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dd2 is driving me bleedin INSANE with her night-time shennanigans

9 replies

Moomin · 08/11/2007 19:56

Dd2 (2 last month) has alwasy been a little bleeder when it comes to sleeping through the night. We can count on one hand the times this has happened. She has always woken in the night and always cried/shouted for milk. We have a very good bedtime routine and she's alwasy gone to bed very well, slept til about anything from 1 to 4 and then wakes and won't go back to sleep until she's had some milk. We;ve done the CC, the watering milk down, changed from bottle to sippy cup, increased food intake and none of it works. The only thing that gets her straight back to sleep is a few ounces of milk. She is genuinely hungry when she takes the milk and because she's fairly slight and needs food little and often during the day, we've gone along with it. We give her the sippy cup, leave it with her and then there's not a peep til about 7-7.30.

Dh and I made the decision a while back that, if all that's needed is one of us to drop the milk in, and the rest of the night is quiet, then it's worth the disruption. We take it in turns and we're just used to it now. BUT, for the last week or two she's been waking and demanding milk sereval times a night. If we ignore her she gets more and more distressed until she gets hysterical and often retches (that's why CC didn't go donw too well!). Enough's enough and it's just getting ridiculous hearing her asking for milk at 12, 3 and 6am! and we're knackered....

I know it;s our fault really, as the milk is a prop that she uses to get back to sleep. Once in the night I can actualy put down to hunger - just - but more than that and it's habit. We've even given her medised a few nights but even that doesn't work! Shes just got her canines through so maybe she's in pain too. But does anyone have any other light to shed on this? Do we just put up with it and hope it's a phase?

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umma · 08/11/2007 21:02

No expert but....

I do suggest that you don't give her milk, like you said she has become dependant on it for getting back to sleep, try a form of CC again, brace yourself for a couple(?!) of bad nights...and see what happens, Good Luck

By the way we tried CC this time last week and has worked a treat.

Moomin · 08/11/2007 21:47

how much crying did you put up with? Dd2 cries literally until she's sick... and I really don't like the idea of this being 'ok' with us. How old's your dc?

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haychee · 08/11/2007 21:52

I dont understand if it is just the milk or not.
You say it is, but why then cant she self settle if she has some in with her?

Do you pick her up, put lights on? or talk much to her?

Moomin · 08/11/2007 21:56

She (generally) goes to bed with no probs, just put in bed awake, say night night and lights off. We can hear her talking/singing /playing a while then goes off to sleep. In middle of night she will wake and cry quietly, then if no-one comes, louder and louder, then 'Milk!' over and over then crying gets worse until we go in. No lights on, no talking, just hand the sippy cup to her and leave her. And until last week or so, that's been the pattern for the last 18m.

Now she's waking more often and crying for milk each time. If we give her milk she'll go off again but wakes up again, so it's not hunger on these occasions I guess. Think she wakes because of teeth or bed dream or whatever and wants the milk to help her sleep again and doesn't understand why it doesn't work for the rest of the night

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haychee · 08/11/2007 22:00

Just stick with it, keep giving her more milk quietly. Say nothing to her and leave asap.

Consistency and all that. If its teeth it will subside again.

Cant she find the bottle? Maybe a dimmed light so she can see it?

SHmum · 08/11/2007 22:08

Hi, no solution i'm afraid, but was reading earlier that around that age new developmental skills can cause them to wake at night...the book i've got is re: breastfeeding and it does say expect your toddler whose been sleeping through the night to start demanding breastfeeds (this is where i'm comparing it to the wanting milk) and that the breast (i guess milk in her case) is used as comfort...

...difficult to know whether to keep refusing it if thats what she seems to really want, epsecially as she's being almost sick she's so upset - clearly she's trying to tell you something.

Um, well not much help, other than to provide (hopefully) some understanding - oh, off to deal with my 9 month who keeps waking every 30 minutes - oh what fun i'm having! HELP!

lupo · 09/11/2007 06:53

Mines three and still does this, sorry not much hope there. I just give him his milk and put him back in bed as quick as possible, if I didnt do this he would get hysterical, just come to except he will prob do this til hes eighteen or something

Moomin · 09/11/2007 17:51

SHmum - interesting - thanks for that

lupo (because if I didn't laugh I'd cry)

I really do think she's extra hungry at the moment. She's had two bouts of horrible sickness bug in the last 4 weeks and her appetite has been much better than usual since she got better. Think we should try giving her more milk than usual for the first bout of the night maybe?

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Moomin · 09/11/2007 17:52

BTW we tried leaving her the bottle in the bed. She ignored it and waited for us to hand it to her

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