bedroom? But I don't know what to do either...

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