Well definitely spoke to soon, iv been trying to get her to sleep since 8pm and shes still awake, my goodness im tired and stressed. I WANT sleep!! Feel like crying My baby boy is asleep and i bet as soon as dd evenually drifts off he will wake up. Seems like 5am is my new bed time i dont seem to get to bed before then.

Thanks ladies. I tried not letting her have a sleep during the day she only used to have half an hour in the afternoon but iv dropped that now. I also tried putting her to bed later too, it worked for the first couple of nights but shes gone back to waking up. Most nights not all she will go to bed ok but about 3 hours after going to bed shes awake again. Then its hard getting her back off.  For the past couple of nights iv just sat with her in the dark then asked her to choose a toy to take to bed with her, once she has chosen a toy that is safe she will go back to sleep, she was only up for 20mins last night. I dont want to count my chickens though, but im hoping she continues to get better. xx

I sympathise totally with you, Im a single mum and my 22 month old doesn,t sleep.  Well sayin that i was home all last week from work and he slept the whole week.  Now im back at work he,s up.  The only advice i can offer is going into the room puttin her back down without eye contact or talking to her.  Works sometimes with my little man, as most of the time he just wants attention, although sometimes im so tired as i work from 07.30 till 20.00 3 days a week i put him in with me just for some sleep.  Big mistake and to be avioded if possible X

You poor soul, I really feel for you. My DS was always a terrible sleeper, he slept through for about 6 months up until about April there, then started waking again. Every night about 3 times. The only thing I could do was not speak to him and give him a bottle of milk in, he would drink it and go back to sleep. It's a shame though because he'd wake up in the morning with his nappy totally soaked because he'd drank so much. He would rarely eat breakfast as well.

Then at the start of the week I started reducing down the amount of milk I was giving him and eventually replaced it with water.....he's slept through the past 2 nights which has been like a mini-miracle. I just hope it stays like this.

Can I ask, what do you need to do to settle her back to sleep when she is awake? Take note of what you do and try and gradually wean her off it like I did.

I tried controlled crying with him before and I was too soft for it......hopefully something will work for you.

Poor you - Im sorry I odnt have any magic solutions but just wanted to sympathise. I am not a single parent but I am up 2-5 times a night with my lo. It is exhausting!! The only thing I would suggest is phoning and asking to speak to a dif HV - is there one? also ask if they have a sleep clinic? I know they do here though Ive never used it and they offer help if the problem is ongoing. Also do you ahve sure/home start in your area? Might be worth contacting them, or gingerbread?, to see if they can offer you any practical help and support. xx

We did controlled crying with ds and after a while we learned to tell the difference between him crying for attention and crying because there's something wrong...

The longest we've ever left him for is 20 minutes...

It took a few weeks but the got the idea (!)

My little boy is 2 next week and I'm sorry to say this but he has never slept through. He gets up every night at least 4 times and hates being on his own in his room. We've even put the dog in his room so that he's not alone but every night either me or my hubby end up in his room.

Its a nightmare and I've tried all sorts of sleeping patterns and programmes from the HV but none of them have worked. He obviously doesn't need much sleep.

Also I'm preg so really hoping he'll miraculously change his sleeping habits before new one comes along.

I do controlled crying with my dd,it was hard at first and i felt awful,and it took a while for her to settle into it,she used to cry for over 30 mins,but i was lucky as my dh used to check her,lay her back down and reassure her every 10 mins,just so she knew she wasn't alone!!

And now if she does cry it's only for 10 mins at the most,any longer and we know somethings defo not right with her!I'd let your neighbour's know if you choose to do it,as one of mine knocked to tell me mydd was crying-to which i replied i'm alot of things but i'm not deaf!!

My best mate,is a single mum of 2 boys,who are now 8 and 5,but she did controlled crying with both of them,and they're ok now,no trouble putting them to bed.

And take on board the advice about tiring them out,toddler groups are brill for that i take my dd to 2 a week and it does tire them out,she sleeps much better when she's been,lol!!

hiya,i think you will have to give controlled crying a go,thats wot i did with my dd it took a few weeks but it was a lifesaver and she sleeps from 6.30-7.30,if shes not in and discomfort then i think its because of a habit shes waking,she wants your attention and you are giving it to her by going in everytime...try to be strong! and it really does work ive helped lots of children from the ages of 3mnths to 2 years.x

have you checked her mouth for teeth comming through

what about giving her a drink say nothing and creep back out the room

is your lo comming down with a bug ? sometimes my lo is like this for a few weeks then comes down with a nasty bug !!

but it could just be that your lo has learend a few new things and shes too excited to sleep !!

i would however if there is defo nothing wrong with her let her cry but only go in if shes in actual distress is shes just wingin like my lo does some nights i leave her unless its going on for more than say a hr or so then i bring her in with me as that will normally mean teeth are on the way through once shes settled pop her back in bed again but put a fleace sheet under your lo as the cold cotton sheet may waken her up again

i know how you mean about being tired every mum will understand that with or without a partner for help !! ( men seem to have no hearing at night or first thing in the morning unless you push them out of bed lol even then sometimes they dont even wake up lol )

i hope something helps xx i would defo get out the house for a walk during the day though just to get some air it will do you all good x and also try the toddler groups you will find mums there who have had 2 or more children and they are full of helpfull adivice

good luck hun x

i would say ask someone to pop over so you can try and get a cat nap bu tif your anything like me i dont know anyone !!

DD is coming up to 19 months and has been waking every night for weeks now.  I just cant do it any more im so unbelievably tired, i also have a newborn. She sleeps through about one every couple of weeks. I cant just feel myself getting stressed when she wakes. I also became a single mummy in Feb so have to do it alone. I know it sounds silly but iv tryed most things and feel so frustrated with the situation a often end up in tears. My HV was absolutely useless. She was supposed to come round a chat through it. But when she came she couldn't come in as was late for a meeting. She told me just to go in the room and tell dd that i needed to sleep wtf how does that help??. Then went along toi her meeting she was literally at the door for 2 mins. The information was useless. I phoned the HV up in tears the other day so was expecting some proper help.

Do i just leave dd to cry?? I find it really hard and she just will not stop screaming. Im at my wits end what do i do??