Major sleeping problems here....

[Shirale]

Help help help....I have totally hit rock bottom...Amira has become a nightmare at night and I have no idea what to do...She goes to sleep with no problem around 8 or 8:30, and then ends up waking up around 11, 2,6 and then 8 AM....I am exhasuted- she is 14 months old!!! The only way she will (easily) fall back asleep is if we give her a bottle. But I know that is horrible for her and I try to not do it...last night when she woke up at 11 I let her drink a little bit of milk from a sippin saver (with a straw) and she calmed down somewhat, but wouldn't sleep. I just don't know how to get her off this bad habit (which started a month or so ago when she had a stomach bug and was throwing up and I didn't want her to get dehydrated) and anyhow, I am totally not sleeping, I think ontop of this she is also teething....I was so totally without ideas last night that I tried her old passie (which she gave up at 11 months) which didn't really work...even my holding her didn't work. Is she really thirsty or is this something else?? How do I get her to sleep without having to CIO which I personally am not able to handle (also, she will just keep getting more hysterical) I know it is not good for her to keep waking up, and I don't want to let her have the bottle (she asks for it) and in general I know we are *supposed* to have them weaned off bottles by 12 months and she is almost 14 months and will only drink juice in a sippy not milk. I am totally at my wits end and exhuasted....please help!!!!

[Rachels]

Oh, Shira, I know how awful you feel! I'm sorry. I bet the teething is to blame, though. Have you tried giving her Motrin before bed?

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Shirale]

Not Motrin, Tylenol- Motrin never seemed to work on her, and at this point neither is the tylenol...she goes to bed fine, on her own- but can't get herself back to sleep....I know you went through something simlar...and I BTW have the same problem you had the other night about not being able to sleep when she does- I find myself almost collapsing at dinner time, but by bed time- I am wide awake and I can't sleep...argh argh argh....and this drinking at night thing is just not good for her....thanks for the empathy, Rachel!!!!!

[nigele]

Shira,

I wish I could help but I do feel for you. So sorry you are dealing with this.

[KathyO]

To find out whether she's really thirsty at night, offer water, or very-watered-down milk instead of milk. If she persistently rejects it, then she's not actually thirsty.

At this point, one tack to take is diluting the bottle progressively each night, and also slowly decreasing the quantity of liquid in it as well. Her body will re-accustom itself to not getting calories at night, and as the amount decreases, there's a good chance that she herself will stop waking up for the feedings one by one, since they're less and less worth the trouble.

I've had to "re-set" my daughter a couple of times back to longer night sleeping (once after a growth spurt, and another time after the disruptions of a vacation), and this method has worked pretty painlessly all around.

Good luck!

Cheers,

KathyO

[sparkeze]

Have you ever read the "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley? You might find some of her suggestions to be very helpful.

If you were to offer her water in a bottle would she resist?

[egoldber]

I agree, it sounds like she may doing a version of reverse cycling, eating during the night rather than during the day. How is she eating during the day? With Sarah, I have noticed that if she doesn't get her typical food intake during the day (for example, misses a snack because of a long afternoon nap), then she often wakes a couple hours after going to bed. She seems REALLY hungry, and a few sips of milk and sometimes a small bite of something is all it takes to get her to sleep the rest of the night.

A few months ago she had a bad cold and seemed really dehydrated. I left a water sippy in her crib at night and that seemed to help her. After she was better I took the sippy away.

If Amira doesn't have a lovie for bedtime, you may want to think about introducing one. They can be VERY helpful with sleep issues.

HTH,

[nohomama]

I can only offer sympathy. Luckily others have advise. Every once and a while, when Lola's sick or teething, we revisit the land of mutiple night wakings. Boy, does it suck!!! I'm such a better mother and Lola's such a better child when we're well rested. Good luck finding a solution.

[Shirale]

Thanks for the suggestions Beth and Kathy,
She does have a lovie and that solved our major problems in getting her to sleep (it was amazing actually) but when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she just won't calm down. I am going to trythe watered down milk thing, that sounds reasonable- she took water one night this week...She does not eat very well in general, so I have been trying to offer her smaller meals more often, which seems to be a little better. last night she woke up twice, but screamed until she drank both times...anyhow- I will try watering it down slowly, and giving her less...actually, the other day I went in to get her from her nap and I had left a passie in the crib the night before and found her with it in her mouth, happy- which she hasn't done in 4 months...