17 month old frequently waking at night

[jbrmom]

my daughter is 17 months old and I stopped nursing her 3 weeks ago. She did very well with it but is of course taking a bottle to replace the nursing. She used to get up 2 to 3 times a night to nurse and now is doing that for the bottle. She doesn't need to. How do I stop this horrible habbit we have gotten into? I have read a bit on both the pu/pd method and the walkin/walkout method. Would either of these work for me and which would work better....help....I need sleep! this had gone on long enough!

jbrmom

[Florencia]

Hi jbrmom! I feel your pain, but don't worry, this has a solution.

First I need to know how a regular day looks like for your dd. How long does she sleep during the day and how does she go down for sleep (both, nap and bedtime). If she manages to go down independently we havea better chance to solve the night wakings easily, if not, we have to work first with her going down to teach her how to sleep independently.

Second, is she teething? she's in the age for teething molars, which can be an awful pain that can be healed by chewing, hence her need to wake and chew. If she's teething, some pain meds (ok'd by your ped) before bed might help her sleep through, along with the right sleep training technique.

As you post your regular routine, I'd suggest you to take a look at the FAQ section of this board under the threads Most Common Sleep Busters and Teaching Independent Sleep. In the first one you'll find possible explanations for night wakings and short sleep periods, and you'll be able to see if something rings a bell. On the second one you'll get to know the different sleep training methods we work with and pick one you think will suit you and her best to succeed.

Meantime I'd suggest you to start watering down the bottles each night more and more. This might help her stop waking for milk cause once they realize that's all they're gonna get, they stop waking.

HTH and keep us posted!

[jbrmom]

wow, thanks, it sure sounds hopeful. Here is our routine

wake at 7-7:30am
breakfast
play
snacks
lunch
play
1-3ish nap - she goes down completely on her own, I lay her down say night night cover her and leave the room. 9 times out of 10 she doesn't even sqwak and wakes up happy happy

snack
play
supper
play
bath
7:45 bedtime. we used to nurse in her room then when she was done I would lay her down say good night cover her up and leave the room. Same as at nap time, almost no complaining ever and if any it was very short lived.

now she takes the bottle to bed because she doesn't want to sit in the chair with me and have it like I was hoping she would. sniff sniff so off to bed with the bottle she goes and I am pretty sure she is asleep when she is done it and that it has become a prop. oops

tell me how to fix this and am I decreasing the amount of fluid in the bottle so eventually she has nothing there or am I just slowly replacing the milk with water!

oh and yes she is teething, her third molar is on the way in.

jbrmom

[Florencia]

Hi back and thanks for the update!

By looking at your schedule she does not seem to be facing overtiredness, she has healthy sleep habits so all this waking at night must be teething related. The pain is sometimes so strong that chewing is the only way to soothe it for a while so that might be the reason why the bottle is the only way to get her down and back to sleep.

Talk to your ped about this and see what s/he has to say about this. Teething her 3rd molar means she's almost at the end of this phase, but she still has one molar to go and the eyeteeth if they're not out yet (and they're also trouble makers, i can guarantee you). Talk to her about teeth and pain during awake times so she knows how to verbalize/sign it when it shows at night. Press the gums with your fingers or scratch them lightly and ask her if this hurts. Show her the oraljel (or any teething gel you use) and let her know it's the "special gum healer". Anytime she feels discomfort, she can get gel rubbed on her gums instead of a bottle.

Along with this, I'd suggest you to try and rub the gel during night wakings instead of offering the bottle. IF you're stuck with 3 bottles at night, try and cut one each third day. Instead of giving in and offer the bottle, try WI/WO (if you have the energy and stamina to hold on through the 2 hours of screams it will likely last) or gradual withdrawal (both described in the FAQ section). The first 2 nights will be the longest cause that's when you'll stablish you won't be giving in. If she's in pain, she gets the cuddles (short and brief) and the meds but nothign else. You wont' be leaving her to scream her head off, with both methods you're right next to her to keep her acompanied while she gets the grip on this, so she won't feel abandoned, and you won't be torturing her, just showing her a different way to deal with things. Keep this in mind as the screaming/crying lasts cause if you can hold on for 30 mins but then give in and offer a bottle, you won't be teaching her anything but "cry harder and youg et what you want". YOu have to be mentally and physically ready to try this for 2 long nights. After this, I think she'll slow down the night wakings but if she's too stubborn you might have to face a week of sleepless nights. IT will be totally worth it cause at the end you're gonna have a good sleeper and your nights back.

HTH and keep us posted!