I cant find a solution to this problem!

Rosie - posted on 01/09/2011

my little girl will be 2 in feb and i can count the number of full nights sleep i've had on 1 hand :(... but jus recently we have cut her nap down in the day from 2hrs to about 30mins and have found that she is sleeping loads better. She was waking up 4 times a night and now it's only 1-2. I hope we all manage to get there in the end!! Good Luck

Natalie - posted on 01/09/2011

every child is different. dont compare to others. they will start sleepign through the night on their own pace. for my son I just give him kisses, tell him mommy loves him, but it's bedtime and go back to sleep. i keep up the same thing over and over. it takes time and patience but some nights are better than others. he still gets up too and he is 23 months. just remember when they are teenagers you will have a hard time waking them up!! :)

Nicole - posted on 01/08/2011

My daughter was the same! She is now 23 months and recently also cut more teeth! Controlled crying was the only thing that worked. 1st night: 2 hours of crying. 2nd: much the same but then it began to improve. I was in a bad habit of going in and picking up her dummy/ giving juice etc...but leaving her to cry trained her that mommy wasn't going to come anymore and eventually she got out of (as did I) what is essentially a bad habit! It was so hard. It's easier to just go in and see the her coz then I'm only away 5mins at a time as opposed to two hours and whilst listening to very difficult to listen to (without acting on it) crying. Was so hard but it's only 2 (3 max) weeks of it. It's brill now! But u need to be ready (both partners) for the onslaught at the beginning. All the best- really hope it works for u if u go for it! Xxx

Amy - posted on 01/07/2011

Have you tried just letting him cry it out? As long as they are fed & changed before bed and safe in their room it could be because you keep getting up with him in the middle of the night & he expects that from you now! My son started this now before he goes to bed at night he cries, but like I told my husband if we get him out he will expect that everynight. Yeah he may scream for 15mins but eventually he will go right to sleep. Watching Super Nanny has given me ideas as well.

Angela - posted on 01/07/2011

We all wake at night - he just needs to learn the skills to go back to sleep on his own. putting him to bed later is the wrong thing to do....is he is overtired he will not sleep well!!
My best advice - DANA OBERMAN (sp?) she is a sleepdoula I ordered he book online last year and it has given me the skills to helpmy twins sleep well....although things still change from time to time we get backon track by reading her book again.
hope this helps!!

Mary - posted on 01/07/2011

my child has never ever slept through and she is two in feb

Heather - posted on 01/06/2011

I'm sure you are happy with the child you've got but you just want some more sleep! Part of it is just the age. They are developing more complex thinking and dreaming patterns in their little busy brains. Not rewarding temper tantrums and whining is a solid behavior modification tool. But a scared or sick child often has difficulty understanfding when an exception is warranted. We did the following with our communicative and well bonded children (almost 4 and 2): We have an open door policy. They can get up, go potty, get a drink or come and get us if they want/need without scolding. If they scream for us it should be an emergency or because they are scared. They each have a soother attached to their beds - my son has his music/light thing from his crib and he tries to listen to it twice before getting us but he never makes it thru the first cycle before falling back asleep. They get POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT every couple of nights that they stay all night in bed/don't come to wake us. This may be a sticker, or the child's pick for breakfast, hugs, or a cheery song and clapping from everyone. My older child has several "points" he tries to earn for BIG prizes like helping wash the car at the car wash. We aren't buying them ponies all the time, just making them see some aspects of everyday stuff as "perks." We let them know how PROUD we are of them for trying as well and share stories about how hard it IS to learn new things - especially for adults. If they start to backslide we start over again. I still wake up when they do (because I just do!) but they don't always come get us. Most of the time they just self sooth and fall back asleep.

We also started playing a "Go to sleep. (pause for snoring and other signs of sleeping) Wake up! Wake Up!" game durring the day with the light switch and role playing "going to sleep" in a fun way. My two year old is a windmill when she sleeps and that wakes her up a lot. About half of those times she climbs back into her bed and goes to sleep again now with the most adorable little "hump!" type of attitude that I know she learned from this game.
If your kiddo is telling you when she isn't feeling well, acknowledge that big step to her and let her know how proud you are of her coming to tell you! Give her a routine or checklist for her to try when that's not her issue and she will be so proud of herself too!

