2 and a half year old doesn't sleep well

[Maddie2802]

My little girl has always been an awful sleeper waking multiple times a night. She is 2 and a half years old and lately she's been waking up to 4 times in the night and it's just getting too much now, before it would be once or twice which I could deal with.

She wakes in the night and asks for a bottle each time, I've tried to stop these and sometimes she falls straight back asleep and sometimes she wakes up fully and won't go back to sleep, I work full time so it's difficult not to give in sometimes and then I feel like a failure.

She has stopped napping in the day and goes to bed between 7-8pm, she wakes multiple times in the night then will wake for the day between 6-7am.

I know I need to cut out the bottles too but any advice at all would be greatly appreciated 💗

You're right, you need to stop all night time milk. Aside from sleep, it's bad for her teeth. She should have bedtime milk, then brush her teeth after the milk, then having nothing more (Aside from water if she must) until morning, when she'll brush her teeth again.

I know it's tough but it is just a case of being firm and consistent.

What does she do if she wakes and isn't given milk? Is she getting up and coming out her room? Standing in the cot and screeching?

You have to develop a repeatable sequence of events that you do, just continually do over and over and over and over again. For example:

• kiss her when in bed
• say a mantra (ie "sleep time now. We lie in bed quietly to sleep, nan night")
• leave, close door
• wait at door.
• when/if she gets up, go back in and reapeat. Over and over again without any hanging around or deviation whatsoever.

Totally agree that the night time bottles need to stop. this night weaning method is aimed at BFers but can be adapted for FFers.