Daughter waking at night

Melion

Looking for a bit of advice here. Our 14 month old daughter has gotten an awful habit recently. She goes down to bed about 8pm, she used to sleep straight through til 6 or 7 the next morning(maybe waking once during the night for a few minutes).

However the last few weeks she has started waking between 11 and 12 and staying awake for 3-4 hours at a time(she was awake from 11 until 5 one night last week). She wont stay in her cot, she gets into hysterics when we try to put her back into it. All she wants is to be up and playing. She screams the house down if we leave her on her own in her room.

Any ideas?

Her mother thinks it could be seperation anxiety(we split recently so my daughter doesnt see me as often as she was used to)

deelite

Is your daughter taking any naps during the day? My youngest used to wake up like your little girl and wouldn't go back down. I found that stopping her napping at anytime in the afternoon helped.

January

If she's still having two naps a day that could be it.

Is she teething? It could be her back teeth coming in and getting at her.

Is it cold in the room? My 21 month old was waking recently and we realised her room was colder than the whole house (the rad wasn't working!), fixed it and she's started sleeping through again.

Is she hungry? If she's recently started walking/crawling/standing up on her own, she's burning extra calories and could need extra food...

Melion

Her sleeping pattern is pretty much(or was until this all started)

Wake at 6am, back to sleep about 9 until 11. Afternoon nap from about half 2 til 4.

Melion

We were doing a "sleep feed" before aswell. We used to give her 4-5oz of a bottle at about 12 at night, that seemed to keep her down through the night. That doesnt work anymore.

Could it be because we stopped using formula and are now using normal milk?

gowayouttadat

Does you feed her when she wakes?

Have you tried giving her a few spoons of cereal or something to fill her up in case she's hungry?

My little man is 14 months this week and I think this is what i'd try:

1) Suppository going to bed in case she's getting teeth
2) Cereal before bed in case she's hungry
3) Make sure the room is warm enough

Does she fall asleep herself when she's going to bed? In other words she's capable of falling back to sleep herself when she wakes?

If you're sure she's not hungry or in pain maybe try controlled crying. Tough but effective.

yungwan

gowayouttadat wrote: »

Does you feed her when she wakes?

Have you tried giving her a few spoons of cereal or something to fill her up in case she's hungry?

My little man is 14 months this week and I think this is what i'd try:

1) Suppository going to bed in case she's getting teeth
2) Cereal before bed in case she's hungry
3) Make sure the room is warm enough

Does she fall asleep herself when she's going to bed? In other words she's capable of falling back to sleep herself when she wakes?

If you're sure she's not hungry or in pain maybe try controlled crying. Tough but effective.

+1 on all this.

If you are certain after trying all of the above that there is nothing wrong with her and she has been fed something filling before bed (e.g. yogurt, mashed banana, cereal etc) and she still is not settling, you will have to ignore her. I would also get out of the habit now of feeding her when she wakes at night. I would imagine she should be getting enough food during the evening now to sleep through. It is tough but necessary. They go through a stage at this age where they try to get their own way all the time, but you have to lay down the law and make sure she understands bedtime is bedtime.

If she gets out of her cot, pick her up and put her back in her cot and tuck her in, say night night and leave the room. You will have to do this a few times and will get tiring for you and her, but do not give up. Eventually she will realise that she will not get her way. It will work.

axel rose

I think that all the above suggestions are very good. However I think that you may have something when you mention separation anxiety. My husband died when my son was 15 months old and recognise some of what you describe. In fact he was very traumatised by his dads disappearance (in his mind).

I practiced attachment parenting. It is what it says on the tin. He needed to stick to me night noon and morning. You may suffer for it but I suggest that you bring her into your bed and let her sleep with you.