Uh oh.. we have sleep issues!! Help!!

[thepixie]

Just wanted to give you some babe.... got nothing to offer in terms of advice, we have a pretty random sleeper here, sometimes OK sometimes really dreadful. We just do whatever gets us through the night but only having one it is a different ball game. Will DS sleep in his own bed maybe? At least then you don't have the issue of waking him.
I do think a lot of sleep issues are developmental cause I've had breakthroughs with sleep happen overnight for no reason at all. Hope you can work something out.

[Arimeh]

Will DS sleep in his own bed maybe? At least then you don't have the issue of waking him.

Nah, plus our walls are so thin and our house so tiny - he'd wake up even if he was in his own room cos its not that far away from hers (or ours)

[luna moth]

Mel, I will drink the gin on your behalf With pleasure.

So I would modify the proportion of fruit/vegies in her early meals, give more fruit early in the day since they wear off faster. I would cut back on the toast, and if she wants more, give her more fruit. Same with any snacks. Light stuff early, heavy stuff later. Give her lots of water (I know you already do) in the morning - it will help her to feel full. I'm not suggesting you let her go hungry by any means, but just to control what goes in when. And for dinner, make it something quite heavy, and really shovel it in Does it make sense?

Gin is SO much easier...

[SamiH]

. And for dinner, make it something quite heavy, and really shovel it in Does it make sense?

Gin is SO much easier...

Just stalking your thread Mel - Z has been a shocker the past few nights ...

SB - I would really, really, really, really love to do the heavy thing at night - but Z just does not eat yet

Mel, My DD started night issews at 12 months, and she would scream and cry until she vomited. I can't imagine how you are getting by with so little sleep, 6 months preggers, a business, and planning a move to Tassie.

I know you dont wanna do the bottle - but hun you need the sleep too. I would try a small bottle like 50mls and just see if that is enough to get her back to sleep. If that works, SLEEP for week, and then you and DH decide where to go from there.

[Jahzara]

Heres a thought -

Do you have music in her room ?

We have the radio going in DS#3's room really quietly - so if he happens to wake its not dead silent and he doesnt feel so 'alone'. Have done this with all 3 boys. Seemed to help.

Just thought it might be something that isnt related to hunger - especially if she eats heaps through the day. I wouldnt go back to giving a bottle through the night if you can help it.

Dunno Mel - just putting it out there ! Sleep deprivation sucks !

One of my SIL's has boys that have sleep issues and also they get up at 5am and she is ALWAYS saying how tired she is. The only thing i could suggest to her was to ring a place down here that can help with that sort of thing (Walker House at Newnham - incase you need it when you get here ) She did that and now she is trying the new techniques. Last time i was talking to her she was seeing an improvement.

Will keep thinking - good luck.

[Arimeh]

and really shovel it in Does it make sense?

Hmm.. we do baby led solids, so I don't actually "shovel" anything into her mouth. I dunno how I'm gonna get her to eat more if she doesn't actually want to eat it. She's a good eater and I don't want to make bad habits and make her a bad eater like her brother - who eats NOTHING - because I "shovelled" it in when he was her age. I know what you are saying, but I don't think I can let myself do that to another child of mine.

Sami - I think she pretty much drinks all of a 250ml bottle if she has it overnight... so obviously she needs it. She used to have it when she was heaps younger, and then she dropped it, and now its started up again.

ETA - chicky - yeah we have a cd going in her room all through the night, same as what is on in our room, and aricyn's room. We all have the same music and it never ends.. supposed to promote good sleeping brain waves... pffft...

[Jahzara]

Oh Mel - it sounds like you are VERY over the music !

Can you change it ?

We used to play a Beethoven type CD - now we just have the radio going.

Bummer - i dont know !

xxoo

[Jennifer13]

Mel, our DD was a 'happy' waker at your DD's age as well. And she would come into bed with us (doubly so because we took the sides off the cot as I HATED getting up in the middle of winter when it was cold!). We had to get 'tough' with her (haha) and enforce that she was very welcome in our bed, but it was not playtime. I had no troubles giving her a drink (in bed with us usually) once I night-weaned her at about 17 mths, but bed time is not party time. She was told very firmly that she needed to lie down and have snuggles, or back to her own bed. I did have to take her back a couple of times, but she got the idea relatively quickly (with a surprisingly small amount of noise!). I kinda felt it was a compromise between allowing her to cosleep and still actually getting the sleep part of that equation!

Don't know if that helps, but that was our experience.