My son is 14 months old. He has a special blankie that he likes to sleep with. Usually, he happily goes to sleep for nap time and bedtime -- I just see him rubbing his eyes and know it's time-- I say it's time for night-night, I hug him and hand him his blankie and lay him in his crib and he smiles up at me and either plays for a few minutes or drifts right to sleep (I know-- go ahead and hate me-- I had it coming with child #3 because the other 2 weren't that easy!!) Lately, though, I think he realizes that he's missing something while the family is in the other room or something because he starts crying like he's really upset-- so I peek in and see that he has thrown his blankie out of the crib and is trying to reach for it. I don't want him to think I'll just keep retrieving it for him, so I take him out of the crib, walk around with him for a couple of minutes, then put him back in his crib and he's fine-- complains for a second or goes right to sleep. Any way to get him to stop throwing the blankie out of his crib???? Oh, by the way, I also turn on a small TV I keep in his room-- I put it on a channel that just has "snow" and it blocks out any sounds in the house and helps him sleep.
Maybe you could try tying (use a long piece of velcro or a ribbon) it to his crib railing so when he loses it he can pull it back in himself. Then show him how to pull it back in. I hope this helps.
Me and my sister in law both did this with our kids.....we tied the corner of the blanket around one of the slats of the crib. No strings.....just the blanket! It worked great!
Try putting him into a sleep sak. That way he has no blanket but is warm and is also weaned from the blankie. as for the Tv bit....a wave machine is another way to go w/o the TV issues. Nor the extra light! I really think that he is trying to stay up so, I would try and quieten the family, or move to another part of the house. He has to adjust to the sounds so I wouldn't worry too much about it...school just started a month or 2 ago and the home work issues are harder so the family is more active, now that scheduales have settled. It is just baby's turn to adjust :) Oh, Maybe plaing music instead of white noise would suit him better...or even a book on tape....Maybe one in another language?
Any sort of string or ribbon is a strangulation waiting to happen, so please don't do that!
At his age, he may be throwing it out because mommy comes in to see him when he does...
I would probably stop going in there to get the blanket.
If he gets really upset and won't go back to sleep (15 min or more if you can handle it), then I would probably go in, get the blanket, but give no interaction--no picking up,no talking to him, etc. If it continues to be a habit, then I would wait longer each time.
Regardless whether he thinks it's a game of fetch or is just trying to get mommy time--I don't think there's any way to get him to stop throwing it out of the crib except to stop giving him a reason to throw it out...
lol. its kind of cute. not so much after the third fetching though, huh? :) I would be weary of using any kind of string to attatch the blankie. could cause a problem if he got wrapped up in it somehow. leave it to a one year old to do just that.
it seems to me that the throwing of the blanket is just him voicing his opinion. i think you are on the right track by not just getting it for him, that would start a bad cycle for sure, but you are still running in the room every time which may have the same end results.
have you thought about taking him out of the crib? My kids hated the crib. neither of them slept in them. it just didn't work. so, they slept with me until they were about a year old, and then slept on a mattress on the floor until they were old enough to be in a toddler bed. I mention this because my daughter was in love with her binky, she was obsessed. Anyhow, when she would sleep on the floor, if she dropped it, she would actually get up grab it, and lay back on the bed. no problems. i only know this becasue i would spy on her from time to time. it was great. (those handy little binky attachers would have been nice, but she wouldn't wear it).
anyhow, thats my only suggestion.
Best of luck to you.
:)
Hi Tammi. My suggestion is to peak in on him once he's crying to make sure he's okay, but to leave him in his crib and to leave the blanket on the floor. He may catch on that if he throws his blanket out, mommy will come and hold him. The first time you don't go in and hold him, he'll cry for awhile. However, this will lessen each nap time as you may already know with your first two children. I hope this helps. Good luck.
