2 yr old talks and shouts half the night

[liberty30]

Hi everyone this is my first post (one of many - I have a stressful life :S)
Ok , my daughter who is 2 1/2 has never really actually 'slept through' . For the 1st yr or so it was the usual - waking up crying ... fair enough i guess. But for what seems like an age she wakes through the night and talks and shouts and sings for sometimes a couple of hours.
She's still in a cot so She's contained however I'm dememnted with the broken sleep . The longest she's gone with out doing this is 2 weeks . She worse for it when she's NOT had her afternoon nap (bizarre I know) or if shes had a particuarly stimulating day ie a day in a busy city .
I have tried many things and none seem to work for very long . At 1st I took her dummy away which upset her no end but i let her cry for a bit before giving it back - sometimes that would work but now she couldnt give a toss and carrys on .... this morning (4am) i didnt even give it back and she fell asleep eventually (which surprised me). I've tried telling her not to do it . I've ignored it. I've told her 'shhhh'. I usually change her nappy as it's wet (she doesnt have a drink after 6pm tea time). Sometimes I just go ballistic and shout at her but in a whisper lol (so I dont wake the neighbours - who are probably awake anyway).... and I'm ashamed to to say on 3 occasions she got a smack . (and i dont do smacking). The later i wont repeat as it has no effect - and she actually asks me to do it :S
My daughter is a lively , beautiful, funny and utterly adorable but very frustrating , strong willed girl who is my life . But this is killing me and I dont need it on top of the sh*t i've gone through in the last yrs. I know it's not her fault but I need it to stop.
I cant find any advice because it's all for babies who cry . She's not crying ! Just talking - and loudly .
At 1st she did it in her sleep - but now she seems to be definetly awake.
Has anyone had this ?

There was a documentary on sleep disturbance recently, about a little girl who literally re-enacted her day at nursery, all night, every night. It was due to overtiredness and over stimulation. This would fit with what you say in your op.

I would suggest asking your GP to refer you to a sleep clinic.

Thank you 3littlefrog ... I had been thinking that. It certainly feels like that . I actually banned her from watching a certain programme as that would be replayed vocally at night !
Think I'm going to have to go down that route before I end up in a straight jacket :S
Guess I was hoping for an easy solution but this is going to be a long haul :S

Hi Liberty,

One here who is also demented. All I want to do is sleeeeeeep!

I am SO SO SO SICK of being woken up by someone yelling at me, and I'm sick of someone sleeping in my bed and kicking me in the head. I'm sick of feeling like sht all day every day and I'm sick of being crap at everything and living in a dump cos I'm too tired to do anything about it. It's SHT isn't it.

I too have shouted, and only just stopped myself smacking at times. The frustration and anger and tiredness turn into a red mist don't they.

My DD does not talk like yours however, only wakes up and cries, insists on getting out of bed, then is tired and cranky all day and a total nightmare on frayed nerves.

The talking IS odd and I also have seen a docuemntary on it. The solution they came to was a supernanny style putting the child back to bed, with no interaction, over and over again. I know people who have tried this and it takes about 2 weeks but does work.

My DD can now almost get out of her cot. This means she will walk into my bedroom and wake me up even more. At the moment I am too tired to even contemplate supernanny style putting back to bed but if I get a break that is my plan. The gloves are off!!

Good luck! xx

What time does she have a nap in the day??

She sounds overtired to me, which is making her restless at night. If you can get a good afternoon nap out of her it could help her night sleep. DD was very similar at 2 years old so you have my sympathies

Update - went to docs today ... bit of a let down really as he didnt give any advice (just listenend) and said there wasnt any sleep clincs here but he'll get back to me ... however .... he did seem to think that from what I described , she isnt fully awake and that she'll grow out of it.
Have come to the conclusion that yelling and smacking was very very bad on my part esp as she might not even be aware (till i go guns blazing). So now I just need to find away that i cant hear it - am thinking ear plugs .. hope they work !!!
If dd has a proper nap - were usually ok . Just some days I'd like to spend the whole day out !!
Dreading putting her in a bed - couldnt cope with her getting out !!
Anyway - thanks for the response people ! I know I'm not the only one and its just part of being a mum ;)

My DD sleep walks/talks if she is overtired or stressed (and she is 12). IMO it just isn't worth letting your DD get to that point where she is so overtired that you all suffer. It is exhausting for her too as she isn't getting good quality sleep.

Maybe you just need to work on a good routine that ensures adequate day time naps for her. That is the first thing a sleep clinic would advise anyway, so you would have to be prepared to take their advice if you get a referral, if you want to solve the problem IYSWIM.

Yep - just going to ensure she doesnt miss a nap - and if she does then I can expect it :S
I'm glad you all aggree with me on the nap thing coz when I say to folk that she still ahs a nap they roll their eyes and say 'no wonder she doesnt sleep at night then !!' I try and point out it's the opposite but they seem disbeleiving . Though I must admit the only way to get her have a nap is make sure she's active in the morning ie a good walk or swim .

They are just ignorant! Children who are overstimulated and overtired do not sleep well. I think you have worked out the cause of the problem yourself, so do what is right for you and your child and don't take any notice of the eye rolling brigade!

he he 'eye rolling brigade'