Much Needed Sleep, HELP!!!

Hi C.

I have a 5 year old daugter who still wakes up all through the night(that is a whole other story). She was on the bottle til she was 3! I actually had a Dr. who told me not to take it from her when she was 2 at the time because it would have done more harm then good. What happened though is anytime she lost it she would scream and I would have to go searching for it. I got tired of getting up all through the night and decided to just take it away. It was hard but I took it away on a friday (knowing I would get no sleep) and had to stay up all night long with her. It took 2 days and we broke the bad habit! It was worth it.Hope this helps.

The main thing is to not give in. If you give in then she will know to cry and cry because you will then give in.

For more of a long-term approach, not a quick-fix, a really good book on helping babies and children develop good sleep habits is "Happy Child, Healthy Sleep Habits." Another good book that deals with training babies to develop good sleep patterns (as well as taking on other general issues) is "On Becoming Babywise."

I hope you get some "quick fix" advice, too, because I know it is no fun to go without sleep! Best wishes.

When I was desperate in the sleep area, this book helped me. Maybe it will help you too:
by Marc Weisbluth, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

It is a great sleep book! Good luck.

Try putting cereal in her late evening bottle. Water down a couple of her bottles. In one of my baby books it says to do that. Give her the watered down bottles at night and water down more each night. Eventually it won't be worth it to wake up for water. It worked for my son. Good luck.

My 29 month old has never wanted to go to sleep, but ever since I got him the Fisher Price Aquarium he will lay there and listen to the music and watch the fish and lights. And, he presses the button during the night to help him go back to sleep.

E. P.

Switch it for a little sippy cup full of water. My almost 3-year old sleeps with her sippy cup cradled like a teddy bear. I have no idea why. She is one of those kids that never did like baby bottles. She went straight from the breast to a sippy cup. Gerber makes a nice small one that doesn't leak. You can find it at Target. It's curved a little so it's easy to hold. I'd start making the switch during day time though so it's not something foreign to her at night.

When we took our son off of the bottle he was 14 months. What we did was buy some of the Nuby sippy cups that have a soft nipple/top. That's what he would use to take his milk out of at night. If you haven't tried those yet I would recommend it. It might let her think that it's still a bottle.

Not sure what to suggest though to help her sleep through the night.

I hope this helps a bit! Good luck to you!

L.

I had the same problem with my son a while back. What I started doing was give him a little more milk (2-3 oz.) before going to bed. And at night I would give hime less and less milk and then eventually not give him any milk at all. He eventually rejected the bottle all together and started only sippy cups. Then I gradually took away the sippy cups now he drinks from a cup or cup with straw(husband can't make him drink from cup without the straw).

Also remember that not every child is the same you decide when she should be off the bottle not when books, doctors, or other people say she should be off the bottle.

Good Luck.

C.,
My son just turned 1 and needs a bottle or shall I say a drink once or twice a night as well. He hasn't been on the bottle since he was 7 months old. I saw that your daughter takes a cup during the day why not try the cup at night. I don't have much advice on the not getting any sleep. I don't think I have gotten to sleep through the night more than a couple nights since he was born. Every child has there own time. Hope this helps.

R.