Do you have nights like this?

[Singingmom]

She must have cried out and latched on 20 times. On a really good night dd,17mo old, might wake 3 times, but those nights are few and far between. Most nights it's more than twice that often. Last night I felt like I hardly drifted off to sleep and she was crying out again. She doesn't just roll over and latch on. She tosses and turns and hollers. I did sit her up at one point and pat her back, trying to figure out if she was having bad dreams or what, but it just kept on til morning. I woke up annoyed with my sweet, happy girl and very tired.

When I joined GCM one of my first posts was about her nighttime waking and my frustration with it. Hearing that it's common for co-sleeping children to nurse during the night and knowing that a lot of you are going through the same thing really helped my attitude and I stopped considering weaning. I don't think I want to night wean. So what is my point? I don't know, I guess I need some encouragement.

On nights like last night, is there something else I should be doing? Did she maybe not get enough food during the day? I think she's getting enough excercise. Her health is good. I wonder why she's so restless some nights, and I feel like I should be figuring it out.

Thanks for listening. I'll appreciate any of your thoughts. :-)

[joystrength]

I'm sure other mamas could offer better advice, and I don't know how old DD is .. but could it be teeth? My DD toddler is VERY restless when she'd teeth! AGH! I finally moved to the couch and sat up with her. She finally fell asleep after Tylenol, Numzit (sp) and a snack.

WHat about allergies? I've haerd that suggested too for restlessness at night.

Other mamas??

[Embracing Grace]

We're going through the same thing right now, although my little guy is younger than yours, and he's def. teething. I have no advice, just :hug.

[Radosny Matka]

:hug Could there be something in your diet that is bothering your baby? My ds can't tolerate dairy well. I ate an ice-cream last night :banghead and my son woke at 12, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and was up for the day at 6:30. :banghead :banghead :banghead I KNEW better, but I ate it anyway. :rolleyes

[Singingmom]

Thanks for the support, Mamas! :hug

I don't see any signs of teething or allergies.

I don't really pay much attention to foods I eat since she doesn't have any allergies or sensitivities herself, but I may have to keep a food journal to figure out if something is bothering her. The very next night she slept really well. :think

[Soliloquy]

My DD is 16 months and will have a night like that once in awhile. She'll nurse in her sleep, let go and roll over, and no more than 10 minutes go by before she's whimpering in her sleep and looking for me! Then she'll have a stretch of "easy" nights. I think some of it might be bad dreams. Sometimes I think it's hunger or a growth spurt. Other times I just don't know. :shrug Since I'm SAHM I can always sleep when she naps in the afternoon. I force myself to take advantage of that when we've had a rough night.

That's all I have to offer, sorry it's not more!

[Ca_mommy]

My DD has some nights like these. I am so glad to come to this board every once in a while to realize that it's okay if our little ones don't sleep throught the night. I have so many moms from my church that tell me I should just let her CIO and NOT snuggle with her during her night wakings. WHATEVER!!

Anyway, when DD is waking up LOTS, it usually means she is teething. So, I give her Hyland's teething tablets and she doesn't wake up as much. The other night, she woke up 5 times. The next day, she was chewing on her hand, books, ANYTHING! So, that night, before I started nursing her down, I gave her some tablets. The next time she woke up, I did it again. I repeated for the next one. Then, that was it! She didn't wake up again till it was daylight! PTL! That's worked for us.

Pray for patience! LOL I know I need it all the time!

This MB is like a :grouphug isn't it?