Night Time Issues

My 16 month old is the same way. I found that she does not like the quietness in her room. I have actually have a TV in her room (she shares a room with her older sister) I find that if I leave the TV on all night she wakes up will make nose for a couple minutes and within 15 minutes she is back to sleep. Maybe try a radio or CD player that you can either put on continuous play or a radio that he can listen to. If you don't want to leave the msic on all night you could try a CD player with remote that you can start playing from the doorway, so that you don't even have to go into the room. Maybe music will soothe him back to sleep.

hi T.,

I dunno, you need to feel it out for you.

personally i never did the cry it out thing, and my kids all slept pretty well.

What i did do is at first peep, go right into their room,
I never talked, I just patted their cheeks and nosey and head.
and they drifted off to sleep
they just needed to know i was there.
And i felt, I am their mom, Its my job to make sure they get their needs met.

My oldest is 12 years old, and he crept into our bed until he was 6 years old.

my middle one is nearly 4 and he still runs into our bed
almost every night, after he falls back asleep we move him to his bed.

and my baby, 2 years old still in the crib,
wakes up once in the night. if he does I go and get him and bring him into our bed.
when he falls asleep i move him back to the crib,

I just feel I want them to know I will always be there for them, If they are scared I want them to feel relieved.

3 to 5 times a night is alot,
but I think its part of being a mom,
I wake up atleast 2 times every night,
some nights its my 12 year old, and even the dog.
I could honestly say when the 2 younger ones were babies. I got up atleast 5-6 times per night, and after they settled down i would go do a load of laundry and throw clothes in the dryer LOL
however i was lucky enough to be a SAHM, and would take naps when they were taking naps.

If it were me i would set up a play pen next to my bed, this way if he wakes up he sees you and can touch you and hold your hand,. then go back to sleep.comfortable knowing your there, and it would also make it that much easier for you to know he is ok.

Just my opinion.

M

I think you do have to be consistent, as you said, but every kid is different. I can only tell you from my own experience, of course.

I know it is hard to ignore it, but I would make sure he has something else to soothe him back to sleep. You may need to spend a few nights going in and, without turning on a light or picking him up, showing him how to use it -

For my son the best thing is Lullaby Glow Worm ($10 in Target) I know he wakes up in the middle of the night, but he pushes Glow Worm's tummy and I hear the lullaby playing at random times during the night, but I don't even hear him whimper. Sometimes I hear it many times in a row, but he doesn't cry out for us anymore. Sometimes he does let out 1 or 2 cries, in his sleep I think, but unless he cries for more than a few minutes I know he will go back to sleep.

He also has one of those crib soothers, but I rarely hear that anymore. He used to turn that on all the time but has outgrown it I think. He's now 26 months.

One other thing I saw in Parents magazine this month and thought it was genius was the Good Nite Lite. http://www.goodnitelite.com/ Check it out - the night light changes from a moon to a sun and back at times you set so the child knows when it is time to sleep and when it is time to get up. I don't know if my son would understand right off at this age, I would have to reinforce "Moon - night-night time." or "Sun - wake up!" and he would get it pretty quick. I might buy this & get him used to it before moving him out of his crib.

But you know your little guy and your parenting style best - but you ALL need sleep! Try anything at this point until you get it right. Good luck!

It's all about consistency. I know it's so hard, but I really think it's crucial for kids to learn to soothe themselves back to sleep on their own! Once he's really solid in the routine, and understands that night time is his own time, then you'll feel more comfortable soothing him when he really needs it.

I'm a big believer in teaching kids to soothe themselves early, and my son has slept 11-12 hours per night on his own since he was 4 months old! But I always go in and take care of him when he's sick, teething, or scared. I can tell the difference between fussing/complaining and really crying out of need. But it took me a long time, and I'm so glad I figured it out!

Assuming he's not teething or sick, I would let him fuss. :( It stinks, I know!