2Yr Old Daughter Not Sleeping Well

Hi H.,

When my oldest daughter was just over 2 years old, we moved her out of the crib into her very own bed. Sounds good to us, not so good to her. Took a while and a little reading to realize that even a twin bed was too much space for her. She didn't feel safe in the bed. If the same is true for your daughter, it may be the reason she sleeps so soundly on the couch. I bought those long body pillows and a thing, not sure what its called, that is kind of like the rail on a hospital bed but made to keep kids from falling out of their's. I lined the wall and the side of the bed with the rail with a body pillow (one side might work for you, maybe the open side of the bed) and that did the trick. Good Luck.

L.

I think almost every parent has gone through this same thing, or something very similar. I guess I would start by asking what time she goes to bed at night, and how many naps she takes during the day. She may be getting enough sleep for her age. If this is the case, you will need to either adjust her schedule, or adjust your own. I wonder if it's possible that she is a little afraid of the dark. When she's really tired, she might be too sleepy to dwell on it. But then towards morning when she's a bit more awake, it becomes an issue.

We found that a softly playing radio worked well for our son when he had this problem. We also did not give in to his wishes to get out of bed. We found that over time it worked to calmly tell him that it is not time to get up yet, laid him back down, and left the room. No matter how many times he got up and pleaded to get out of bed, my answer stayed the same. It meant that I lost some sleep in the process, but he got tired of hearing broken record mommy, and eventually started keeping quiet.

It also helps if you keep a very set schedule in general. Like you should plan on getting up everyday at 7 a.m.(or whatever is good) This would serve as the only acceptable time for your daughter to get up. That way, it the first couple days, when she might just not ever get back to sleep, you have a time when it's fine to give in. Also, a set nap time would help to enforce the new wake-up schedule. Try to keep her awake until her actual nap time, and if she's still asleep after a reasonable nap time, don't be afraid to wake her. She'll sleep better at night if she's not sleeping well during the day.

All of this seems a bit rigid, but that is what a toddler needs to feel secure, and learn the way life in the family works. It all really depends on how her specific sleep patterns are, though. It largely depends on if she's getting too much or too little sleep.

I seriously doubt it is the "noise" that is causing the sleep issues. My son is 2 1/2 and we have been struggling to get him to bed lately too. He wants "mama's bed". We have a pretty strict routine, dinner, play, tubby, book, and bed. He sometimes will cry, or throw a fit, for mama's bed and sometimes will go right to bed. I usually have to lay there with him until he falls asleep-- usually about 10 minutes, sometimes longer. Sometimes in the am we let him into bed with us to cuddle for 30 minutes but not to go back to sleep. He woke up twice last night (he has a cold) and I had to crawl into bed with him for about 5 minutes each time to get him back to sleep. YOu just need to make a decision that she is going to sleep in her bed and stick to it. After a week or two it gets better. Depending on what time she goes to sleep, she may be ready to get up at 5-6am. My son goes to bed between 8 and 8:30pm and is up usually between 6 and 6:30. If she is ready to be up that early, let Dad handle her until he goes to work so you can catch a little extra sleep.:)

I agree with Sasha on getting a set routine. Also..you plainly stated that your daughter is 2, this is really common behavior for a 2 year old. They will push and challenge you in any way they can think of because they've finally realized that they can. DO NOT give in and let her sleep in your bed...my mom did with me and I didn't get out until I was 5. We put a little box fan in our little girls room to add some noise and it works to muffle the baby crying at 3 a.m. If my daughter has a hard time falling asleep I'll also let her take in a sippy cup of WATER not juice or milk (bad for the teeth) that way she feels like she's "winning" when it's not really even a battle I'm fighting with her. You could also try finding a "comfort" object that can be her "night night buddy" (my daughter has a stuffed pooh bear) but it can help her feel comforted when she wakes up~ just don't give in, it will get better!!!!