17 mnth old awake 2-3 hours every night - done this for months please help!!!

[annie74]

Hello

This is my first post and I am so desperate for some help.  I have researched like mad for months to try and find a solution to my dd night waking but everything  seems to involve getting the babies to sleep, not keeping them like that.  Heres the problem:

Happy, active all day, eats well.
Nap at 11am for 1-2 hours - goes to sleep no problem
Bed 6.30pm - goes to sleep no problem

Wakes between 12-4am for anything from 2-3 hours.  She is not crying all of this time but is clearly upset.  For 3 months we've just gone in, lay her back down, reassured her and walked out again a few minutes later.  She does not cry when we leave but 15-30 Min's later starts shouting or crying again.  She has had a cold recently so some times we give her a bit of water.

Her room is not too hot or cold (we have alternated between a duvet and sleeping bag thinking it might be that waking her).  We have tried a night light and no nightlight in case she is scared.  Its not as if she even wants to be up and about playing - she just can;t get herself back to sleep.  She has a teddy and relies on thumbsucking rather than a dummy.

She then wakes up between 7.30 and 8 which is great but we have lost up to 3 hours in the night!

I am absolutely shattered, expecting baby n0 2 and am at my wits end.  My health visitor is looking into a sleep clinic but heaven knows how long that will take.  I dread every night.

Any thoughts or help would be hugely appreciated.
Many Thanks in anticipation xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[annie74]

Thanks for your advice.

I'm going to try two naps for a while and see if that helps.  Last night she woke from 3.40am for an hour and a half and was up at 7.30am.  Shes had a nap for an hour from 11.15 till 12.15 and then i'll see if she'll have one again this afternoon.  She does appear tired on many afternoons but i've always thought if shes sleeping for up to 2 hours over lunchtime then she'll not sleep late afternoon and then go to bed.  However, i have nothing to lose and will just push bedtime back a little and see.  The more i think about it the more i think this all started a month or so after she went from 2 to 1 naps in the day so she could well be overtired.

Anyway - i'm feeling more positive as we haven't tried altering her daytime naps (having tried everything else we can think of!!) so fingers crossed!

Thanks again xxx

[annie74]

Thanks Stacy.

Shes had a nap for 3/4 hour this afternoon - it took her half an hour to get to sleep but she was just chatting to herself so i guess had rest with peace and quiet too.  (although has appeared a bit confused since she woke up as its getting dark outside!).  I'll play it by ear for bed tonight and give her a short nap tomorrow morning and try again in the afternoon.  I guess this way she should get about two hours spread throughout the day and like you say hopefully she'll not be overtired in the night.  I always assumed that if she was over tired she wouldn't settle at bed time. But i suppose when i'm really tired I often have a rubbish sleep at night.

Thanks for your help - its good to get someone elses perspective on the situation.
xx