Help with Night Waking

I've mentioned this before but am getting a bit desperate for a solution...if there is one.

For the last 2 months, Gabrielle, 17mths, has spent a couple of hours awake in the middle of the night most nights. She basically gets on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth making a loud mmmm mmmmm mmmmm sound. She used to practice all her words so I thought I was developmental but for a couple of weeks now she just "mmmm's". Even if she can't get onto all fours i.e. if the safety sleep is on she still does it, she just moves her body up and down rather than rocking.

Last night she did this from 3am to 6.15am. Dh has to get up for work at 6.20. We are both exhuasted. She then goes back to sleep and if left will sleep until 9 or so!!!!! Maddness.   She doesn't cry at all at night...just rocks and "mmmmm's" for hours.

I know it could be worse...she could scream all night but this waking is still affecting our family. DH and I are shattered, we are struggling at work, snappy with each other etc. Last night I got 3 hours sleep. I've tried sleeping in other rooms, ear plugs etc but I can still hear her.

From what I can gather, most kids don't do this??
Any ideas for what may be causing it (it is not heat or undertiredness or overtirednes)?
Any ideas for how we can stop it?

So desperate for ideas! Soooooo tired and sick of havig headaches and looking like the living dead! This lack of sleep is aging me big time.

No suggestions sorry Fiona, but lots of sympathy! My little cherubs allowed me a grand total of 4 hours sleep last night

We didn't go in for the first month but now we go in, lie her down, strap her into the safety sleep and tell her to shhh and go to sleep. She just smiles as we walk out. No crying at all. In some ways I wish it was crying as then some kind of sleep training would work. There must be something causing her to wake up.

I know it sounds lovely but it's not really :)

Tried the sleep store and the baby whisperer, plunket line is always busy. The genreal consensus is that most kids wake, but for only short times OR if they are awake longer they are crying for Mum so Elle's waking is not typical. They also say there is nothing that can be done to stop it.

I suppose to be totally honest I worry that it is just 1 more peice to the puzzle that is Elle i.e. irritable baby, irritable tendancies now, sleep issues....etc. I worry about what it all means as there is just something different about her. I know some disagree but DH and I really still feel something is not quite right. I know only time will tell and worrying doesn't help but...!

I just worry too much :)

I would go and see your GP and see if you can get referred to a paed. I don't know if it's normal or not. Definitely get it checked though, always trust your intuition.

what about the cat? is it waking her maybe or annoying her.

maybe you just need to take some drugs so you dont wake up when she starts mmmming to herself...

is her door open?   

newmum wrote: If you guys have a gut feeling that something is wrong follow your instincts and get it checked out by your GP. Are you maybe thinking with the mmmmmmm etc. it could be something like autism? I have no idea at all what age that shows or anything so am only putting it out there

I very much doubt it is austism as she has no other signs and her lanuage and interaction are excellent if not advanced. Although rocking for hours at night sounds a bit autistic I think it is probably just a normal, albeit weird toddler thing. I think she is pretending to be a dog when she does it LOL!!!

LOL well that's good then!

kids are weird... Joey spent most of the afternoon in a box with winnie the pooh, lid closed, in the dark, "I'm on a boat mama"... ?