Help with Child Who Wont Sleep

Hi G.~

Do you think it could be her 2 year molars coming in? My son was never a great sleeper (until recently) but I would notice more of a resistance to the bedtime routine when he was cutting a tooth.

Also, maybe since she is hitting the age of independence :-) give her some choices about bedtime. We try and let our son pick the book or pick the prayer. It seems like just the slightest thing will make him feel like HE is deciding to go to bed.

Lastly, I know you probably won't like this, I think it is time that you let her cry . . . now that doesn't mean leaving her on her own for hours crying . . . I would just let her cry and every night lengthen the time you go and tell her that she has to lie down. Like the first night go to her after 5 mintues, then 10, then 15 and so on. IT SUCKS! Believe me we did it with my son but it works.

It will get better . . . it's a just phases that they go through and put us through :-)
Take care.
D.

My son goes through this every once in a while too. He just turned two in December and as a matter of fact, did the exact same thing for two nights this week. The first night I ultimately gave in and slept on the couch, but it was 2am and I couldn't deal anymore. The next night, we battled it out from 1am til just after 4 am. It was not fun, but my daughter sleeps through everything, and my husband was off the next day, so we agreed to let him fight it out. It was rough but in the long run, it helped because last night he went to bed at 8pm and did not make a peep until he awoke at 7:45 am. What a wonderful night's sleep!!!

Good luck!!!

I agree with Dana, sometimes u have to let them cry a bit. He's just testing his boundaries and you need to set those boundaries. My little one tests me from time to time at bedtime, but I stick to my guns and she learns very fast that bedtime is bedtime.

Hey mama I have the exact same problem with my little one and I have not found a solution to that problem yet.
My husband and I never get to sleep alone unless she falls asleep on the ride home than we lay her in her bed. But by 4am she is running back to our bed.
My little girl will be 2 in March, please let me know when you get a solution.

Good luck!

Is she sleeping too much during the day or taking a nap too late in the afternoon. I don't have much advise on this one but I wish you luck and you figure out something.

Hi G.,
I feel for you and your husband. My 2 1/2 year old is going through something very similar. While we never have established a good routine, she has been having tantrums at night when it is bed time for the past few weeks. I've been trying to figure it out, haven't yet, but here are some of the things I've either thought about or heard about:

1. Sleeping too much, either nap time or too long in the morning.

2. She is at such a curious stage that she doesn't want to miss anything. She just wants to stay awake and keep 'absorbing'. Not realizing that she's too tired.

3. She is at a stage where she is really starting to experiment with her independance. She needs to figure out what is in her control and what isn't. Of course no one can 'force' a child to sleep (nor do we want to), so a better option is to try to place something back in her control. Like, get a timer and tell her that bed time is in 15 minutes..does she want to read or play for that time?

4. Something is upsetting her about night time. Is there something that happens before bed or while she's sleeping that upsets her?

While we are trying to figure it out, we've tried a number of things. Nothing has worked yet. I don't believe in ignoring them techniques. We are now trying just to get into some sort of routine and see if that helps to resolve it. She's been in a toddler bed, our bed, the crib, the sofa...you name it. She gets upset in all of them now. We've decided to stick with the crib for the next few weeks and see how it goes. Either my husband or I crash on the single bed next to it while she cries and begs us for escape. We try to be as comforting as possible, while not taking her out or letting her climb out. She falls asleep about 11. : (