Urgent Help Needed: My Baby Refuses to Sleep

Dear H.,

I think the vacation probably just through her off of her regular routine. You can try to reinforce the bedtime routine again by being consistant again and I am sure in a few days she will get back on track. I would give her a bath, maybe read her a story and then tell her it is night night time. Kiss her goodnight put he into her crib and just tell her mommy will see her in the morning. She will probably cry however by staying in her room for two hours struggling with her and then eventually letting her cry is only sending the wrong message. If you let her know that mommy loves her and its time for bed I am sure she will understand and put herself to sleep. As much as we love to cuddle and sleep with our children if it is not something you do not want to continue you shouldn't ever do it. With children all you have to do something once and they will demand it for the next time. Even if she cries just go in and reassure her that it is night night time and I am sure she will put herself to sleep. Good luck!!

Well My Dear, If you want that behavior to change, you have to change yours...Right now your precious little one is controlling you and at the end of your request, you said "It's Stressing you out"...You are not going to find out "what is causing this", she is only 18 months old...I believe you both have identified the problem, and now you need to work on a solution...
Suggestion... Go into her room, when she is not with you and "re-decorate"...Change the furniture around, move the bed to a different side of the room, etc...Sounds alittle silly, right? Most children are visual children, she will look at this room as "something different" instead of the same old room. Change is GOOD... And then at bedtime time put on your Actor and Actress cap, tell her you have a surprise for her...Put her in the bed, turn on a "relaxing" CD (you can buy one of the CD's that sound like a Waterfalls), or some soft classical music, etc... (both my children slept to classical music)... Put the nightlite on, WALK out without looking back, close her door half-way, Sit on the Sofa and Pour yourself a Glass of Wine. If she Screams, LET HER!!!!! If you have a Baby Monitor in her room, (lower the volume) you'll hear if she is in distress, or just "peek" through the Door from time to time. (don't let her see or hear you) & Whatever you do, don't give her the chance to GRAB your neck, keep your distance. Don't give in, stop her from controlling you and any situations. IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE THE OLDER SHE GETS. Nip it in the BUTT NOW...

THIS IS THE BETTER way to break this habit. I'm sure you'll get more wonderful suggestions, especially from Mom's who think you should try to figure out why she's doing this...WHY WASTE THE TIME AND ENERGY DOING THAT? Concentrate on the Solution... You can do this, please send me a Personal message when you have gone through all the suggestions and let me know the outcome! C. C.

Hi,
Was she sleeping in a regular bed during vacation as opposed to a crib? It is possible she got a taste of having more space and now feels closed in by the crib. My girls gave up the crib by 13 & 11 mos. They were banging into the sides and waking themselves up. Once they moved to a bed, sleeping became more normal again. It took a few months to realize the reason with the first one & many nights on the couch with her. I picked up the signs a lot faster with the second. If you don't have a spare bed like I did, try an air mattress. I didn't understand if she was going to bed earlier or later on vacation. If it was later, try to wear her out by letting her run around the yard and walk everywhere. Start at vacation nap time and try to make her nap and bedtime 15 mins later every few days until she is back on regular schedule. Good luck!

Our oldest did the same thing after we went on the trip(he was 20 months old then). We just kept doing same thing every day and things got back to normal.