DD is 2.5 and has slept through 3 times since birth. I'm at the end of my tether, have exhausted all methods and want to avoid medication so wondered if I've missed something to try. Also have a 5yo who slept through from 6 weeks!
She doesn't nap, we try sometimes on days where the night has been particularly hard but she won't go. Tried in car, in bed, on walks in a pram, she refuses to nap. She's fully toilet trained day & night.
Wind down starts 6/6:15, either TV off or we play something like a Julia Donaldson short film whilst we tidy up from tea. Bath is 6:45 and she's in bed for 7 with a story and some milk. She goes to sleep absolutely fine and will stay asleep for a while.
She usually wakes up somewhere between 12-2, some nights she comes into our bed and gets back to sleep after around half an hour (any adult will know though that I can't get back to sleep straight away, husband has no issues going back to sleep). Majority of the time though she wakes up crying, she demands more milk or to go downstairs and watch TV. It's like she thinks it's morning. The past 2 weeks she's been awful, being awake for 3/4 hours in the night. Nothing calms her, she just screams. We have a tonies box that we put audio books on for her as I don't want screens on. Sometimes we relent and after hours of trying out a Julia Donaldson on for her on the TV and she will then sleep but this can't be sustainable for her?
We've tried:
Altering bedtimes to early and later, changing 10 minutes each night
No milk before bed
Sleep consultants X2 (£600 down the drain)
Sleeping in her bed all night
Having her in our bed all night
Had her outside/walking for the majority of the day
She had chickenpox recently and we were advised to give piriton and we got 2 nights of full sleep out of her and in the day you could tell in her the next day.
She's very full on, constantly talking/doing, never stops. She gets very whiny and demanding and we are firm but fair. These bits don't bother me as it's standard second child behaviour and her tantrums are no where near as bad as some of my friends children.
I'm absolutely exhausted to the point I feel ill, it's affecting my work, our marriage, I feel depressed and like I'm being tortured with the lack of sleep.
We don't have the 'village' to help. Is there anything else I can try