My four year old has never been a good sleeper!! I got some sleeping tablets for her and they seemed to work! Now they don't! She just doesn't sleep well, always wakes up during the night, wakes up early even after restless nights!

I just went up to bed and she heard me and I have tried to settle her but no luck, she screams and screams. My husband gets rattled because he is working so I can't leave her to scream! She would scream for hours if she could!

I have just had enough so have just taken her downstairs and I am planning on staying awake until she falls asleep! I am cracking up!

p.s. I reckon I will still be here at 3am! She is just sitting staring blankly at me as if I have lost the plot! Which I think I have!!

Oh bless you hun, that sounds poo! Have the doctors shed any light as to why she might not be sleeping? Is she maybe not relaxing enough before going to bed? Or not been active enough during the day (I say these things because i know these are reasons why I can't sleep). x

Aww hon I really really feel for you. My lad was bloody awful when he was a baby, no sleep for a solid month. Luckily he grew out of it, but at one point the only thing keeping me from chucking him through the window was the mum2mum helpline. It makes such a difference if you know somebody else is going through it or has done and survived. Wish there was some magic cure I could give you.

jeski xxx

I have had her at the doctors, had the health visitor round!! Everything we do works but only for a couple of weeks! It's like she thinks stuff you i'm bored of this routine!!

aww hun my heart goes out to you its not nice to still be up! i was a bad sleeper as a baby apparently and even now im not a great sleeper aged 21! tho i dont keep everyone up all night! no babies myself so i cant suggest anything tho i remember baby sitting a child who screamed for four hours solid so ive got an idea of what your going through!

aww sorry to hear this but in my opinion if she keeps getting up out of bed i would just keep putting her back into bed without saying anything to her, i think shes probably craving your attention by screaming etc as even if its negative kids love attention. yes she may scream for a while be it 5 mins or half an hour but if you just keep putting her back in bed with no eye contact or talking to her eventually she will come to realise that this isnt working im not getting any attention.
It may not work if there is an underlying problem with regards to her sleeping. have you seen you GP about it. im guessing you have as you say you had sleeping tablets but there may be an underlying issue as to why shes not sleeping e.g. it could be that something has frightened her at night time like nightmares or something.
Hope this helps

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I am so glad someone else has felt like me!! What makes it worse is all my friends have kids who sleep great!! They moan if their kids wake up before half seven!! I wish she would sleep till then!!

What is the mum2mum helpline!!

I feel like such a bad mum but I just can't deal with it anymore!!

ahh poor you.

I was the same as a child and have not changed! My parents were told by the health visitor to just leave me but I would just scream. I started reading from an early age and would stay awake until 3am most nights. I now have an 8month old who wakes at the slightest thing and sleeps with me. We were also told to let her scream but she literally screamed for two hours night after night. My partner works long hours and simply can't survive with a baby keeping him awake all night, so we sleep close so she doesn't wake up him and my other daughter.

Anyway, I digress. I guess you have tried all the standard things - calm routine, bath, story, warm milk blah blah. Did you get the sleeping tablets from the Doctors? You should pester them to do something.

I wish someone had taken more time to sort this problem out with me - now it's just what I do (not sleep). I have panda eyes the whole time and people often think I'm ill (or even on drugs!)

I'm actually an hour ahead of you, so I had better try and get some sleep now. Got my baby in my left arm!

Good luck!!! I feel for you. xx

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She sometimes says she has nightmares, this has only been in the past two weeks. So maybe having more of an affect on her because she is a bad sleeper!!

Someone said it is a sign of intelligence! I hope so!

Thanks for your support!

your not a bad mum at all. i think really your little one is craving your attention and by screaming that is what she is getting your attention. just try to keep putting her back into her bed without taking to her. i know its hard to ignore your children when they are upset but it could work if you persevere

The nightmares could be a result of the medication I think. That's what I found anyway.

I heard that about the intelligence too but I don't think so. I am fick.

My health visitor gave me their number. It was a local number but they are a nation wide service and there is someone there 24/7. Its a bit like samaritans for parents and really was a god send. Where are you? I will go google see if I can find anything for you.

i can offer no advice but have a little story to make u chuckle!

i work in a reception class and we have a little boy who is partially deaf so is a little delayed with his talking and understanding etc because of his hearing and the fact that being 5 he just sometimes doesnt listen!!! Wednesday morning someone came in to say he would be late as he had just stuck a vitamin tablet up his nose!! so i had a chat with him at break when he returned from hospital and asked him would he be doing it again and his answer?

'yes it was really fun and i got a sticker!'

now despite the daft answer we were all quite excited as he doesnt usually speak in sentences!! so we then had to calm down and tell him it was wrong to stick things up your nose!

she may have had nightmares when she was younger ie. when she wasnt able to communicate this to you and you wouldnt have known about it therefore she wont have had your reassurance about it as you wouldnt have known. and this may have frightened her too and is now having an effect on her

i know how you feel , my little one can be a moo for sleeping soundly , always goes down around 9 but then im up every hour resettling her (she dreams alot, very restless)
just a thought but
have you had your daughter tested for adhd or similar ?
only asking as my friends son and my eldest both have adhd ( my son is quite mild but my friends son is pretty bad )
and they both do not sleep , extremely hard to settle them down at night, major tantrums and then both get up with the larks .
my friends son is on medication and hes now sleeping a lot better .
going to bed now as im getting married 2moro .desperatly need some sleep before moo wakes .
good luck
xxx

Sorry to go on - we tried the cry-it-out approach with our first and it worked after a few nights. The second - absolutely not. It's over 8 months now and we just have to hope things improve as she gets older.

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Poor you!! How do you keep sane??

I have tried all the main routine stuff!! Everything from warm drinks, going in and leaving etc, she just doesn't care what I do, she will scream and scream!! hope you get some sleep!!

Aww, tinksy how cute!!

I am in the highlands Jeski! xx

Aw bless you, why does her not sleeping make you a bad mum? You are doing nothing wrong.

Does she sleep during the day at all? I presume at 4 she doesn't so that can't be the problem.

Have you tried changing her diet? Perhaps there is something she is eating that reacts badly with her. My brother is 25 and even now if he eats Anything with e numbers in he bounces off the walls for hours!

I know its not the most constructive solution but perhaps you could tell her if she can't sleep to play quietly in her room. It won't help her sleep but it will save you from sitting up with her forever!

I would suggest going back to the doctors about it, its obviously affecting you and its not good for her getting hardly any sleep. It could be the tiniest thing causing it that once it is sorted makes all the difference. Don't let them fob you off, I am sure there are sleep clinics you can go to that should help.

All else failing stick a DVD on and let her fall asleep on the sofa!!

Good luck

Makes me want to stick to furbabies instead - my dog and two cats are all lying cuddled up on the sofa, fast asleep and snoring!

i know with children with adhd they are suggesting exercise to help and i think part of that is to do with sleeping etc because they are not known for their sleeping. maybe something gentle like kiddies yoga would calm her and relax her?xxx

Mrs B-2-B, I have tried DVD's to see if she would fall asleep!! They don't work and just make her more hyper!! I think I will have to take her back to the doctor.

Tinkerbelle, I was wondering about ADHD. She has been worse since getting her pre-school boosters (which have the second part of the MMR). I'm not sure if that may have affected her? I hope not but after all the stories I have heard. What other signs are there? x