Sleepless nights

Lyndsey - posted on 11/26/2008

hiya my little boy is 23 months and has never slept in his own bed.. he wakes up a few times a night for a drink so when i get him asleep on my bed i put him in his own bed but its not long before he is up asking for a drink.. ive tried not giving him a drink but he screems and does not give in. he doesnt go bk in his own bed either he gets in my bed and my boyfriend ends up in his bed.. for the past week he has been staying in my bed but when he wakes up for a drink av just bin giving him a sippy cup instead ov a bottle because he will drink all ov the bottle were as he hates a sippy cup n wont av it..so now he is hopefully going to get out ov the habbit ov wanting a drink.. so the next step is trying to get him 2 sleep in his own bed.

Rachel - posted on 11/26/2008

I really think that having a routine at night helps. With my daughter, we start at the same time every night and do things in the same order: first we put on jammies, then have a bedtime snack, then go potty and brush teeth. Then she gets into bed with her special doll, and I sing her the same lullaby, then say the same prayers every night, and then finally she gets to "say something", whatever might be on her mind that night. And I don't know if she has any other older siblings, but that also really helped at first, to "put the older sibling to bed" the same way we put her to bed and let her watch and he cooperated and "went to bed like a good boy". Even though we didn't really make him go to bed at the same time, he just pretended for a couple of nights, (she thought he did) and that seemed to help her alot. (Just some ideas.)

User - posted on 11/26/2008

thanks for all the suggestions, Kristina the cry out methout isn't working for me so today at nap time I talked to her from the door way she still whined but i said she could cuddle with after she napped, and she finally fell asleep after about 20 mins later, and slept for 2 hours. I only hope that it works at night time too!

Allison - posted on 11/26/2008

My son is 27 months old. He doesn't sleep through the night either. He used to but recently has been waking up complaining about "monkeys" and other things that scare him. He's also been asking for a drink the in middle of the night. He recently gave up the paci which is great, but I think he asks for the drink as a replacement. When we tell him no, he cries and screams until we cave. My partner and I are so tired we usually end up letting him come into our bed. I've bought the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book as well and we LOVE it. We used it when he was much younger and it completely helped. Somewhere along the way, when he was about 25 months or so, we lost the battle. Ever since he started being scared of something....so we are at a loss. But you are not alone!! We are tired and sleep deprived too. Just last night I tried to let him cry it out for an hour and then I couldn't take anymore.....(and we have people that live below us that probably wanted to die). Any other tips would be lovely!

Kristina - posted on 11/26/2008

I had that problem with my son when he was around the same age as your daughter. I don't believe the cry-it-out method works as well for older children. I'm also a stay-at-home mom so he would always cry out for me instead of my husband too. When he would wake up, I would go to his door and talk to him through the door. It didn't always work, but sometimes I could tell him it was time to sleep and that he could get up when the sun came out and he would calm down enough to go back to sleep. Sometimes I would have to go in to make him calm down, but I would make it a point to leave before he fell back asleep. It takes alot of effort and alot of patience because you end up going back and forth pretty often for the first week to a month even, but for older kids I think its the better option. Eventually he came to understand that I wouldn't stay with him and he learned to soothe himself back to sleep and to this day(he's now 4), he won't get out of his bed until he sees the sun outside. It's like his cue now. :)

Kristi - posted on 11/26/2008

A small CD player in my son's room that played soft soothing music is what got me through the night. My mother in law told me he could be waking up because it is too silent in the house at night compared to the day and it worked. I guess it's just something to listen too instead of a noise that comes out in the night that they can hear to wake them up.

Erin - posted on 11/25/2008

I am currently having the same problem with my daughter who is 27 months old.

Rebecca - posted on 11/25/2008

A great book both for effective cry-it-out strategies and good evidence that will help motivate you and get you through it is "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." It is great. I checked it out from the library before I bought it.

Kimberley - posted on 11/25/2008

Hi Shawna, Make sure you use the cryout method during the day as well as the noght. I did this with Bryce (2) and now Dylan (4 months) and they both sleep well.

User - posted on 11/25/2008

Thanks for the replies. I think that she may be too attached to me maybe. I do not work so she is alone with all day. We do go to play groups 3 times a week though, and I am going back to school in January so she will be starting day care then. When she wakes up she seems to ask for me instead of my husband.

Jayme - posted on 11/25/2008

my 3 year old is doing the same thing, he was scared and would not sleep in his room. We let him sleep in the living room and that was ok then he moved to the floor of our room and that was not too bad as long as i did not have to argue with him about bed time. Then i moved him into his younger brothers room and it seemed to really work he now goes to bed at a good time and does not wake up and does not cry. There are no more fights about bed time. I love it. I put his mattress on the floor so monsters cannot be under it.

Maggie - posted on 11/25/2008

I had the same problem with my daughter....i couldnt find anything that worked, until she was ready to do it on her own...i found though that using a blanket outtta the dryer at least prolonged when she woke up

Claire - posted on 11/25/2008

Sounds like my daughter, she always wake up middle night, i usually let her sleep with me on bed, once she fell asleep then put her back to bed..

it is possible cause her crying, nightmare? If you bond to her whole time when you not working, it is possible, very close.. If attend daycare, good question??

User - posted on 11/25/2008

I tried to let her cry it out she cried so hard she gets sick, each time. I even put up a baby gate so she couldn't come out of her room. It didn't see, to work.

Shara - posted on 11/25/2008

I'm such a strong believer of the cry it out method.... How long did you let her cry it out? One day? Two? It took about 3-4 days for each of my boys, and then about a full week for my baby girl (she's 13 months). I think it's all personal preference, though. Some parents can't let thier children cry it out, which is fine. To each thier own. I can't make any other suggestions, though, because that's what worked for me, and what we use!! GOOD LUCK on finding out what works for you guys!!!!!!!