In article . com,
wrote:
It seems to me the solution is going to have to involve letting her cry
for some time when she wakes up and does this (by the way, she still
has a little bit of a cough and stuffy nose still, but her cold is not
particularly bad now). My wife is very hesistant to let her cry (as am
I) but we need a real solution that 1) works, and 2) does not
traumatize our daughter.

I am appealing to anyone with a solution or suggestion on what we
should do to get help. Thanks.

You will probably get lots of conflicting advice, as everyone has
different ideas about what kids that age *should* be doing.

We went through similar sleep problems with my son at a somewhat
earlier age, where he had to be carried for hours before he'd fall
asleep. My wife and I alternated nights, so that neither of us got
enormously sleep-deprived (though neither of us got enough sleep for
about 18 months).

If your daughter has a cold, it may the switch from vertical to
horizontal that wakes her as mucus changes position in her nasal
passages or sinus. Try getting her to sleep in a sling while
you sit, so that your hands are free to hold a book. You could also
try sleeping sitting up, though this is not much better than staying
awake (as thousands of coach-class airline passengers can attest).
A rocking chair may help lull her.

------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Karplus http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus
Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz
Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics
(Senior member, IEEE) (Board of Directors, ISCB)
life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)
Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)
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