Help, I Need Sleep!! - Haslet,TX

Don't make her cry, that would be a terrible reason to make her cry, she could truly be thirsty! Some people require more fluids than others. If you woke up in the middle of the night thirsty, you would get up and get a drink wouldn't you? However, give her water, not milk. I would give her her milk before bed and then when you are puting her in her bed, give her a sippy cup full of water, two sippy cups of water if that is what it takes. There is no reason not to give her water in the night! She won't do that forever! Eventually she will realize that she always has a drink available to her and then she won't even care about wanting it anymore. The water all night is not going to cause you any problem! My daughter is 18 months old and I do the same thing, now she doesn't usually even drink it anymore.

With my DD, we give her a sippy cup of water to keep with her all night. It won't harm her teeth, but if she wakes up in the middle of the night thirsty, she doesn't need to wake us, either. It may take a few nights to convince her that water will do, not milk, but it really will--she's not going to starve overnight!!

Sippy cups with milk are just as bad for the teeth as a bottle because you are still bathing the front teeth in sugar (lactose is sugar). The American Dental Assn (www.ada.org) has lots of info including this:
http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/jada/patient/patie...

The other mom who wrote that she sees nothing wrong with giving milk at bedtime - I've worked in the dental field for 20 years and it breaks my heart seeing our pedi patients with rampant decay and baby bottle caries! Please research and reconsider your thinking.

Try putting water in her sippy cup instead. If she truly is thirsty, she will drink that and you don't need to worry about her teeth.

I haven't read all your responses yet but we had the same problem, but we solved it with a trip to the Dentist office, his teeth were beginning to get messed up, and the Dentist said NO MORE MILK at bed time... so I followed the instructions and blamed the dentist :) when he asked for milk I told him the Dentist said NO! but that he could have water. now he always has a sippy cup of water by his bed. he sleeps with his sippy cup as if it were a teddy bear, but now it is filed with water instead of milk!

I also think it helps to talk to your child before bed time so that they understand ahead of time what will happen at bed time, tell your child to drink a glass of milk then after she does that she will brush her teeth then no more milk till morning, only water. if you do it ahead of time they will know what to expect instead of springing it on them in the middle of the night.

best of luck, I have three boys and only one did this to me, they are all different

I had the exact same situation with my youngest. Regreattably, we let it go on until he was 2 1/2. We broke him by letting him cry it out. It wasn't fun, but it only lasted about 2 nights. I laid down by him the whole time, and he begged, but I just told him no. Not fun, but well worth it now.

I would comfort her, but not give her milk or any other beverage during the night. As far as the milk before bed goes, my two year old still has milk before bed and probably, like my first child, will have it until he is 3 or so. I personally don't believe it will harm the teeth.

Giving her milk in the middle of the night because you think she needs it only encourages her to need it. Just like stopping nursing or bottles in the middle of the night, your daughter will adjust her eating during the day to accommodate not having anything in the middle of the night. It may take a few nights though, so be prepared to comfort her (without picking her up) but let her learn to comfort herself as well. You'll get more sleep that way!

Let her scream, I had to do this to my oldest. At this age they should be sleeping all nigh and they dont need milk. It is very hard but at this age they are old enough to know if they scream long enough you will give in. Mine lasted a week and then boom sleeping through the night. The first night she screamed for a hour and they slept for an hour then woke up agin and screamed for about 30 min. They lasted for about 5 night with each time getting less and less.

Its really hard to listen to but youve trained her you will come so now you have to untrain her.

In answer to her waking up in the middle of the night wanting it. Just let her cry. If you want to comfort her do it but don't give in with the milk. It's like the paci break don't give in. You just have to be tough. She isn't starving she just has you hooked into giving in. Just be strong!

Have you tried just giving her water instead? Worked like a charm for our daughter (now 2 1/2). Unfortunatly our current problem is she drinks so much water through the night that she frequently has leaky diapers! Potty trained during the day, but nights are a whole different story! At least she is able to take her own drink and go back to sleep without waking anyone.

I would go comfort her a bit, don't take her out of bed just comfort her give her a stuffed animal but don't give her the milk. My son around this age started waking up at night around this age too. We gave him a couple new stuffed animals and one of these http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3601494
She could probably use a different bedtime routine, maybe even a new bedtime to help her break this cycle.

Think you said it best, she does not "need" the milk before bed, and definitely not 2 times during the night. Put water in her cup and tell her that is all she gets. If she cries for 45 minutes let her, the key is NOT to give in. Just tell her that she can have the water or nothing and that throwing a fit will get her a punishment not rewarded.

Might even try a reward sticker chart for the nights she does not scream and cry before bed or when she wakes up.

Consistancy and bravery on your part... you have to train her as to what is acceptable, and unfortunately you have trained her that if she cries long enough she will get what she wants, so now you need to let her know that it will not work.

Good luck.

My son was the same. I simply transitioned him to water and it's been good ever since. My son will be 5 this week and he still takes a sippy to bed with him. It's only at home too, never when we travel and it doesn't bother him then either.

You might try transitioning to water since the milk/formula will decay the teeth if you don't brush afterwards. Regarding the night wake ups, could she be teething or going through a growth spurt. It could be this is just a habit; however, there's so much going on at this age. My son didn't really sleep through the night until his last teeth came in. All we could do was give him stuff to make him feel mor comfortable, etc. It does get better though, I swear.

Good luck!

Give her water and be strong!!! Good Luck!

Hey -
My daughter was still waking up at 1 and I was SO tired. So, I did let her cry it out. But, she cried for 4 hours. So, if you want to try that method, you really have to brace yourself for it. She cried that one night and has not cried since. For a while, I gave her a cup of milk before bed, but I still brushed her teeth before I actually put her to bed.

Now, I give her a cup of milk after she finishes her dinner and that is all get gets (she is almost two now).

Good luck!
L.