I am asking this for my neighbor. We were chatting about our kids waking up in the middle of the night (see my recent post). She is having the same issue with her 11 month old. I told her that many of you had suggested a bottle of water by the bed. But here is her problem...
Her son LOVES water. He will wake up in the middle of the night, and in the beginning she did the water thing. Only to have him drink it all! Then it proceeded to go on for many more nights and many soaked through sheets. She gives him water before bed and through out the day, but he still will drink a whole large sippee cup full in the middle of the night.
He is waking up between 4-7 times a night. She is very perplexed and is wondering what she can do. Crying it out, has not worked, and not really an option any longer, as he was waking up everyone (at times in the neighborhood).
So... any ideas or suggestions would be great!
I agree with one of the moms ahead about checking for diabetes that is a sign, and that is a lot of water. If everything is okay, try putting something else in the bottle/ cup that he is okay with but isn't really a favorite. But I would seriously check with the doctor first.
There is a book that has worked with every sleeping problem my daughter (and my sister's son and daughter) has ever had. It's called "healthy sleep habits, healthy child". Also, my daughter went through the same thing (a couple times) and we had to do the cry it out/behavior extinction, and although it was HELL for a week, now she sleeps from 8pm to 9am. (HEAVEN!!) I realize that alot of moms hate the cry it out idea, I felt like the worst person in the world. I had to focus on the fact that if I wake up seven times a night, I am way too exhausted to be the mom I want to be during the day. And by teaching my daughter that crying/screaming/temper tantrums don't work to get what she wants, her behavior is better during the day also. (and she isn't as crabby, because she is getting the sleep she needs at night) Also, it is a good idea for the child to be tested for diabetes. There are more ovbious signs of childhood diabetes, the most important is the failure to thrive (weight loss, poor health).
I would have the child checked by his physician and make sure there is not an underlying medical issue such as diabetes.
Has she had him checked for medical conditions? I know it's not something anyone wants to hear, but being that thirsty and going to the bathroom a lot is a sign of diabetes in adults. All I have to go on is what you said in your post, but she should talk to her doctor about it.
She should check with her Dr. this could be a sign of Diabetes
