my twins are 19 months and still getting up 3x a night

Tracy - posted on 03/08/2011

It will be tough but when you feel like picking one up just remember that it will just confuse them and slow down any progress you are making. Stick to your guns. You can do it! Good luck and take care!!

Marinda - posted on 03/08/2011

I let mine cry up to 10 min before I go to them it will only last about 5 days at the longest remember they are Master Munipulaters!! Its very hard but after this week they will stop - dont go to them even if they call! Speek to youre husband and make it a "team" decision "STRONGS"

Sa-Leanne - posted on 03/06/2011

Amber, goodluck to you also, best advice i can give, is if you are on your own have someone you can call to talk to when things are getting tough. Most important is you and husband are a team, good luck again it will be worth it in the end (and all the time LO is crying you know they are ok) xx

Amber - posted on 03/06/2011

thanks everyone for their feed back im gona try night one of sleep training tongiht and pray for the best becase im exhausted!
me and my husband both readall ur comments and feedback and r hopign we can do this :)

Sa-Leanne - posted on 03/06/2011

wow thats great, well done you, i let mine cry sometimes, they need to know that sometimes its ok to deal with things on your own and self settle, i dont believe i have harmed my children in anyway practising controlled crying, well done again and long may it continue for you xx

Tracy - posted on 03/06/2011

Amber,



I am not sure if this will be useful or not but this is something I read that helped me take action to deal with the constant waking at night.



http://communities.canada.com/vancouvers...



Good luck and take care.

Tracy - posted on 03/06/2011

A quick update. One daughter has slept through the night for over a week now. If the other wakes she now goes back to sleep after about 5 minutes after a soothing back rub, which is a big improvement from being up for 90 minutes. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and have absolutely no regrets. I am not concerned about my girls having problems later in life because I let them cry a few nights for 15 min intervals. My mom let all 4 of her children cry (without checking on us at regular intervals) for much longer than 15 mins and we all turned out fine. We are all married with children of our own. Three of the four of us used a version of sleep training with our children. The one who didn't has a three year old that still wakes at night. The rest have children that sleep well. Most of my friends (whose children are now in school) also used a similar technique and their children are all happy well adjusted and independent.

Samantha - posted on 03/04/2011

Oh also once I stopped boys day time nap (or allowed 40mims if poorly or a particulary busy day) they now sleep far far better. Bed 730pm and wake 12hrs later. Today my one son amazed me by sleeping in til 1030!! Good luck

Samantha - posted on 03/04/2011

I agree and disagree! They don't need milk now but are simply used to having milk to sleep. However, there have been results showing leaving for a time to cry 1min,2min ok but 5mins and longer can cause problems in later life. U want your children to be happy and confident, now and forever. I was advised to go immediatly BUT don't pick them up, gently shush and tell them softly it's bedtime and they need to close there eyes and settle, comfort them, sing if that's what they like if very distressed, once there calm. Say night night. Always be calm and explain everything that's happening. I told my littleone to have a teddy kiss when he wakes in the night them help teddy back to sleep with cuddles, my other twin I encouraged to sing himself to sleep. I tried to leave for 5mins ect then longer and I had he'll on my hands, I was then told by a professional NEVER do that technic and you want your child to feel he has support when it's needed. Hope this helps and hope u soon get sleep. Are they eating enough through the day?

Sa-Leanne - posted on 03/04/2011

I agree, there is no need for them to be waking in the night, you are wll overdue a good nights sleep yourself, may i ask if they still nap in the daytime? also what time are you putting them down to sleep?

Liesha - posted on 03/04/2011

At 19 months, there is no reason for them to get up and have a bottle. They should definitely be sleeping through the night. You have to eliminate the reason they wake up which is probably to snuggle with mommy for a bit or to get a drink, both of which are soothing to little kids. Don't pick them up when they cry. Rub their backs, sing them a song and tell them they will be alright, then leave them alone for awhile. Increase the time you let them cry, and decrease physical contact with them. They will start to learn to soothe themselves. In the long run, they will learn how to manage bedtime by themselves and it will pay off when it is time to get them in to their big beds as well. All four of my boys learned to sleep through the night in their own beds before they were one. You can do it! Good luck!

Tracy - posted on 03/01/2011

I totally agree with the other pieces advice given thus far. I just went through this with my 16 month girls. After being sick (and coddled by mom and dad for nearly 2 weeks) my girls started waking up 1 to 3 times a night each. I avoided the cry it out thing for as long as I could but hubby convinced me we needed to do something. I also read up on the topic which made my decision easier. For me a few nights of discomfort was worth it. My kids deserve the very best from me and I cannot give it to them when I am exhausted.

Anyway, we have been sleep training (I hate that term) for just over a week and thus far have had 2 nights where both girls slept through and another night where only one got up but went back to sleep within 5 minutes. This is what we did. We did not to pick up either girl or give them milk in the middle of the night. We would go into their room and rub their back or belly and gently sh. This only calmed one twin, the other would keep crying but we still did not pick her up. Both would cry again when we left the room so we went back after 15 minutes and repeated the process. We had one night were we did this for over 90 min and another night it was more than one hour (but the girls did not cry the entire time, they would stop then start again). On the 3rd night one slept through the night!! On the 4th night both woke but we did not go back and check as frequently. On the fifth night, once we knew everything was fine, we did not reenter the room at all. That was a very difficult night but on the 6th and 7th night both slept through the night!! On the 8th night only one woke but went back to sleep within 5 min of me comforting her by rubbing her belly (plus I gave her a pacifier and covered her up in blankets).

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Good luck.

Amy - posted on 02/28/2011

I agree with the previous post. They certaintly should not NEED bottles anymore at night. They are probably drinking it more out of habit then they need for milk. I would put them in their cribs and let them cry for a little while. 5 minutes, then 7, then 10, then 15. We did sleep training with our boys hwne they were about 6 months old... and they are great sleepers now. Sometimes we have to re-train after they have been sick... and its still works and my boys are 19 mo.

Its going to be tough for a little while because your girls are old and set in a routine... but you need to sleep and so do they. So I would say tough it out for a few weeks 2-3 weeks and see if you get imporvement. It will be worth it when they are sleeping better at night.

Kim - posted on 02/28/2011

Put them in their cribs, and when they cry increase the time it takes for you to go get them when they wake. Basically you have to let them cry it out, but start it out at 5 minutes and move up in 5 minute every couple of days. I know it's heartbreaking to hear a child cry, but your little girls won't cry blood. Might sound harsh, but if you ever want to sleep you have to let them realize mommy isn't going to come get them everytime they wake up when they are supposed to be sleeping. I think by the time my boys were 7 months old, they stopped waking up to eat. I don't know if it will work for 19 month olds, but it's worth a try.