Is she just seeking attention or being "compulsive"

[teepee2]

Im starting to get a little worried about my 3.5yr old DD. For the last few months she's started to become extremely particular about things. It started with taking dolls/teddies to bed. She started with 1 and it escalated to about 5-6. Each one had to be covered by her blanket and if they werent positioned exactly how she wanted she'd throw a hissy fit. Eventually I lost it and told her she could only have 1 or none.

Now that ive taken those away she's become obsessed with her doona. It has to be tucked in, in a particular way and she wakes several times a night screaming because its been messed up. Only i can tuck her in because she says daddy doesnt know how to do it the way she likes it. She also is tends to repeat the same thing over and over. For eg at night she keeps saying "mummy dont forget to come back and check on me and sit here for a little bit" - she says those exact words sometimes up to 10 times in a row before I even leave the room - no matter how much I reassure her she has to keep saying it. If she wakes during the night she starts to repeat it again - word for word!!

Other small things ive noticed are things like when she drinks from a cup or bottle with pics/characters on them she has to turn it around to a certain position before she'll drink from it. She has milk from one of those sippy cups with princess' on them and if the spout doesnt line up with the blue princess she starts to cry and refuses to drink from it.

We have a new baby due in April and I initially thought she wanted extra attention as she know the baby will be here soon but then on the days when she's being so particular and we get no sleep because of that damn blanket I start to worry that maybe there's something more to it?

Anyone been through this before? Any advise on how I can get her to stop this compulsive behaviour??

I cant survive on close to no sleep for too much longer!!!!

Sorry for the long post.. thanks xx

[*Sparklez*]

my nephew does this very same thing and his 14 now.. and he also has autism

In no way am i saying that your daughter has this but there are some disorders where this is actually real..
You can enquire with your GP on what he thinks but it can also just be she is becoming quiet a particular young little lady..

i can imagine how frustrating it is getting my ds has to have his blanket a certain way and he makes sure he can see the train on one side and if its not there i have to turn it, and as for cups he has one cup he will use and thats it..

[Oorki Galoorki]

could be just a phase too.. my DD has been like that for a while but as she is getting better at reasoning we are not seeing it as often

[Winter]

Sounds tricky. How about a chat with your GP or health nurse just to either put your mind at ease or have a bit of a plan for follow up assessment?

[Daytona's Mummy]

I know how much you must be worrying, exhausted & stressed. Go talk to your GP & he will give you a referral. Even if it turns out she is just attention seeking, a professional will be able to give you the right advice & tips on how to either conquer it or hopefully reduce the severity of it.
My DS has very mild OC and we cope quite well with him, my nephew (15.5 yo) & sister (42yo) has it quite severely and I know how frustrating & exhausting it is. both my sister & nephew though have other mental conditions which really make controlling their OC quite difficult (&makes it worse to a degree).
Seek help now while she is so young incase it is OC. It may even be an underlying anxiety issue in which case a childhood psychologist (or similar)will still be able to help.

To me It does sound very obsessive (like with her cup) but being that she is insisting you come & check on her, there may be something making her anxious (any nightmares?)

Hope this helps you, as I said, my son is only very mild so I'm not the best person to have replied but I just wanted to offer you support. I really don't think she is just seeking attention, but I don't know enough about it to pass judgement ITMS.

[MummaSue]

Have you asked her why she does these things? Is she able to verbalise it?

[aussienic]

My DD is a little like this. She has 4 dolls in her bed at the moment and we have to kiss each of them and tuck them in :/

She also does the same thing with her water bottle although not everytime just when she is in a mood

We also get the hissy fits when things aren't right. Like if we don't give her the right plate or put her food out right (sauce on the side instead on top ect)

In my opinion it is normal although highly annoying.

In regards to her waking because her blanket is messed up.. Maybe teach her how to do it and tell her mummy is tired and won't be getting up in the night to fix it so she has to learn how to do it kwim??

[*Belle*]

hon. My daughter does the same thing in her bed. It has subsided lately so I think its just a phase for her. However, I do have OCD not about lining things up a certain way though, I have germ OCD fears. So I watch her all the time as it is genetic. So my question is hon does anyone in your family have a history of OCD? It could be nothing just a phase, depends if it continues for like a year, saying that though, children will regress a bit in behaviour when a new baby comes so try to involve her with the baby as much as you can. If it still goes on in a year, I would get a referal to a child psych, I already have a psych and my psych watchs DD1 when she comes with me to see if she shows any traits.

[teepee2]

Thanks ladies

I really appreciate your time and opinions. Hopefully it's just a phase but I think I might see my GP and see what he suggestes.

Daytona's Mummy we saw a behavioural pead last year for sleeping issues as we thought Miss M might have been having night terrors - she hadnt slept through the night since she was a baby and would wake screaming. The paed told us that she was basically just 'playing us' for attention, which may very well be the case again, and gave us some tips on how to stop it which thankfully worked. She really helped so i'll ring to see if our referal is still current for her.

MummaSue I have asked her why and all she says is that she likes it that way. Ive also tried to get her to pull her own blankets up if she wakes at night but she cries saying that she cant do it "right" by herself.

Belle thanks for your feedback hun, i was going to ask you but didnt want to seem like I was prying No-one in my family has OCD that I know of. This has come on suddenly with M (over only a few months) so I didnt really know what to make of it. She'll also only sleep in one particular spot on her bed and its driving me nuts!! I think id be best seeing someone just in case and if it isnt anything to worry about then they can hopefully give me some ideas on how to help her overcome it. M's very excited about the new baby, as im sure your girls are, im more concerned about how the little one will cope with that - he can get quite jealous LOL

Thanks again everyone xx

[*Belle*]

Your welcome hon. We are both in the same boat! I too worry about Little T and how she will handle No.3 baby, she gets very jealous if I give Miss J a hug and then jumps all over me so she is first... let me know how you go xxx How you feeling this pregnancy? hope all is well. We shall have to catchup again sometime xxx

[teepee2]

T sounds just like master M! He got very upset the other night because I was rocking a friends pram, I didn't even attempt to pick the baby up LOL. Would love to catch up again. We should arrange something soon.