Help with My Bed Hopping 2 Yr Old

Sounds like DS is going through the developmental conflict of a baby in a boy's body, so while he wants to do his own thing, he really truly needs mom & dad. I'm glad I'm not a kid again...growing up is tough!

I know you said he doesn't try sleeping with you, but maybe letting him sleep with you might smooth things out so all of you can get some rest? How are his naps?

Two books I would recommend would be:
The Sleep Book by Dr Sears and Good Nights by Dr Jay Gordon.

HTH & good luck.

Hi S.,

I read your posting and all I can say is Whew....sounds like a lot. I also have a 2 year old with some issues at bedtime. I know what works best for us is that each night we go through our regular bedtime routine which is a bath, story and prayers. My daughter doesn't stay her bed either...my husband or I normally end up rocking her to sleep or lying down with her in her room. That normally works and she's asleep within 30 mintues or less. However, I really don't agree with you locking the door on your 2 year old or ignoring your son if he stands outside your door. He's still a baby and he needs some reassurance from you. I can see if he's 5 or 6 doing that but I feel that you shouldn't ignore your baby and just work with him. I know it's tough because I'm going through the same thing. About once a week, in the middle of the night, our daughter will just come into our room and jump in the bed. My husband doesn't want her to sleep with us, so he always ends up taking her back into her bed and giving her reassurance by lying down with her for a few minutes before coming back in our room. I don't know if this works or not but she doesn't feel scared to be in her room at night.

My first rule of thumb is to always "rule out biology". Is your son having too much sugar late in the day, or maybe foods/drinks that have red dye (some parents swear this makes their kids hyper), I have even known of a 3 year old who would get hyper from dairy products. If you have ruled out the possibility that he is just too keyed up from any of these things, then it is time to try the tricks others have mentioned. When we moved our daughter out of her crib, we put a baby gate in her doorway- but left the door open so that we could hear her if she was really in distress. We had to put it about 5 inches up off the ground so that it was high enough that she coudn't climb over it. We also line up stuffed animals by her door each night as her "guards" - this seems to help her feel more secure. Finally, we put several soft books in her bed that she is allowed to look at at any time during the night. This way, if she wakes up, she can occupy herself until she falls back alseep. I rotate the books each week so that is always something new and intersting to keep her attention. Good luck- and remember that this too shall pass!

Oh, S., I feel your pain! My daughter was doing the same thing and I talked to my doctor and he recommended the Supernanny Method, which is what you were doing ~ putting him back to bed without talking. Like your son, my daughter would just not give in. We tried that for 3 nights and each night it was an hour of my husband walking her back to bed. On the third night she fell over the bed rail onto her head so we stopped that. Then we tried a second method that my doctor recommended which was to put a chair next to her bed and stay there until she falls asleep, but don't talk. Every couple of days move the chair further away from the bed until it is at the door and by then your child should be okay with you not being in the room. I did it over a period of two months, but my daughter completely wigged out when I was too far away from her. So, now I just lay with her until she falls asleep. Usually, she is asleep within 10 minutes so it's not a big deal. We don't have any other children to put to bed (nor will we ever since she is going to be an only), so I really don't mind. It sounds like your son is very strong-willed like my daughter! Anyway, maybe try the chair next to the bed and see it that works and if not you or your husband might consider lying with him until he falls asleep. Good luck ~ I know how frustrating it can be.