2 Year Old Wont Sleep in His Own Bed!

I feel for ya! some say to play up the "sleeping in his crib" make it sounds fun to him and exciting... however.. that didnt work for me but i heard that it can. But letting them cry it out is a GOOD thing sometimes especially come bed time... because they will run you into the ground if you let them. I use to think that my daughter was feeling punished.. or that she was crying to long. My doctor told me to let them cry for about 30 minutes.. by the time the 15 minute mark comes the crying shouldnt be a wailing but decreasing as they should be tuckering themselves out. as long as he isnt screaming all night long.. give him 15 to 30 minutes to see if he can fall asleep. With this " letting them cry it out method" it can take just a couple of days or even a week or 2 for them to get use to it and then they stop crying. My daughter cried for a few nights but nows she is ok "i would have to rock her to sleep" Hope that helped a little!

Whatever you do, you need to stick with. If he knows that if he persists in getting up, crying, etc. that you will "rescue" him and pull him in to bed then HE has the upper hand and will just continue fighting sleep.

The bottom line is you need to start a NEW habit.

What about a cool new nightlight? We got this awesome light up turtle off of Amazon. It projects starts onto the ceiling and automatically shuts itself off. (Might be a "big boy" gift for staying in his room.) NOTE: It's not a toy for him, it stays on the floor or a dresser as the plastic shell is breakable plastic. Or change up his room so that it's something new and cool, but still familiar...like new sheets? A pillow? Cool pillow case? Friend to sleep with?

You can revise your bedtime routine so that he gets a bath, stories, maybe rocking in a chair until he's drowsy, then put him down in his crib.

If he cries, you can sit there in the chair, saying, "You're ok," but DON'T pick him up. It's still a CIO method, however you are not abandoning him.

If this is not possible, because you are alone and taking care of both kids, do a modified approach, leave, check on him after 1 min, then 2 mins, then 3 mins, as long as it takes until he passes out. Again, don't pick him up. Tell him he's ok and it's "night night time".

I realize none of these are "ideal" no fuss methods. However if he naps in his crib and is put there at night, and NOT "rescued" he will soon get the idea that it is HIS room where he sleeps.

Try to just focus on the sleep...not the drama of "does he feel abandoned", "does he envy the baby", etc. These are your projections. He just wants Mom...pure and simple. You are giving your son the gift of healthy sleep. And that is best for the family.

PS I don't know if the baby is co-sleeping or in a bassinet, but you may learn from your son that co-sleeping may not be a great idea. Kids quickly get used to whatever routines/habits we create for them. You may see a take 2 of this bedtime drama with the baby if you're co-sleeping now. Hopefully you can save yourself some grief later.

Best wishes

you have to put him in his room.. just put your pillow on his floor.. lay down.. and when he falls asleep near you in the crib.. it will work.. just keep doing it..

Try putting his crib next to your bed in your room. Then he's still close for him, but allows you and baby a little extra room in your bed. Once he's used to his crib again, you should be able to move the crib a little closer to where you want it every week or couple days.

Another option is to just put his mattress on the floor in your room (or a sleeping bag) and give him the option of sleeping in the crib or on your floor.

If he's two have you considered moving him to a big boy bed or even crib mattress on the floor. Maybe he'll feel mature enough to stay.
my 16 mo old recently decided he wanted to sleep next to his sister so we moved his mattress to the floor. it is so much easier to soothe him to sleep when you just sit beside him for a few minutes. in the crib he would be calm until we put him down in the crib then he cried.
Another thing I've noticed is that twin bed mattresses are better, more comfortable than most crib mattresses.

I know this is not ideal but, as a compromise, can you buy him a special kid-sized sleeping bag and let him sleep out in your bedroom. I know that you would like him to sleep in his own bed but, with the baby coming, this may be a better compromise for him and for you for the time being.

Tricky one! I think both ideas below are good ones.

My experience was that if I went in to soothe my little guy to sleep (we coslept until he was about 18 months) then he needed that to go to sleep. We tried CIO - but only kind of because we weren't really committed to the idea of it. Going from cosleeping to CIO seemed kind drastic. Anyway, after a few nights of it taking a hour to put him to sleep and really hoping he wouldn't wake up when we had friends over for dinner, I realized I needed to take control of the situation and start letting him actually cry it out if I was to have a life after 7:30. I felt so mean! Then a week or two later he'd just go to sleep and suddenly, I didn't feel so mean anymore. All I'd done was let him know that now is the time to sleep. I am the grown up and I make the rules. He was only crying to protest, not because he was hurt. It didn't have an effect on our closeness or his confidence that we loved him and wanted him to be happy, safe and content.

Do whatever you feel is right and make sure to explain to him that babies sleep in the room with the grown up because they have special needs that he doesn't have ANYMORE. It's just a fact of life.

Good luck!
T.

I raised four children,and my answer to you .Let him cry, don't give in. Number two ,you are doing the same thing with your second child. You will hurt him also. Put the baby in his own bed and he will find this is his comfort zone.Don't let a baby rule you or you are in for a rude awaking when they are older. Have a good sleep all alone!!! You need your rest also.