Here we are again

[danita]

That's sounds rough. I hope it improves soon for you. My children both go to bed with a pop top water. That is there drink in the night they don't need to wake me to drink it. I would tell her for a few nights what's going to happen. Now that your a big girl you will be able to have a special water bottle ....... Something like that after a few days of explanation I'd then implement and maybe a reward chart. I think you said she is 3 star charts can be quite good my 3 yr old dd has also recently just started to stay in her bed all night by doing the same. Hope it gets better for u

[LimeSlice]

For DD1 here at the same age, it really just came down to us learning the word no.
She had a small cup with some water only in it, and that was it. We had tears and carry on for about a week, then she got the picture and the only time that changes even now, is if it is stinking hot overnight or if she is sick.
I think you just need to put your foot down.

[fionas]

I have a similar two-year-old and I can't face trying to reason her during the night when I know in my DD2's case, she's hungry.

Does she have much dinner? DD2 is a very fussy eater so now I just give her what I know she will eat for dinner which more often than not is plain pasta and a banana (there is always other food on the table that she is encouraged to try). If she has a decent dinner, she sleeps through. If not, she will drink a LOT of milk before bedtime and wake during the night. Some nights she would go through 750ml of milk which is crazy.

You can get special sheets that go over normal bedclothes - not sure I'm allowed to post the brand name but PM me if you're interested. They hold a lot of pee and it saves you washing all the bedding. You may be able to get them on eBay or someone on BB might have some they no longer use.

[Artechim]

I know what it is like to just do what works so you can get some scrap of sleep to function on. My DS went to sleep with a milo bottle for a while and we would give him another when he woke during the night because it worked. It rotted his teeth a bit, but they are practice ones right? lol, we had to survive.

I have heard of people lining the nappies with cheap sanitary or incontinence pads to add absorbency, or to double nappy with holes in the bottom of the first nappy so some drains into the second.

I would second Fiona's idea about the food - my DD2 tends to sleep (slightly) better if I give her something to eat right before bedtime - yoghurt or a banana usually.

[MrsFabuloso]

Hugs hun. I too, know the do what you have to to get as much sleep as possible routine.

I don't have much to offer other than maybe give her one of the smaller bottles, not the bigger (I think) 200ml but the smaller 125ml (??) ones with half milk half water.

And what about a cloth nappy cover over the nappy, or some woolen covers?

[~clover~]

LS - if it was that simple I wouldn't be here. I weaned her from the breast at 23 months. For 8 weeks she screamed & we maybe had 3 hours sleep a night some nights. I tried for 8 weeks. It didn't end. Thats the only reason I brought in the bottle to start with. She was hungry as well. I was making her weetbix at 3am. Then one night it was 11pm. It was the next night I started the bottle coz I didn't know what else to do.

Fionas - She actually eats pretty well at dinner time most nights. Some nights aren't so great, but most of the time she eats quite well. And we have dinner around 7, then bed at 8, so there's not much time between dinner & bed.
And if its brolly sheets you're talking about, 1, I don't have that kind of money atm & 2, they still need washing. I still have no washing machine :/

Danita - I won't do pop tops again. I used them for DD2, who was similar & they wore her teeth down. But she was different & often had watered down juice too. DD3 usually drinks til she's ready for sleep, then hands it over.

I will try a fleece cover over the nappy. See how it goes. Was going to last night, but forgot. I'm down to 3 sposies to last til friday... 2lt milk to last til Friday, & thats for all of us, not just DD. (DD usually goes through close to a ltr a day herself).

[~clover~]

Well last night we lost the bottle while out. So we went to bed with a sippy cup. We survived!
She did probably wake 5 times, but rather than drink half or more of a bottle, it was a few sips & back to sleep. Not sure if she'll stop waking so frequently, but its slowed her intake for the night.
Hoping tonight is the same, or better.