i'm just wondering if anyone else has encountered this problem. if so, how did you handle it?
i have 2 daughters. dd1 slept 12 hr. through the night by 13-16 m. dd2 is very different. she's only slept through the night on and off. i think the fact that she has frequent colds, disabling her from breathing when lying down horizontal, has been the biggest culprit.
anyway, these days--or nights, rather--she DOES sleep through the night, but awakens extremely early without the ability to return to sleep! her bedtime is 8:00 p.m., but she awakens every morning around 5:30. thing is: she wakes up--we believe--with the urge to pee and wanting NOT to wet her diaper. until last wk., at 5:30 a.m., i'd go into her rm. to check on the matter, wondering especially if her diaper had leaked. when i find her dry, i lay her down again and try to return her to sleep. but, within min., she would stand up once more, and scream with pee having flooded her bedclothes and sometimes bedlinen. she retains a lot of fluid! so, dh & i figure that she wakes up at that time in need to pee, without wanting to do so in her diaper.
during the day, we've been watching dd2 self-train to go to the potty. we've not forced anything on her whatsoever, but she has observed her older sister long enough, and now wants to do it herself, too. hurray! mind you, she's still in diapers 'cause she misses 50% of the time, but most of the day, she's busy trying to rip off her diaper to prove her independence! yes, she's in the thick of THAT stage where she strongly shouts "no!" and shows physical resistance to whatever she fancies, several times a day.
in an attempt to relief dd2 of some of her bladder content, so that she (and the rest of us) could sleep in later, i've tried to wake her up for a pee before i head to bed. but, oh, the resistance is unbelievable! she wants to do everything HERSELF. the only way i can get her to even leak out a bit is to place her in the bathtub and gently hose her with warm water, waist down. then, and only then, i've observed a trickle, but she still holds back as much as she can! (sigh)
the first time i did this--pee her before i go to bed--she slept through the night and woke up at 7:30 a.m. the next morning! perfect! back on track, so i thought. but, that lasted only once. ever since, she's returned to waking up at 5:30, sometimes dry, sometimes wet, but after i change her into a fresh diaper, she refuses to return to sleep!
i notice that dd2 is more cranky than usual and i'm assuming that she's overtired. whereas she would normally sleep 12.5-13 hr. around the clock, she now only sleeps approximately 10.5-11 hr. way not enough for a 24 month old! previous to this problem, dd2 had slept 11-11.5 at night, and 1.5 for her nap. due to this problem, i've tried to extend her nap longer so she'd get enough sleep, but i found that to backfire. for example, if i give her an extra 45 min. for her nap, she will wake up an extra 45 min. early, making it a wake-up scream at 4:45 a.m. (rather than 5:30 a.m.)! it's really exhausting our whole family!
has anyone else been here? if so, how did you overcome this?
