Our little boy has been sleeping in his own crib since about 6 weeks old and has slept very well throughout the night until recently. The last 4 nights he has been waking up and I let him cry for about at least 15 minutes and he still does not settle down as he usually does if has woken up in the past. He continues to cry very hard and loud. When I go in there, I pick him up and try to rock him back to sleep which on any other occasion has worked, this has not been working. He wants to get down kicking and screaming, points to our room and trues to go to the door. The past four nights we have been tired and eventually gave in and let him sleep with us. Occasionally in the past if he was teething or sick and he would wake up we would bring him in our bed to sleep the rest of the night. This time seems to be different because once he is in there he is fine and goes right back to sleep as soon as he gets settled in between us. Last night I tried to not bring him in our bed and he was upset for over an hour and we finally both fell asleep on the living room couch because I was trying to stick to my guns and not bring him in our bed again. As anyone had anything similar happen to them? Am I supposed to just sit in his room with him for hours still he settles down? Should I wait longer than 15 minutes to go in? Any ideas would be much appreciated! I do love to have him come in and snuggle but my husband and I do not get any sleep cause he wiggles ALOT. Needless to say we have not had much sleep the past several nights and willing to try anything to get him back to his normal sleeping habits. Thanks!
I'd go in and comfort him as soon as you hear him wake up - he should be easier to settle back to sleep quickly if you catch him before he's completely awake and upset. Mine always went back to sleep as soon as they realized there was someone nearby, so just touching them was usually enough. They just need to feel safe and know that you're nearby.
I never did like the cry-it-out sleep-training.
ITA with Susanna. My daughter is so much easier to get back to sleep if I just respond at once. You'll know the difference between waking because of night terrors, or just wanting to play.
But then again, I also let her sleep in our bed, too. I can stay awake and have a battle of wills or I can sleep. Her wiggling no long wakes me. She won't choose to sleep with us forever. And soon enough she'll want her own space to stretch out.
Hi K., the exact thing happened to me with one of my twin girls right around 22-24 months. She would start crying in the middle of the night and would want us to come sit with her or take her out of the crib. Also, she didn't want to go to sleep at night without one of us sitting by her crib. We figured out pretty quick it was behavioral, not her being sick, teething, etc (we also consulted with our PED and he thought it was behavioral). I have wondered if she was scared or had a bad dream the first night it happened, and then after that she was afraid to go back to sleep if she woke up. After a few sleepless nights, we decided to let her cry it out. We would sit with her after we put her to bed, but we would not go in during the night. Oh, I will also say, she cried so hard the first couple of nights she would make herself throw up. We would just listen for a few minutes to make sure she was not going to throw up and then we let her cry. The during the night waking was eradicated within 1-2 nights and she didn't cry more than 30 minutes. For around 5-6 months she has slept well, just recently she started doing it again. Since we knew what she was doing, after the 2nd night we let her cry it out. It only lasted one more night. Needless to say, for us, ignoring the behavior has been the trick! She always has a nightlight, her favorite blanket, a couple of books etc in her bed. And she sleeps in a crib right next to her sister. So, I felt she had everything she needed to sleep well. Best of luck!!! F.
ps- I forgot to tell you that if we went in and picked her up or touched her, it made it much worse- she would then scream for us to take her out of the bed.
Hi K.. I have a 26 month old that did this same thing a couple months ago. Up until this point we'd always been able to let her sleep with us on occasion with no repercussions. However, the last time I brought her in bed with us was the last because she woke up the next night and when I picked her up she pointed to the door and said, "lets go to mommy and daddy's crib". She's a very smart 2 year old and she understands when I explain things to her so I simply said "You have to sleep in your bed and mommy and daddy have to sleep in their bed...that's the rule." Then I explained that we were right down stairs and if she needed me just to call and I would come and check on her. When I do go in (I usually wait about 5 minutes to be sure she's not going back to sleep on her own) I never stay long...I just go in, pick her up, give her a squeeze and a kiss, ask her what's wrong, then tell her I love her and put her back in bed. Knock on wood, but it's not been an issue since that night. You did the right thing by not giving in...you just have to stick to your guns and remember this too shall pass. These kids are so smart and you have to let them know who's boss. If you're giving into them at all they are going to keep doing what's working. Good luck.
From my experience, it's a battle of wills. Stay in his room and let him learn that his bed is where he should sleep. As he gets older, you'll suffer even more by having him come to your bed. It's really had to do, but best for your future. Good luck.
So, I didn't read the other posts before writing this, so if this is a repeat, I am sorry. My son went through something similar. He was sleeping fine and then all of a sudden waking up and not wanting to go back in his crib. In the end, I asked him if he wanted to sleep on the floor and I would stay in there with him until he fell asleep. Turns out that worked! If he woke up in the night, I would rock him and then ask him if he wanted to go back into his crib on go to sleep on the floor and he almost always chooses (b/c yes, he still does this) the floor. So, we have some big pillows that we keep in there and if he wants to sleep on the floor in the middle of the night then we do that. For the most part he wants to go to sleep in his crib when he goes down for bed at the end of the day, but when he does wake up he does not want to go back into his crib. There were also a handful of nights where he wanted to sleep on the floor to begin with, but those have mostly been hehind us. (We had an air mattress in his room and thought we would use that to transition to his big boy bed, but while he loves to play on it, he did not want to go to sleep on it.) Good luck. In any event, it is probalby just a stage and will pass.
I found this on the AAP's parent site.
Between the ages of 6 months and 2 years children's sleep patterns may be disturbed by separation anxiety. This is a normal stage in emotional development. The child may wake up several times during the night and call out for his parents. Be firm in stating they should stay in their bed but reassure them you will be back soon.
Their website has been an awesom resource for me.
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/Pages/default.aspx
We seem to have gone through this over and over with our 2 year old and she is a wiggler too. The thing that seems to work the best is offering a big girl reward for staying in her own bed and we have tried a LOT of things. We call it positive behavior reinforcement but others may call it bribing. Basically if she doesn’t get up and try to get in our bed she can have a very special treat of her choice the next morning. It is typically air popped popcorn for breakfast so that she can see the air blower work. Honestly, the positive reinforcement seems to be her biggest motivator for pretty much all negative behavior correction. Worked like a charm for potty training too.
