Help Please - 16 Month Old - Still waking demanding bottle

[Lily J]

Hi everyone,
I know it's probably been asked a million times before - But our DD used to sleep through the night (with the exception of the times she was getting new teeth - she has 16 already and only the molars to go I think)...
And she has been waking at least once a night now for over a month...
It is doing my head in...
We are expecting bub-number-2 in 8 weeks and I am so sleep deprived...
I have tried to give her tap water and warm water and she just wont have a bar of it... we are down to 75mls of milk at a time...
She wakes with a dry throat (we have a reverse cycle air con in her room because it is so cold)... but still won't drink water...
We have tried controlled crying - but she LITERALLY screamed for 2 hours - and aside from breaking my heart, nothing happened... she was as upset after 2 hours as she was in the beginning...
I have tried to pat her, rub her back and sleep beside her and nothing has worked...
Tried a night light, complete darkness, humidifier...
Am seriously at my wits end...
Please, please, please, if you have any suggestions at all, I would LOVE to hear them.
Thanks so much,
Lily

[catherinemoses]

You poor thing.

Could she be too hot? I hate being too hot overnight. Have you got her in a sleeping bag? I put Flynn in a wondersuit and a fleecy sleeping bag and then pop some blankets on him. Maybe try having the heater off for a night and see how she goes?

I don't really have any other suggestions. Hopefully it is just a phase which passes soon .

[christy]

My 2 1/2 yr old still wakes a few times a week asking for a bottle. We get it for her.... only because it means we get to sleep more. My 5 year old will ask for a drink if she wakes up, and I often wake up wanting a drink, so I figure she will graduate to a cup when she's a bit bigger, and we're okay with that

[Lily J]

Thanks so much girls - Will try the heater off for a night... she really does wake up with a dry throat and thirsty like Christy said - but she simply will not take water and just cracks it if it's not milk in the bottle...
Wouldn't be too worried if it was just an occasional thing but it is normally right on midnight and then again at 3.30am... I think it's become more of a habit than a need for thirst-relief... I'm worried that we've set up our own bad habit by giving in to her with a bottle... and now she wakes up at the same time each night...
Catherine - I see you're overdue!!! Hope you're not too uncomfortable!!!
Thanks again girls - I'll let you know what works!
Lily

[amberj]

Oh Lily, that sounds so hard! I think if nothing else was working (and it sounds like you've tried it all), I would just keep giving her the bottle, simply because it means more sleep! I would try to drop it again in a few weeks to see if maybe the phase has passed. I know you are worried about creating a bad habit, but when you've tried everything, I'm not sure what else you can do!

I would take the amount down though- we recently weaned DS off his night feed and before we dropped it we were at like 40ml. I would just get up, make it and give it to him to feed himself in bed (because it was such a small amount I wasn't concerned about this). I was up for like 1-2 minutes- not bad!

I'm sure it will eventually pass- these things usually do! But do what you need to in order to get rest- you need it prepare for your new LO!