18 Month Old Sleep Advice

I would do what you are doing and get your MIL a fan:) to drowned out the noise. you have the right idea, don't get her up at that time or you will be breaking habits later on. What ever you do, just be consistent and she will return to her good sleeping habits in a few weeks. It also might be helpful to talk with your MIL and explain the situation, and see if she could handle it for a few days to a week. By then she should be back to her normal sleeping habits.
Good luck,
E.

Sounds like she's got a habitual waking problem. Try Wake To Sleep: if she wakes up at 3 every night, you go in at 2 and jostle her from sleep. Not enough to fully wake her, but just enough to break her sleep cycle and start a new one. Make sure you do it for at least 5 nights in a row, to make sure you broke the old habit, and the new one has set in.

It sounds a bit productive, but I promise it works. Its one of the Baby Whisperer techniques. I did it when my baby was waking at 2 and 5. It worked in 4 nights.

Good luck!

My son did this too. I would put some non-noisy toys in the crib and tell him if he wan't sleepy he could play with his toys, but he can't get out of the crib. He would usually pay for 1/2 and hour or so and then go back to sleep. After a while he stopped going back to sleep, so we took away his morning nap.

I can understand your dilemma. I remember going to a restaurant when my daughter was still in a highchair. It was one of those big open ones and she wanted to get up and run around. This was one of those pivitol moments where I had to make her sit in her chair. She was mad and screaming and EVERYONE around me was so angry. I felt bad, but I knew if I didn't make her stay there, especially after she started screaming, I was never going to be able to go out to a restaurant again. That said, basically means that if you want to do what is right for your child, some people are going to be uncomfortable and even angry. So the question you ask yourself is if you want to teach your daughter to sleep through the night or stay up nights with her? Talk to your MIL and explain the situation and what you need to do to get through it. That there may be crying for a night or two until she gets it. You may be surprised by her response or you may not, either way, you as a mom have to make a call about how you want to raise your child and sometimes it calls for stepping on toes. Good Luck.

I have a 19 month old son....and he doesn't use the pacifier during the day at all but he still likes it to fall asleep....sometimes when he wakes up in the middle of the night, I give it to him to help him fall asleep again....not sure if your daughter is completely off the pacifier or has never been on one but it may help her to get herself back to sleep...it may be worth a try....

Maybe her daytime sleep schedule is causing her to wake up at that odd hour during the night. Usually not enough activity even at the age of 1 will cause their bodies to wake them up in the middle of the night. Remember not over exert, but kids have tons of energy and even just getting outside in the fresh air helps for a better nights sleep.
Hope this helps.