15month old not sleeping, help!

[charli]

Hi All,
This is a question that I am asking for my best friend who does not have internet access...
Her 15month old daughter just won't sleep throughout the night and she wanted to know if having fruit at night after dinner could be the reason as she did not have it last night and she slept through and even stayed in her cot! She is a very active child during the day also.. does anyone have any suggestions on trying to help her sleep right through? Much appreciated
Ciao
Charli

[ZAKA]

Well fruit could contribute I suppose as it has a lot of natural sugar in it. If she slept through the night when not eating it I would definitely try it again. I am the type of person that if I have sugar or caffine before bed I am up and down all night so I try and avoid things like that before bed.

[JanetF]

Maybe it will help your friend to know that 15 month old babies usually don't sleep through the night. It's normal for babies to wake up through the night so all we can do is organise our lives to lessen the impact of that on us. Cosleeping, breastfeeding, bedroom sharing all help us to get more sleep while still attending to our baby's needs. My son is nearly 2 and doesn't sleep more than about 5 hours at a stretch if I'm lucky. But because we cosleep and bf, he's only awake for a minute or so and consequently so am I. If she isn't bfing her baby, she can still have bubs in her room or bed to allow quick easy access for comforting. A baby who is attended to quickly generally settles again much faster than one who has to wait for their parent to reach them.
This site explains sleep needs really well and has hundreds of hints for improving the amount of sleep we get.
http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T070100.asp

[charli]

Hi Guys,
Thanks heaps for replying..
Janet thanks for the website details I have printed the information out for her and hope it makes her feel less frustrated!
Charli

[charli]

Just another question - My friend just asked if anyone knows how they can get their little one eating fruit again. Her little one know has just gone totally off it, jar and all!
Thanks again
Charli

[rynosmum]

Hi Charli,

I'm of a different opinion with babies sleeping through the night. Mine has slept through since 6 months (11 or so hours) as have most of my friend's little ones. Perhaps the fruit is giving her a tummy ache so if it worked without then go for it. I also find that bubs get into a routine. If my 16 month old isn't well, he will wake in the middle of the night or early in the morning and I will give him a bottle - he then continues this behaviour for a few days before it subsides.

All bubs are different but (Sorry Janet) I don't agree that it is normal for bubs to wake regularly during the night. I do however have 2 friends who co-sleep though and both of their bubs do as the feed in on-hand. Co-sleeping babies may settle faster as mum is right there but perhaps that also teaches them to wake at any time. Also, what do you do when it is time to move them to their own bed, they are older and may take longer to adjust. Just my opinion !

Also, my little one goes through stages of eating heaps of fruit and then rejecting it (like today). Re-introduce it after a week or so and they will probably lap it up. What sort of fruit is she feeding the little one ? Sometimes Ry will go off banana for example but will eat strawberries, kiwifruit or rockmelon.

Good luck ! Feel free to PM me !