Getting 16 Month Old to Sleep at Night

Hi M.,
My 15 month old does that from time to time. I just go with it, help him fall asleep and eventually he goes back to his old habits. I try not to take him out of his crib, just usually bend over and hug him then lay down on the floor and tell him it's nighttime and to go to sleep. Sometimes he goes right to sleep, sometimes it takes a little longer. But a few days later, I can leave them room and he just looks up at me and goes to sleep. I also can't do the crying thing. If my baby is sad, I want to help him not make things worse. Sometimes I feel like I'm in the minority though...ALL of my friends insist that crying it out is the only way to go :)

M., i always rocked my baby's to sleep, and at 16 months we rocked, bedtime story, then we prayed and tucked then in, if you go in your sons room, he will continue to wake up and cry, by going in there you are teaching if he cries you'll go in, it takes avery short time for that to become a habit. J.

There could be a lot of culprits here....
How are the daytime naps going? Sometimes if babies don't get enough daytime sleep, then it causes them to overtired at night. This will cause night waking.
On the other hand, if he is taking two naps, he could be ready to transition to one. If so, this will require an earlier bedtime to combat fussing and night waking.
Teething could be causing problems, too. If this is the case, you will notice fussing during the day as well, which could be causing sleep problems at naptime which contribute to the overtired state. It's a vicious cycle.
Hope this helps!

Did ANYTHING in his diet change? Check that 1st. We call it Behaviour and Diet-
If it did- change it back.
If not I'd find a Standard Process(vit) doc and get a nutritional workup- maybe growning has used up all a certain mineral, and getting that into his diet will fix this.
Need more info, contact me.
best, k

My first child was like that too. I used supernanny's bedtime technique and that worked as long as i sang her lullabye first. Its a little song i made up and sang to her every nite since she was born and she is almost 5 now. Go to Supernanny.com for the full info. You have to still stay in the room at first and then in a few days you wont have to.

Sleepeasy Solution! My new favorite thing in the whole world! LOL
Check out "sleepyplanet.com". It is night 3 for us with my 10 month old son and it's amazing. It was my "last ditch" effort and I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner. It has been easier than I imagined and SO much less crying that I ever imagined. They give ideas for kids from birth (though they don't recommend the techniquest before 4 months) all the way up to 5 years old.
Good luck!

He keeps crying cause you have him trained to know that if he continues for long enough you will reappear.... If you really want to help him and yourself, your going to need to tough it out for a few days... When you put him to bed and he starts crying pat his back and kiss his head and tell him it's time to go night night and that you'll see him in the morning and then leave. Don't stay in the room. Go straight to your bathroom, turn on the shower and take a long shower for like 45 mins-1 hour so you can't hear him. He should be able to fall asleep in that amount of time - if not just stick to your guns - crying wont hurt him - he wont be traumatized - but he has to learn that bed time means bedtime. Give it a few days and he should change his habits :o) If you don't, find the heart to do it then your in for a long road... he'll learn young just which buttons to press to get what he wants and soon your life will become all the more difficult... Putting him to bed too late can also cause this problem - if he has passed his "sleepy" point and then you try to put him down - it'll be harder for him to fall asleep.
Good luck and God Bless :o)

Toddlers will do this if you let it happen. Give him a lovey, a good bedtime routine, deep massage and put him to bed at 7:30pm. Do not get him out till 7-7:30 am. Worked for my two and they are 21 and 16. They never had sleep issues. This is a child's first boundaries in life. If they don't get sleeping down, they rarely get other behaviors down. Be strong and let him know that you are still there (behind the door) but he is NOT coming out. This will resolve in a day or a few days.