Sleep Deprived!!!

have you read the article in Dallas Child called Toxic Tots? Here is the link...http://www.dallaschild.com/showarticle.asp?artid=386 I have twin boys and one had bad a reation to a MMR vaccine... long story short, he fought sleep for an hour to an hour and a half every night and would barely take an afternoon nap. He didn;t sleep through the night until 10 months... He was grumpy and clingy....we went to a holistic dr. and she told us it was the vaccine and she purged the toxins and he now falls right to sleep 99% of the time and is SOO much happier. I never put the two together until she did over a year later! It makes you wonder what environmental toxins are affecting our children and to what extent. You can't go crazy and eliminate everything but for me it makes sense to start somewhere....Hope you get some relief. I know all about colic and sleepless nights. It is frustating and heart breaking!

Have you also removed dairy and soy from your own diet? If not that could be the problem as those proteins will also be in your breastmilk. Also, do you consume anything with caffeine or take any medications? Those things can also be in the breastmilk and impact your baby.

My oldest son was like your daughter and we later learned that in addition to problems with dairy, he had an intolerance to gluten (celiac disease). Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley and most oats. We didn't learn my son had this until he was 10, but in hindsight, it was likely the cause of poor sleep on his part until he was well over two. The finger foods she's craving mostly contain gluten. Gluten impacts the brain and can cause cravings of those foods. There are gluten free alternatives to all those foods, so you might give a trial of a gluten free diet. As with the other things, gluten can also be in breastmilk.

Or, perhaps she is teething and is in pain. Is she also producing a lot more saliva and chewing on things? Open her mouth and see if you can see any teeth. If so, try some tylenol when she wakes up as well as other ways to deal with pain - some people swear by the Hyland teething tablets; I have never tried them. We used Baby Oragel with my daughters and it was great but it does not seem to phase my sons. I have tried to learn to sleep while feeding the baby or snuggle and sleep. Good luck; definitely talk to your pediatrician.

This sounds quite a bit like how my two year old has been. She was never a great eater with the jarred baby foods; one thing I found that she really did like was this

http://www.amazon.com/Designs-2-U-Baby-Safe-Feeder/dp/B00...

Sassy makes one, too, which can be found at Walmart. The one we got was from Babies R Us. She loved any and all foods we put in there, from green beans to crackers, and I could feel good about her getting food she enjoyed and not choking.

She was also a night waker. She cosleeps with me and my husband and would wake anywhere from twice a night to every two hours. I'd just pull up my shirt so she could nurse and we would both drift back to sleep. I didn't have a full nights' sleep in two years!!

It's only been the last few weeks that she's not waking to nurse anymore because I've put a stop to it. She still sleeps with us and will for a few more weeks; we're expecting a third child in October so it's time for her to make room for the new baby. :) It was rough for a the first few nights and she still fusses once a night but I just tell her "night night Meara. No chi chi. Night night" and give her a cuddle before turning over. Amazingly, she just goes back to sleep. I never thought it would happen! It did take two years, though.

I'm sure your daughter's ear infection is making her uncomfortable & extra cranky and wakey. I know some people are completely against cosleeping, but it's really not as terrible as all that. Perhaps you can bring her to your bed and you'll find that nursing her back to sleep will help both of you get more sleep than you've been getting. And when she gets a bit older she'll be better able to get herself back to sleep.

Good luck!

Sorry to hear about this. It can be very stressful for both of you. I don't know if you spoke with your pediatrician about this. But if he/she thinks that your daughters physical well being has nothing to do with why she is waking up then I suggest that you read a great book called Happy Baby Healthy Sleep Habits by Dr Weissbluth. I can tell you from experience that when a baby or toddler is over tired it is harder for them to STAY asleep. This maybe her problem, she might just be over tired.
Good luck!
Debra