My son was recently had an ear infection during that time he was feverish and crabby so we spent a few sleepless nights up trying to comfort him. Well now that he is better he will not sleep in his own bed. As long as I hold him or let him get in bed with me and dad he is fine, although he is still pretty restless in his sleep but at least we all get some sleep. He can be totally out of it deep in sleep but as soon as I put him in his crib he wakes up crying. And he will cry continously until I pick him up. He also crys whenever I leave to the room for anything, even to go to the bathroom.
Any advice.
Thank you ladies for all your advice. I appreciate it.
Our problem seemed to end and quickly as it began. He has totally gone back to his original sleeping habits. Once he was fully over his ear infection he started going to bed at 8pm again and pretty much sleeping during the night waking up anywhere between 5:30 and 6a. I think someone even mentioned that once he was fully over being sick he would probably go back to sleeping like he was before. We still have some seperation anxiety like when I go to drop him off at daycare and things like that but that is to be expected at this age, right? LOL
I went through the same with my first child. I know this sounds harsh but you have to let him cry it out. The first night will be bad. But stick with it. You will be so happy you did. Good luck!!!
I am trying to put myself in your shoes...imagining this is my son.
If you dont want to have your kid climbing into your bed whenever he needs comfort, don't lead him there for any reason.
the best advice I ever got was - don't ever let your kid come into your bed, if they need you, you go into THEIR room and sleep in there on the floor, not even in their bed.
When my son has been sick and can't/won't sleep, I stop fighting the whole thing. when he's tired, he WILL fall asleep. sometimes I lay on the couch and have him sleep on me if my eyes are closing and i'm like 30 hours straight with no sleep. that is nobody's territory...neutral ground.
If he is clearly over his ear infection (and i dont mean if he's done with the meds - they might not have kicked it entirely) he may be teething...he could have a sinus infection...
if those things have been ruled out by your doc, then he's just looking to be close to you. i would put him in his bed, tell him it's bed time, you love him and walk out.
my son still tries to get our attention by crying when we put him to bed (about 4-5 times a month he pulls it). by the time we make it to the bottom of the stairs, he's fine and quiet.
sleep is such a huge issue with kids this age - so you're definitely not alone, but my best advice is - your bed is off limits, no exceptions. i personally prefer to sleep naked with my husband, and as far as i'm concerned, kids have no place there.
i'm a woman, a mom, and a wife... there needs to be some separation between them because i can't be all at once :)
Hello T. - I agree with Jennifer 100%- Your bed is for you & Dad, not baby. As Mothers, we want to comfort our little babies and we definitely don't want to hear them cry, but, those little babies are smart. They know how to get our attention and "play" us. I have talked to Moms that allow their children in their bed and the habit only gets harder to break as they get older. My 18mth old daughter still cries sometimes as we lay her down to bed but we just tell her it's night night time and we love you and we walk out. She eventually falls asleep. Good luck to you!!
I know it is hard but the best thing you can do for all of yourselves is to let him cry. He is at that lovely age where he knows that if he cries you will come and he will get into your cozy bed. He may cry for a long time at first but he will learn. And then you will all sleep much better. Also, he is at an age that developmentally he is getting seperation anxiety and that is in some ways good as it means he is developing. he recognizes when you aren't there and when someone he doesn't know is there etc. It usually passes in a little while.
Allowing baby to sleep with you is a problem, even for a couple of nights. It's hard to change back because he prefers you (of course). Stick to your guns and get him back to bed. On nights when they're ill, rock them in the frontroom or another room until they sleep and put him back to bed. I stayed up many nights doing this but they do need you when they're ill; not afterwards. They know to cry until you come get them. If you're feeling guilty about being away from him while at work all day, cut back your hours so you're spending more time with baby. Make sure he has a favorite stuffed animal o sleep with, a buddy for him.
I'm in agreement with the others that you should try to avoid bringing baby into bed with you. We have three kids and they all "cried it out" at some point. Once they are a year old, you feel bad letting them cry for long periods of time, but we found they would cry for a long time, over an hour the first night and maybe ten minutes the second night, by the third, they went right to bed. At his age, explain to him that he needs to sleep in his own bed and that you love him but that you will not be coming back in.
If that seems too extreme, we have also tried sitting in a chair in our youngest's bedroom until he fell asleep. He is a little older than yours and understood that if he wasn't quiet, we would leave. My husband likes to read so he will sit with him.
Good luck, sleep issues are exhausting!
This happened to us last September. My now 2 year old had a pretty nasty virus for almost 2 weeks. During that time I held him a lot. We fortunately didn't have the sleeping issues, but after he got better we struggled A LOT with him wanting to be held. It's funny that you mentioned the bathroom because he would throw a fit when I left to do that. For a little over a week he would cry at my feet to pick him up while I got ready for work. He just stopped one day. I think he was still getting over not feeling well. Plus little by little I would just let him cry when he wanted to be picked up. Sounds harsh, but I think it helped! He also had the flu this year and ended up doing the same thing a few days after he was well again! Hope this helps. I would maybe try laying down by his bed while he falls asleep. This way he's not in bed with you, but you're not far away.
Greetings! This is probably the last thing you want to hear, but the best way to solve the problem is just let him cry it out. Use a baby monitor to make sure he is safe but otherwise don't go into his room at all, for any reason. It may take a while and it sounds horribly cruel, but it is the most effective way. Something that may help is give him a special very engaging toy to play with in his crib. Only let him have the toy at bed time when he is in his crib. If he throws the toy out of the crib, go into the room but don't say anything or make eye contact; just place the toy back in the crib and leave the room. Hope this helps. Trust me it works even if it takes a while.
Babies are supposed to be attached to the parents! If you are comfortable with him in your bed, go for it. The USA is one of the few countries that practices detachement parenting. Trust yourself and do what feels right to you.
Consistency is the key. It will be very difficult for a few days or weeks or even more, but keep putting him in his crib. Let him cry, he will eventually give up. I know its hard, but its the only way ive ever had work.
I would highly recomend the book Healthy sleep habits Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weisbluth. This book has been awesome for me . I have 4 kids ages 7 ,6, 4 and 15 months and they all sleep in their own beds all night, every night. You might have to let your little one cry it out but it will get less and less every night. If you get this book you will learn so much ! Everyone in the family will be happy and well rested! Good luck !!
