Stopping 2 1/2year night feeds? ideas

[dmlk]

Hi all

Any ideas how to stop a 2 1/2year from wanting their night feed. My oldest slept through before 1 1/2years.

I have tried watering down milk, just giving water.
I am now trying a change from bottle to beaker.

If only they could just sleep through with out waking. Hardest part of parenting is the sleepless nights.

[J90]

could be a few things that may help but after trying them you'll prob find out none work and you just have to wait for that moment when it happens naturally, you could try either reducing food before bed or adding more, monitoring temperature in room, walking or a tiring exercise before bed, basically just ways to make them more comfortable and have a deeper sleep. But with my first born, it just happened as he got older.

[KeyboardDemon]

Have you tried giving the child a bath before bed time?

We are sleep training our 16 month child, she is at the stage now where she might wake up and cry in the night but we won't pick her up we will just tell her to go back to sleep and she does. She used to wake up every 50 to 90 minutes, now she wakes up around 1:30 to 2:00 and then again around 7:00 to 7:30 now but she doesn't ask for a feed.

With yours I would try and sit with the child when it wakes and just try telling it to go back to sleep. It took us two or maybe three nights to get our girl sleep trained.

[dmlk]

Thanks for the ideas,

We always have the following bed time routine:
Bath/shower
Milk
Brush Teeth
Read story
Bed

She has always woken up and I guess it is now a habit being that she is 2 1/2 now. The last time I tried just holding her and then putting her back to sleep she cried for hours. We have tried the control crying but she is a very determine kid!!

I think she has also got too use to falling asleep on us so therefore needs to learn how to do it by herself once she wakes up.

[J90]

i know the determined kid feeling! our 1 1/2 year old is the same, some times he falls asleep no problem at all, but others he up and can scream longer than i can deal with!
Enjoy the cuddling falling to sleep thing, before long they are 5 years old going on 16 and glued to lego games on the xbox untill you turn the power off!

[spiral out]

My eldest didn't sleep through till she was three and the youngest still isn't sleeping through at two, i'm hoping she will get the hang of it by her next birthday. We tried all sorts of things with the eldest but nothing worked for us, so we're going with the flow this time as we know the youngest will sleep through in her own time.

I look forward to an uninterupted nights sleep.

[shelley bda]

How long did you try the controlled crying for? these things take a lot of time and a lot of patience, so consistency is the key to breaking the habit of waking up. She doesn't need the milk, but she has got used to waking up to have her milk. So the trick is to break the sleep association habit, agree with your partner a plan and stick to it.

If she cries after you leave the room increase the checks, as soon as she settles leave the room. Could take a few attempts, could be a hundred or more. Try not to pick her up, just give her the reassurance that you are there. Gently stroking the side of her cheek, bridge of her nose or forehead....I work in a Day Nursery and that is a sure fire way to help get tired children off to sleep

[deejayburnout]

My son is 2 and must get up twice a night. Mainly he usually needs a wee cuddle and down he goes but sometimes he is up for hours. we have tired

keeping him up a little later
feeding him more
bath
warm milk
tiring him out
no tv before bed
whiskey
tramadol
blows to the head

ok i joke with the last 3 but we have tried everything and nothing seems to work. we do think that it is a phase that he is going through and will grow out of it. when? we don't know but we just have to grin and bear it.

My wife and i just take turns to get up with him.

[eltel]

from what I have just read how many of the children are still sleeping in the parents room? as from my own experience the sooner they get their own room as soon as possible helps, and you end up with a few weeks of them waking up crying and wanting feeding that you slowly remove the attention . It's a parents natural instinct to respond to a crying child and providing you are sure your child is healthy you should leave them to wake up/cry and naturally go back to sleep. whilst you keep responding to them they will keep waking up. this is what worked for us and my two children are now 11 and 13 ( the 13yr old is going through the Kevin and Perry stage!) so you think you have it bad now just wait...................

[dmlk]

My youngest is sleeping in her own room and has been for nearly a year now.

I have tried controlled crying but she is very different to my eldest. She will just scream and cry until you pick her up. We have tried what shelley has suggested. It is hard but as many people say a phase (Hopefully).

Every now and again my youngest seems to give us hope by sleeping through but then this lasts a night or two only. I think she is toying with us!!

[spiral out]

Every now and again my youngest seems to give us hope by sleeping through but then this lasts a night or two only. I think she is toying with us!!

My eldest did exactly the same, sleep through a few nights and wake a few nights, then one day she just stopped waking at night.

[Joe75]

you slowly remove the attention...................

This sounds awful. Small children need the attention, it's what helps them to thrive. They also wake up more often than adults but it doesn't last as long. I'd say that if you really want it to stop then offer them water instead, or just a cuddle. They will get a bit upset but it wont last for long. They probably aren't hungry, maybe it's just a comfort thing. We bought ours a new teddy, one of those things that glow in the dark, (globear maybe?) and she cuddled that when she woke up. Good luck.