Really need advice!! Nighttime problems, new baby on the way

[Shannie77]

I have a wonderful 2.5 year old (and I am due in May with DD #2, DD#1 will be 3 in May). She is so easy to parent during the day.

She has never slept through the night which I am fine with. She still nurses and sleeps with us. I was hoping to move here to her own bed before the baby arrives though.

Starting in August she started waking up each night screaming, crying etc. Each night was different. Sometimes it seemed like it was a night terror, sometimes she was hungry, sometimes in pain. This is when she started getting her 2 year molars, and my milk dried up shortly there after.

2 weeks ago her final tooth came through, and she is still waking up almost every night. She wants out of bed, she says she is hungry (and will eat an english muffin), she wants to watch TV etc... Often she will end up having a temper tantrum, that can last up to an hour - she rarely tantrums like that during the day.

I feel so incredibly lost and alone. I have no idea why she is continuing to do this. I don't let her watch much TV at all, and definitely not any close to bed time. She goes down for bed and naps fairly easily. Her diet is pretty good. She is excited about the new baby and doesn't seem to be aware that things might be hard for her when our new one arrives.

How would you deal with this? Is there anything I can do? When she starts to get really upset I take her to the basement so that my husband can have a bit of quite. If she says she is hungry I feed her. I feel so controlled by her at night, and so scared about how on earth I can deal with her and a new baby!! I am already totally exhausted and the baby hasn't even arrived.

Any advice or thoughts would be so much appreciated.

Thanks!

[ssh]

Is she still napping? How much total hours does she sleep a day? Does she have a bedtime snack?

[Shannie77]

We sometimes give her a bedtime snack, but it hasn't seemed to stop her from waking up. I think I will get back into the habit again just in case it does help. We were giving her a bowl of oatmeal with berries.

She still naps (1-3). She usually sleeps 11 (9pm-8am) hours at night (although she might be up for 2 of them), and then has a 2 hour nap. Sometimes she will nap longer if we have a really bad night and sometimes less. If she doesn't nap she WILL fall asleep around 5pm.

[ssh]

Maybe she is getting too much sleep. Kid's sleep needs change as they get older. I think about 12 hours is normal for that age. Have you tried waking her after one hour of napping or putting her to bed an hour or two later? My DD gave up her nap at 27 months. She just wasn't going to sleep at night. The transition period was really awful, grumpy and tired early or up at night.

[BlackSheepPDX]

My DD is the same age and we're having similar sleep issues, at least as far as her crying out (8:30 and 11 ish) and waking during the night (2am). She hasn't napped regularly for months, and she pretty peacefully passes out by about 6:30/7, and gets up about 6:30am. We don't turn on lights or get up and do stuff when she wakes, but there seems to be a common major waking period around 2 am, where one of us takes her potty and then has to spend 30-60 minutes with her flipping and fidgeting getting back to sleep. She is getting her last molars on top right now, so I'm hoping once that passes she'll calm down. I really want her to be a "good sleeper" someday soon, with our #2 coming in August.

[LindsC]

I second the idea of a bedtime snack to see if that helps. We had a similiar problem with Logan right around Christmas time where he was constantly waking up, but it was mostly for a drink since he had grown so accustomed to having a cup of water in his room at night and we tried to take it away so we could work on potty training.

Have you thought of keeping a small, simple snack upstairs in her room for her? That way she isn't going downstairs and asking for TV, etc and you are still able to let Dh get his rest. How much was she nursing during the night before your supply dried up? Is it possible that she is thirsty or missing the comfort of nursing during the night?

I hope that you are able to figure something out soon. s:

[gorgorita]

Please don't throw rocks at me but my suggestion is stop nursing her during night. This is what helped us. DD is 2 and i couldn't bear any more sleepless nights. She would wake up, throw a fit for an hour or so. I started to give her breast only 2 times a night. Then, gradually only by morning. Now, one before bed and that's it till morning. I though it will be difficult but DD took it easier than I expected. When she wanted to nurse I would hold her and talk to her. So, it's not cio method but gentle enough.
Just my 2 cents