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21 Month Old . . . Once a great sleeper . . . now, not so much . . .

Trisha - posted on 12/16/2008 ( 4 moms have responded )

22

15

Hi there everyone . . .

I have a 21 month old son who has developed a case of the mommy syndrome . . . when i put him in bed at night (not all the time) he screams and screams "uppie" (his version of "up please") . . . it goes on for a long time with me going into his room, laying him down and walking out (i don't say anything to him though) . . . i eventually end up going in and picking him up and taking him for a drink of water or milk because the screaming leads to him coughing or choking (so hoarse) . . . after he finishes his drink, he will roll over next to me (whether on the bed or couch) and he starts shutting his eyes, so i wait a minute or two (til his burps are done) and pick him up while he is still awake and put him in his crib and he usually goes out like a light . . .

problem is that he has been getting up the past 3 weeks or so anytime between 1:30 and 3am and screams and screams . . . with this happening every night (and my husband being a shift worker) i will go in and pick him up, cause i am still pretty much asleep and i will cuddle with him, and then he won't go back to sleep unless he is laying down with me . . . so i take him into my step-daughters room (when she isn't there) and we lay on her bed together, but because i am still so tired, i usually end up falling asleep too . . . i usually wake up an hour or two later and take him back to his bed, but not always . . .

HELP . . . is what i am doing that wrong????? cause my husband is upset with me saying that he continues to wake up in the middle of the night because he knows that i will lay with him . . .

should i just get him up, change him, give him a drink of water, and put him back in bed and hope that he won't scream???? i have thought of that, but with my husband schedule, i also don't wanna keep him up or wake him up . . .

i don't know . . . maybe it is my fault and i shouldn't take him to the other room with me . . . it is just so hard cause i am so tired too . . . any help would be appreciated . . . thanks . . .

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4 Comments

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Trisha - posted on 12/18/2008

22

15

thanks . . .



actually, he slept the whole night last night . . . never even cried when i put him in his room . . . i tried to just keep a routine with what we had to do last night . . . we looked at some pictures, he had some milk, we read a couple of story books, we brushed his teeth, went up, changed his bum, got his clothes out for the next day (today), shut the light off, and went to bed . . . he always says "no" when i mention bedtime, but he never made a peep . . . slept right through til i woke him up at 7 this morning . . . wish it hadda been a weekend then we both could have kept on sleeping . . .



hopefully both of your advice helps me out . . . cause it was nice last night . . . REALLY NICE . . . lol . . . thanks ladies

Michele - posted on 12/17/2008

1

0

My son was doing the exact same thing. He is 19 months old. I let the behavior go on for about two weeks. I was so frustrated. I finally called my doctor. He advise worked within 3 days. First create the routine that will start 60 minutes before bedtime( bath, storytime, brush teeth). Do it exactly the same way every night(same music, same stories, etc.). When you go to put the baby down to sleep. Say your good nights, give kisses, and then make a clean break. Do not look back! If they cry longer than 15 minutes go in and stroke their face, tell you love them, and say good night again. Don't pick them up. Walk out again. It's horrible the first couple nights, but keep with the routine. It works.



Good luck,

Michele

Trisha - posted on 12/17/2008

22

15

thanks . . . i had thought about the whole "night terrors" thing, especially the way he is screaming . . . as for the holiday routine . . . it started when we travelled to florida about a month ago, and hasn't ended . . . so, his routine was definitely interrupted with us travelling . . . but, he is back on the usual routine . . . should i just give it a bit more time and see if this phase will pass?????

Kelly - posted on 12/16/2008

6

20

It's not your fault. You are not a terrible mom. I think it's just an age thing. My son is about the same age. He is 22 mo. For the past 4-6 weeks, he has been waking up at about the same time your son does and in approximately the same manner: horrenous screams that won't be consoled until he is cuddled up and that doesn't even help at times. I've even started sending him to bed with a cup of water to make sure he doesn't ask for one in the middle of the night. It still doesn't help.



The only thing I can figure is they might both be having "night terrors." No doctor knows what causes them. They seem to come on all of a sudden. Some tend to link them with a disruption of the normal routine. Does your son have a normal routine everyday? With the holidays in full swing, is that routine getting interrupted?



I know for a fact my son's routine is completely interrupted by everything I'm doing to get ready for the holidays. I know that, by interrupting his schedule, I'm subjecting myself to a night with little to no sleep.



This might not be the cause for your son, but it is an idea that you might try. See if you can put off all the holiday stuff for just a week and get him back to his normal (not holiday) routine. Maybe it will fix the problem.

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