Madeleine - posted on 01/06/2011

I agree you need to do it with all information on hand, that is why I gave a check list. Sleep training is just like any other form of training for a child, it is just another process of teaching him/her how it is in society and how things are done around him/her. To me it is more valuable because now when my child actually do wake up at night there is truely something wrong without fail and I can act on it constructively. Like I said they are creatures of habit and they don't like their habit (of waking at night and meeting mom) to be broken. I can' t see that any mom that know's something is wrong with her child would ignore it and in that circumstance and sleep train. If your child wake up every single night of her/his life a few times in pain I would recommed rather visiting a pead or doctor.

Aleks - posted on 01/06/2011

I would not recommend sleep training on a reflux baby/toddler! ( I actually would not recommend it for any child, but that is a different matter)
Reflux children/babies or any child with a physical issue should not be sleep trained, as they are too little to properly express any discomfort and pain issues, and their waking could be very much related to that - they may not be in huge pain, per se, but still very much uncomfortable enough to be woken or half woken by that discomfort. I sure would not want my child to then have to scream for mum on top of being uncomfortable!!!

No you don't have to sleep train a child! It is a choice, and one that should be made with all the information at hand.

That is just me.....

Beth - posted on 01/06/2011

I just finally had to start ignoring my daughter a couple months ago who is almost 2- I couldn't take it anymore and it was nothing- just checking up on me. She finally got the hint that I wasn't coming in any longer, but there was screaming involved to prepare yourself or block out the noise- it's hard to take, but now she's sleeping through after a few weeks of spurts. Good Luck, hope this helps!

Madeleine - posted on 01/06/2011

Hi Irene,
There are no reason for your baby not to sleep through. I truely believe you need to do some sleep training on her. They get programmed to wake up if that is a constant routine in their lives. I trained my son at 9months and within 3 days he slept through and still does at the age of 23 months. If however he wakes up I check the following:
1] Is he very wet
2] I offer him a bottle of water - not milk
3] If it was a nightmere or night terror I wake him totally in light, tell him all is okay and put him back to bed.
4] Make sure he's not running a fever and hasn't vomited in his bed.
5] See if he is not stuck in some dif posision he can't get out off.
6] If he hasn't got breathing difficulty due to a blocked nose etc.

If all the above is ticked and there is no reason for him to wake up now or later I tell him firmly it is sleepy time and then put him to bed. If he cries it is okay - he will. Walk out and time him for about 5-10min. If he is still crying go back in and say the same thing without picking him up. Put him back in bed. They learn that waking up with no reward i.e just being left to cry and then be put back in bed OR just getting water is not reward enough to wake up for. Three days and I promise you, you will have a diff child. Be firm it is tough love but worth it for your own sanity. Your child also becomes much happier. This has not only worked for me but for a lot of our friends and family. If you are in doubt get the help of a professional sleep trainer, some even assist over the phone.
Good luck!

Angela - posted on 01/06/2011

My son will be 2 February 3. He wakes up all the time as well, sometimes 4 times a night. I think I may be at fault because I have not weaned him from his bottle yet, and my doctor wanted me to at 1.

Brittney - posted on 01/05/2011

My daughter was waking up thirsty, so we started letting her take a sippy with water in it to bed, now she sleeps thru the night. Then lately she was waking up cold...we always shut her door at night, but when we go to bed we open her door half way and now she sleeps thru the night again. Don't know if he may be getting cold at night or not, but if you shut his door, it may be a suggestion...?? Good luck, I know it's frustrating, but he WILL start sleeping thru the night :)

Irene - posted on 01/05/2011

You are all WONDERFUL...thank you all sooooo much!!

Aleks - posted on 01/04/2011

My 22mth old daughter is exactly the same. She too wakes up frequently at night and also does have reflux issues and has had them from day dot.
What I have found is that reflux is never of it self!!! It is usually a food allergy/intollerance issue. When I have found the foods that cause her irritation and problems and have eliminated them from her diet (and even my diet - I breastfeed) and the sypmtoms have greatly improved to almost a full nights rest with may be one wake up (she usually goes anywhere from 2-6 but average is more like 2-3 per night - EVERYNIGHT!) not to mention she is like a DIFFERENT child - happy go lucky, smiley, affectionate and bubbly.
The biggest and most common culprits in any tummy issue for little kids is
* DAIRY
* Wheat/gluten
* soy
* eggs
I am currently discovering that my girl may be also sensitive to yeast ( we have already discovered that she has dairy intollerance - no, not lactose intollerance, dairy protein intollerance- and soy intollerance)
Anytime she had exposure to these things she would end up in pain, unhappy, tired (probably with headaches too), clumsy and tummy troubles, sometimes constipated and definitively refluxy (hand in mouth and occasional vomit).


