DD1 has always slept brilliantly, she slept through 12 hrs a night from 8 wks and has been like a little log ever since until quite recently. Last night, which was pretty typical of recent weeks, she came into my bedroom at about 3.30am saying she couldn't sleep. I gave her a very sleepy hug and kiss and she went back to her room. At about 5am she came in again saying she still couldn't sleep and wanted a glass of water. When she first came in she was definitely very awake - not sleepy or just woken up, I would guess she had been awake already for half an hour or so, meaning that in all she was awake for at least 2 hrs in the night. She is very good and doesn't disturb her sister who she shares a room with. Often I know she has been awake in the night (e.g. I can see she's used the loo and books and toys moved around in her room), but hasn't woken any of us up.
I'm not sure how long it's been going on for - definitely since she started reception in September and possibly before that, it's hard to know as she doesn't usually wake us up even though she might be awake herself and pottering about in her room. She tells me that she doesn't sleep. She constantly complains that she is tired, has huge bags under her eyes and is yawning etc.
She has suffered from nightmares on and off over the last year or so, but I don't think it's that. When she has a nightmare she will cry, but she was very relaxed when she came in last night, although it can't be nice lying awake like that. Bizarrely she never seemed to wake up when DS (now 8 months) was little and waking in the night, I would always go in and kiss and check the girls after a feed and they would both be resolutely fast asleep.
The problem is her behaviour in the day is being badly affected. This morning when I got her up for school she was screaming, kicking and crying - really just trying to snuggle back under the duvet. She was so tired she was beside herself. She's fine once she's up and had breakfast, but by the afternoon after school she is shattered and liable to throw terrible tantrums.
I don't know what to do. I'm going to try 'wake to sleep' for the next few nights and see what happens, but any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
She seems to have lost the ability to resettle herself and so stays awake when she stirs or comes into a light sleep. Often in the evenings she'll stay awake in bed for an hour or even two, even though she is totally exhausted and has been longing to go to bed. Generally now if she's not asleep after 30 mins or so in the evening I get her to get out of bed and come and have a quick chat with me or potter around with me for 5 mins then send her back to bed which seems to break the cycle and she will drop off so that's much better than it was, but I don't know what to do about the middle of the night. She says she can't stop her brain from thinking.
Any advice??
Many thanks