Seeking Moms Anywhere

Hi S., Don't give up! The thing to do is to make a plan. The goal is to get your daughter to sleep well in her own bed. Now break things down into steps. For instance, the first step might be that you leave her in her bed before she is all the way asleep. Then the next step would be to leave her when she is even more awake. While you are working on this step, don't worry about her coming in at night. Or you may decide to tackle the middle of the night problem first. The point is to break down the situation into more achievable goals so the situation doesn't seem so daunting. Then you build on these successes. Positive reinforcement here is key; maybe use a star chart or some other reward system that rewards her every time a little progress is made. Talk it up! The slow approach has the advantage also of reassuring her that you are not abandoning her totally. This may take a while but in the interim you will get some sleep so you can hopefully sustain your plan. Other things to help: dress up her bed, get a special toy or blanket that is just for keeping her safe at night, soothing llullaby, night light etc. Good luck!

Thanks for posting... i am having the same issue!!! I need ideas too!!! Last night I woke up and she was in bed with us... I have no idea how she got there!!

We have 2 girls 6.5 and 4.5. We learned early on, don't do anything once you don't want to do 100 times. This applied to the 6.5 yr-old we let come in our bed night at 2 and then spent the next three weeks correcting the behavior. We followed a lot of the advice in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Dr. Marc Wiessbluth. Especially from 2 - 3 years of age.
Good Luck.

I Have 3 girls, 5 - 8 and 17. My eight year old would come to my room practicly erver night for 2 years, she stoped on her own. my oldest was in and out untill she reached 6. Megan my youngest, still comes upstairs 5 out of 7 nights. She also would cry if I did not lay with her untill she fell asleep. so we went through 8 nights of crying and walking her back to her room and she finaly got it. We no longer have to stay with her untill she falls asleep. I thought this would stop her from wanting to sleep with us be it has not.

The way I see it is Megan is our last child, all the girls took their turn cuddling with us in our bed. All to soon your 2 year old will be 17 and leaving for collage like my oldest. Try and enjoy the fact that your ;little one still wants to cuddle with mom. Befor you know it they will be to big to sit on your lap and it would not be "cool" to sleep with your parents.

Enjoy the short time you have with them, they grow up sooo fast.
C.

Get the book "Good Night, Sleep Tight". Author's last name is West, I believe. She also has a website Called The Sleep Lady (should find it in Google).

A few drops of lavendar oil on a blanket in her bed or you could put it in a cool mist humidifier in her room. The lavendar aroma is soothing for anyone who had a hard time relaxing. Make sure to get the essential lavendar oil...this is the natural oil and scent that comes from a lavendar plant. It is strong, so a drop or 2 will do. This has worked for my daughter who is a light sleeper.