This has been my experience with reflux. I too was a GERD baby, though there was no such term at the time, and I suffered it till I was about 5!!!
My suggestion would be to talk to a professional, whether a dietician, a GP/pedi regarding trying elimination diets as these can give you proper direction regarding attempting this.
Good luck. I hope my 5cents worth can help you some :-)

Stephanie - posted on 01/04/2011

I give my daughter who will be two next month her last dose of milk, (6ozs) at 6:30/7 before her bed time at 8 so she will be sure to go potty before bed. We watch her new fav. Shrek then change in jammies read a princess story say a prayer and i ask if she's ready for bed and she nods yes and says goodnight. I put a sippy cup of water in with her just in case and many times its nearly empty in the morning. I'm not familiar with GERD. Hopefully you'll get your little one down for the count soon. Mine is usually fussy at night when she has an ear infection and putting a pillow under her mattress helps with that till I get her to the doc. Good luck!!

Jennifer - posted on 01/04/2011

I have a little girl who will be 2 in February. We have been blessed with one who has slept through the night without any trouble since she was 6 weeks old. I don't know if it will help you, but we always have a fan on for her and I think the sound of it is comforting to her. She asks us now to turn it on when we put her in bed. Also, I don't KNOW but I have heard that lights at night can also affect sleep. Maybe you could try turning the night light on until he is asleep then turning it off? We do this with her and we haven't had any problems. Just a couple suggestions! :o)

Angela - posted on 01/03/2011

I have the book "Save Our Sleep" by Tizzie Hall it is fantastic and makes so much sence, all your questions will be answered in it. I started her routines at 6mths and havent looked back you would purchase her toddler book. Also have a look at the save our sleep web site and face book fan page, you will recieve lots of great tips and support from other mums. Good luck there is a light at the end of the tunnel! ;)

Laura - posted on 01/02/2011

I don't have any suggestions, but know that you are not alone.

Our 22 month old daughter still wakes up 2-4 times each night. Our doctor has said not to worry about it, so I don't. Usually, I bring her to bed with us and a little snuggling gets her back to sleep, although there have been some nights where she was fitful for whatever reason. It is sometimes frustrating, but I remind myself that, in the big picture, this is a small amount of time in her life and it will eventually stop.

Tami - posted on 01/02/2011

I can't speak to the reflux but I agree with the comment about putting your child to bed earlier, not later. My son has always been a good sleeper but I'm very strict about putting him to bed at 8 pm. He'll sleep until 7 or 8 am. Lately he's been waking up crying a couple times a week, probably from nightmares, but I do not go to him. It's tough, especialy when he's crying "Mommy, mommy, mommy" over and over, but he'll go back to sleep on his own in 2-3 minutes. If I go to him he'll be up for an hour and get all worked up when I try to get him back to sleep. It's hard, but best to let them soothe themselves back to sleep, in my opinion.

Cyndi - posted on 01/02/2011

My only suggestion would be the feflux or problems caused by it as my 22 month old has the same issue. His is "minor" so they say with little damage and irritation to the stomach lining and esophagus (they did a full GI scope and biopsy) his issues were much more severe, in addition to waking up every couple hours, which has calmed since putting him on 30 mg of prevacid a day, a pill he happily takes with joy by the way, he even looks froward to t. He was also not eating-at all, he slowly dwindles fromt he point of switching from bottle to food, and slowly he came down to only being able to swallow baby puffs made for crawlers that melt in their mouth. hes also had other issues unrelated to the stomach issues that have hindered his speech so he is still unable to tell me much, besides grabbing his belly and crying he cant tell me. He is just learning words now die to the wrong doctor not diagnosing an ear infection for so long, he couldnt hear properly. He now has tubes in his ears and is coming along well but still behind. I would suggest just requesting to see a GI specialist if you havent already, he may have some irritation that is just sothering him at night but not feeling like typical reflux. My heart goes out to you as a mom that still is up more nights than not and hasnt slept now in 5 days. Good luck!

Mellissa - posted on 01/01/2011

May be see an ENT as these can be the reason for disruptive sleep! does snore at night? does he suffer from tonsilitis much or ear infections?

