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Sleep

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Original poster

still feeding to sleep....16mth old!! (i know, i know!!)

13 replies

llynnnn · 31/12/2007 09:35

I know this problem is totally my fault but our dd still falls aslep on her bottle every night! A couple of weeks ago we tried to put her down awake, after her bottle and a story, but she screamed and screamed until she was sick. It was awful! She has always been an ok sleeper and could usually settle herself back off if she woke in the night, but just recently has also started waking for an hour or so and will now only go back to sleep if we rock and cuddle her (easier said than done with a heavy toddler!)

has anyone got any suggestions? I'm thinking that the 2 problems are linked and she'll never sleep 'properly' through the night until she can send herself off in the evening? but where do we start?

Any help very appreciated!
Thanks x

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TrinityRhinoWantsAnIpod · 31/12/2007 09:41

does she fall asleep drinking her bottle in her own cot/bed??
Im which case I would just let her carry on
both dd1 and 2 did this till they were 2 and a bit and I didn't see the point of trying to stop them

It a short time in their lives and by 2 and a half they weren't bothering anymore

TrinityRhinoWantsAnIpod · 31/12/2007 09:47

sorry I have just reread my post and it seems awfully dismissive

In reality you dont want to leave it as she is now waking in the night too

I'm afraid I have no advice on how to stop it because I wouldn't have known where to begin with mine (probably party why I just went with it) and dd1 and dd2 woke in the night at least twice till they were 2 and a half.

gecko is now 11 months and waking 2 or 3 times...

Sorry I'm not being at all helpful, I hope someone more useful comes along very soon

Original poster

llynnnn · 31/12/2007 09:53

Trinity - thanks for replying, she falls asleep on my knee and then i move her into her cot i know its a really bad habit and i shouldnt have let it carry on for so long!
Good to know your dc did stop though, just can't ever see her settling herself to sleep. Can see us still doing this when she's 12!!! lol

Anyone else help?

OP posts:

corblimeymadam · 31/12/2007 09:56

This reply has been deleted

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emmaagain · 31/12/2007 16:47

Maybe put the cot mattress on the floor and the two of you lie down there together till she falls asleep.

Don't beat yourself up. If she needs your company to go to sleep and your company in the night, then just find a way of making that comfortable.

If you pop her in bed with you does she just drop off again?

Maybe the two of you could snuggle down in a heap of cushions on the floor in the middle of the night?

I've never minded children waking in the night as long as I can get both of us lying down dozing again fast, and the books which say "never co-sleep" can just go in the bin

used2bthin · 31/12/2007 17:00

No advice as such but if it makes you feel better, so does my DD and she is 15m! If not with her bottle then I cuddle her to sleep. And I was a nursery nurse pre baby and had lots of views on what I would and wouldn't do. She used to go off on her own and I'm not sure at what point she stopped but here we are... and now I am kind of thinking well maybe I will wait till she is talking so I can give her rewards etc for going to sleep alone. She is still in my room too. I am reasoning that its unlikely this will go on forever!

Surr3ymummy · 31/12/2007 17:12

My DS, nearly 16months, has just started waking up in the night and having problems getting himself back to sleep. He doesn't have a bottle at all at night now, and does go to sleep on his own in the evening. I think it's because he has a cold and has been doing a lot of walking - hoping it's just a phase. So I guess my point is that it may not be related to the bottle in the evening if previously she's slept through ok.

However, you could try dropping the evening bottle totally now (should result in drier nappies which are more comfortable)- cuddle her to sleep until she's used to not having the bottle - then once that's achieved, look at getting her to sleep without being cuddled. Might be easier to change one thing at a time IYSWIM.

Original poster

llynnnn · 31/12/2007 17:37

thanks for all your replies, its good to know i'm not the only one too!
she is terrible at going to sleep, we've often tried to get her back off to sleep in our bed but she wont have it at all, just thinks its playtime! the only way to get her back off quickly is to give her another bottle or really jiggle her!
good thinking about waiting until she is old enough for rewards etc! wont be too much longer i suppose!!

anyone else in the same boat?

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Original poster

llynnnn · 31/12/2007 17:40

sorry surr3y, missed your post. don't know how she'd react to dropping the bedtime bottle. i don't think she needs it to fill her up, she eats LOADS in the daytime!! her nappies are v v wet in the morning, so maybe that is unsettling her in the night, now that she is more aware.
def worth considering, thanks

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maisiebabe · 01/01/2008 21:42

I need advice along the same lines- I swore that in these holidays I would put 14 month DD to bed in her own room- she has been sleeping with me and BFing at nightand through the night. I am her dummy!! She has never taken a bottle of milk (I work full time and DP and DS sleep downstairs in the boys 'dormitory'surely not a happy long term situation ).....but all to no avail. Have tried the controlled crying- 1 night and she was firmly in control - she got out of the bed 25 times and was so so so distressed that we were all crying as well so that was the end of that. So?? !! How to stop the BF ing at night- she looooooooooooooves it..... Help!!

Original poster

llynnnn · 03/01/2008 12:52

maisie - i feel for you and unfortuately haven't got any advice. i also swore i would sort this problem before christmas!! hope someone comes along with some helpful advice soon!

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tryingtoleave · 05/01/2008 11:12

I was really upset because my 17mo stopped bfing to sleep .I would feed him but he just wouldn't fall asleep and i then had to spend hours lying with him to get him to sleep. There's nothing worse than cuddling to sleep in the dark when it takes ages so, personally, I think that if feeding works for your dd you should stick with it. You might find that the night wakings continue even when she goes to sleep without the bottle and then you've just made life harder for yourself.
Anyway, I didn't think there was any way that my ds would go to sleep on his own, but just as an experiment we left him on the bed (we cosleep) and turned on some sleepy music. It took a while but he went to sleep on his own with minimal crying (and I really mean minimal - I can't deal with much). Every time he cried a bit I went to the door and told him it was sleep time and I would come back in a few moments to check on him. I did go back a few times, even when he wasn't crying, and sometimes he even gave me a big grin. I was really surprised that it worked but am very pleased.

oystercatcher · 06/01/2008 00:19

My dd is 19 months and still needs to feed to sleep and still wakes in the night - I have resorted to getting her to sleep in my bed then moving her to the cot when she is asleep but when she wakes I sleep walk her back into bed again (I do not know I have done it!) DD hasnt slept through since 8months and I still bf as she is allergic to dairy. I have tried various methods to get her to sleep - sometimes it works like Tryingtoleave dd can go to sleep simply by saying its sleep time - She has a gentle bedtime routine and on good days can be great but if she is ill or anything gets changed in her routine or something in her diet upsets her, it goes haywire - Christmas has been a nightmare. I have to contantly adapt to methods of making her sleep as it changes all the time! Im exhaused by it and wish there was somthing that could help. What was working was giving her a night feed and then giving her a cuddle until she was nearly asleep then putting her in the cot, dd called out mama and daddy for a bit then she would drift - I thought I had cracked it but then she caught a tummy bug and we were back to the beginning again. As for giving dd water, she will swipe it away, I gave up on that a long while ago.....

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