Sleeping disorder?

So the saga of my DD continues. About a month ago I took away her only nap (before then I cut it down from 2 hours to 1 hour) because she was waking in the night for hours anywhere from 1am-4am. Most of the time she is talking and sometimes crying (like last night). It didn’t change a thing!
Other than her almost falling asleep at dinner and being a bit more cranky during the day she is still up for an average of an hour or two each night! Last night was the worst to-date...up from 11pm-2am and again from 5am-7am and up for the day before 8am. So five hours last night! We had a very busy day yesterday so I was hopeful she would sleep well. Today I’ve given up and I’m giving her back her 1 hour nap. I’m wondering if she has a neurological issue? Seriously its gotten worse since September and we are breaking down. She have NEVER slept more than a few days in a row without waking up in the night since birth.

Bed by 7PM (no protest-she is great falling asleep)
Has a sound machine (turned this off last night for an hour guessing it might be that—but no dice)
Heater (installed this just in case she was getting cold in the night)
Gave her a stuffed animal (made no difference)
Over the months I’ve Tried not going in, Tried going in and acting stern and Tried going in and soothing. Last night I just yelled through the walls

 

Have you tried keeping her up longer to see if that helps

 

We have kept them up later because of family events and other things but it hasn't made a difference She is really ready to go to be by 7PM because she gets up anywhere from 7:30 or 8:00am. When we took away her nap it was very hard to keep her awake until 7 especially on days she has preschool.

 

I remember a little from your last post,and it really did sound like you tried everything. But I don't remember if you mentioned if this phase came on out of the blue, or did she always have sleep issues? My theory behind sleep problems is being overtired. On nights my son doesn't nap and doesn't go to bed early, he wakes up like clock work - several times a night. Usually he's not happy though, and not quiet about it like your daughter has been. Although when I've tried to lay with him to get him back to sleep I see him just lying there happily awake - I assume it's because I'm there. But I have no idea what he does when I'm not there. Maybe he's awake and quiet more than I realize too. And then a night like that will be all it takes for him to form a habit of night waking around those same times.

Could it be your daugher got into a bad cycle because of something like this? And the longer it went on, the more she was awake and the harder it was to get her back on track? Even now, you mentioned she goes to bed by 7 and should wake by 8 or so. If she sleeps all the way through, that should be plenty of sleep for her. But if you take out 2-3 hours of laying awake at night, then it's not and it's probably accumulating and making it hard to get rested enough to get back on track. How much sleep was she getting before this started, if it started out of the blue (night sleep + nap - long wake periods at night?)

Not that I have any answers for you, I was just curious. I've been trying to figure out my son for months/years to see what sets him off with bad sleep cycles, and what it takes to get him back on. It's so frustrating that he's so sensitive to it and I wish he'd just outgrow it already. But your situation could be totally different. There's no harm in pursuing it with a doctor.

ETA: Since she's had so many consecutive days of poor sleep, and she's showing the affects, I'd probably let her sleep as long as she needs at her nap, instead of waking her. And then I'd still put her down early - as long as she appears tired enough to fall asleep. But take this with a grain of salt, as my track record in figuring out my son has not been great!

 

Thanks for your response! So she has never been a good sleeper and slept through the night which is why we separated them at 5 months old! However, she would wake up at least once or twice a week for an hour or two. But for the past few months it's been every night! In August or so I cut back their nap to one hour (okay with her sister since she doesn't nap most days and is okay with just a rest period). That seemed to help, that and ear plugs! The only other thing I can think of is that they've been sick most days since September and that may have something to do with it. Like last night we went in more than usual...all her talking and screaming kept making her cough so we gave her meds, water, then honey, etc at different times of the night...

 

I agree w/ Denise, 100%!!

I'd get her MORE sleep, not less. I feel for you, that sounds HORRIBLE and I would NOT under any circumstances- go into that room after lights out. No way, no how. Bedtime is sleep time

GL!

 

The more tired they are the less they sleep.... I would probably start with putting her down for a nap earlier and making sure she's up for 3-4 hours before bedtime. Then put her down at 7p... Have you read Healthy sleep habits, happy child? It's a great book that explains how much sleep they need and how them being tired makes sleeping so much harder.
Good luck, lack of sleep is NO fun!!

 

have you spoken to your ped at all about Melatonin? It is a natural sleep aid - your body produces it as part of the circadian rhythm cycle...they used to give it to my nephew (he is autistic) because he'd wake up at all hours and want to go for rides in the car etc...or they wouldn't be able to get him to go to sleep till like 1 AM...