Timora - posted on 01/01/2011

You also might try the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weisbluth. I don't agree with everything he says, but he offers some helpful suggestions. One thing he suggests that's contrary to what you might think is that children have trouble sleeping when they are overtired, so you might actually need to put him down to bed earlier and he'll sleep later. If I put my daughter to bed by 8:30 she'll usually sleep until 8, but if it's 9:30 then she's apt to wake up at 7. It's really hard, but I would also suggest that if you know he is ok and doesn't need anything, don't pick him up despite his cries. Give him a short explanation that it is time to sleep, quick I love you and then let him learn to fall asleep on his own. It's really tough to listen to them cry and there are other things you can try first if you don't like that method, but my daughter is so stubborn, she would just try to play and talk to me if I was in the room.

Molly - posted on 12/31/2010

Both of my children (my son is almost 4 and my daughter is 22 months) had sleeping issues close to turning 2. I bought a book by Dr. Ferber on sleep training. Both now sleep through the night (7 pm to 7 am). I highly recommend the book. While some feel he is controversal, I believe it is because they haven't read his book. I feel terrible for you because it is horrible to not get a good night's sleep. Hang in there!

Lana - posted on 12/31/2010

Mine doesn't wake up every night but sometimes..... do you take them out of the crib when they wake up? If so...stop doing it and just fall asleep on the floor beside their crib. When you take them out everytime, they use it as a crutch and then want it EVERY night. If they know you won't take them out then they might decide to put themselves back to sleep. Also, I talked to my pediatrician and she said that my son on;t needs a cup to cup and half of milk per day now ( so long as he's eating solid food regularly for supper). And to cut back even more if they eat cheese throughout the day. I found that giving my son milk before bedtime was filling up his stomach too much and he had a hard time getting to sleep and staying asleep. That's my advice...take it or leave it but good luck and Happy New Year! :)

Irene - posted on 12/30/2010

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!!!!
I was touched to read so many wonderful replies.
Happy holidays to ALL of you.God bless.

Sheri - posted on 12/29/2010

do not know if this will help but my 22 month old JUST (1 week) started sleeping through the night. I had to commit to a plan and not give in. I commited to going in when he cried but NOT picking him up NO MATTER WHAT. I just patted his back and said night-night. It only took 2 long nights and he started sleeping though. I think that he knew that I would come in and pick him up if he cried but now that he knows that he wont get held he he sleeping though. Hope this info helps and good luck!!!

Ashley - posted on 12/28/2010

My son who will also be 2 in feb, wakes up from time to time in the middle of the night. But usually only if he's got wet pants. Sometimes he pee's so much that I have to actually change his clothes/sheets! But usually I'll get him somethin to drink too and he'll go right back to bed... Granted I even go in there. It depends on how desperate his cry is. If he's just fussin' then i let it be. And he'll go right back to bed. I say just hang in there. Just cause he's still waking up doesn't mean there's anything wrong.

Leanne - posted on 12/28/2010

Try giving him/her a bit of gripe water before bed.........also if he is waking up wait for 10 minutes before you go in the room, then only go in and comfort don't pick up, next time wait a bit longer each time, if he is waking up and getting a reaction right away that may be why he is still doing it, if he wakes up and no one comes then he may stop waking up cause no reaction

Carly - posted on 12/28/2010

Hi, I saw you replied to my other post but I wanted to say lots of stuff has potassium in it, tons of juices (just don't give her anything too acidic like OJ if she has reflux) like even prune juice and carrot juice. Yogurt is a good one too. Check out this list of high potassium foods http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/pot...
The potassium helps with lactic acid buildup, which occurs in the muscles from exercise and lots of playing and running around, then causes leg cramps when asleep. I still have yet to find any studies done of kids, but there is tons of adult data and it definitely can't hurt to try a potassium rich food somewhere near bedtime. Best of luck :)

PENNY - posted on 12/28/2010

We had the same problem and our doctor suggested giving our little one a yogurt 10 mins before putting her down for bed. She too, has GERD and is teething. It has been working really well.She now sleeps through the night and it also helps with the reflux. Hope this helps some. GL

Ashley - posted on 12/28/2010

My daughter will be 2 in feb and she still wakes up all the time through out the night. I have dont everything you have done from feeding her more foods to putting my child to sleep later. Does your child go right back to sleep or is she up and ready to play when she wakes up in the middle of the night? my daughter wakes up and I give her something to drink and she goes back to sleep. However she did go through a faze where she would wake up so scared in the middle of the night her screams could of woke up the dead! I talked to my Dr. about it and he say she was having night mares. However my child still wakes up in the middle of the night I wish I had some anwser but I dont.