Help! My 20 month old has been waking up in the middle of the night to play. He'll cry when he wakes up and when we go in to hold/comfort him, he starts talking and interacting with us rather than fall back asleep. Sometimes it takes him 2-3 hours to fall back asleep and me amd my husband are getting sleep deprived. He is in daycare and only gets 1 2-hour nap early in the day. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
I agree, 20 months is WAY to old to be coddled in the middle of the night! Let him cry for pete's sake! Do you want to be doing this when he's 10?
quit going in there! if he's not sick or injured, let him wake up and soothe himself back to sleep. if you don't break the habit now, you'll be sleep deprived for years to come. good luck!
My DD has always had difficulty sleeping through the night, up until recently (yeah!). What I would do with her is when she cried, I would go in and pat her back, not pick her up, not talk to her, just pat her back for a few then leave. At first she would cry a lot when I left, but I just stuck to it. There were many nights that she would be up talking to herself or kicking the wall, but I would not go in. You just have to set the boundaries and hopefully this will pass. Good luck, I know it can be exhausting both mentally and physically!
i agree with most of the other moms...DO NOT GO IN HIS ROOM!!!
sorry i was being a stern mother...hahaha
but seriously i have always just let my children cry, sometimes you think...omg they are never going to stop, but they eventually do...and if they don't (keep in mind you should at least let them cry 20 min) then you could peek in and make sure they are covered and maybe pat their back and help them back to sleep b/c im sure after 20 min of crying they may be tired enough to fall back asleep with the help of you patting. but never ever pick them up...then they will not stop crying until you eventually do. when my children were babies...i never went into their rooms when they cried, and i would wake up sometimes in the morning like at 10am jumping out of bed like a maniac like omg...my kids, only to find that they had woke up and played for a little while, never fussed and just fell back asleep on their own. and they are the same to this day 3 1/2 and 2. they wont even let me sleep with them or lay down with them to comfort them...b/c i never did...sometimes it makes me sad, but more so makes me proud that they won't be so clingy and whiney...so good luck, don't give in mom...you are the boss, don't give them a choice.
