Hi. It is my 1st child...a boy...now 21 months old. We converted his crib to a toddler bed when he was 17 months old because he kept pulling himself over the rail and was going to get himself hurt. He did really well for the 1st couple of weeks and then he got sick with this bad virus and refuses to sleep in his bed ever since. We don't allow him to sleep with us....so we made him a bed on the floor in the living room (which is close to our room) with a comforter and a couple of blankets. One of us (me or my hubby) will lay down with him until he falls asleep. Then he does fine for the rest of the night....usually a heavy sleeper which is good since my husband works shift work. I had tried several times to put him in his bed and stay there nearby on the floor until he would go to sleep but he would always wake up crying in the middle of the night and would end up sleeping on the floor or sometimes he would climb up on the couch with his blankie. It has been almost a couple of months now since I have tried his bed....but it is very hard on the nights I am on my own with him.
You've gotten some great advice here. I just wanted to interject that any room he sleeps in should be baby proofed in case he decides to become a night time explorer.
I have a 2 1/2 year old little boy who started climbing out of his crib at 19 mos. In order to keep him safe we switched to a toddler bed and put a baby gate up in the door way. It has worked really well for us. We still have to have the baby gate up in his door otherwise he would be in bed with us every night! Which would be okay (maybe) but, we have a 10 month old and I'm pregnant again. Now we started putting the dog in with him at night for a companion. He has done alot better sleeping through the night since the dog is in his room. Hope some of this helps!
If he's sleeping fine on the floor or the couch, I would just let him sleep there. He's getting his rest and then you can too. My daughter started waking up in the night at 18 months. After several weeks of sleepless nights and trying to get her to stay in bed. We gave up. We both work full time and being tired all day was not worth it. We just let her come to bed with us. I swore I'd never let our children sleep with us, so I'm sure this is just my payment, ha! As soon as she laid down again she was out. We came to the conclusion she's only little once and won't always want to be this close to us.
My now 4 yr old son did the same thing when we made his crib into the toddler bed. We would put him to bed by doing our nightly ritual (book, prayers, layed with him for 5 mins). When he came into our room, we would put him back in bed and walk out, I would only do this maybe twice before I let him sleep with us. He eventually got the hint and would stay in his bed. He still comes into our bed but now it's between 5 and 6 am. I figure that's early enough to the morning that I don't bother with it. But if he comes to our bed around midnight then he gets put back in his bed.
Good luck!
I was wondering what the lighting arrangements were for both rooms and if you close the door to the bedroom? This might be what is happening with your little guy. If the living room is somewhat light and no door ... then when he wakes up in the night he sees where he is and feels comfortable to go back to sleep on his own. If the bedroom is darker and the door is closed then he might get scared not knowing where he is. Just a thought. I have kept the girls room quite dark since birth for the purpose of getting them used to light and dark. My 2 yr old is still fine with it ... but my 6 yr old now has to have the door open AND a night light. She has been this way for almost 3 years. Maybe if this is what the issue is .. get him a nightlight and make sure the door is open to his room. Just my 2 cents. Hope it works ... if you are like me ... sleep is precious and I just don't do well when it is messed up ... so I can relate to a point!
I wonder is it a scared cry after waking up from a dream? Maybe he is getting to the stage that there are "boogie men" in his room. Try to get him to sleep on his "special bed" on the floor in his room. Make a pallet on the floor and then after awhile replace the pallet with his matress from the bed. Maybe by going that route you can get him back in bed. If not take away the bed and let him sleep on the matress on the floor. You can slowly elevate the matress off the floor without him even knowing it.
You have gotten some really good advice S.. I hope you find something that works. My oldest son which is now 17 was that way. He was climbing over the rail of his crib so we had to take it down so he would not hurt himself. And then it was fits to keep him in his bed. I did not want to shut him in his room it made me nervous and so we placed a half door on his room and when it was bed time we put him to bed then shut the door. He would get up but then he would go back to bed. Yet I could tell what was going on in the room which made me more comfortable. As he got older he would come into our room and sleep next to the bed and if I woke up when he came in I would take him back to his room and he would sleep the rest of the night. Unfortuantely he is 17 and still wakes up and goes to the living room almost everynight. Usually he doesn't even remember going there. I hope you find a solution that works for you. All kids are different so what works for one may not always work for another. Good luck.
What about putting him in his crib again, with a tent? My aunt could not keep her little girl in her crib, and they make mesh tents that fit over the top so that they can't hurt themselves. She made it a really special treat to be able to sleep in the "castle" and she never had problems again. She actually just got her into a big girl bed and she's 3. My son is 26-months old and still in his crib. He's been waking up in the middle of the night lately as well, and I'm sure if he wasn't in his crib he would be in my room! I asked the doctor about it, and she said that it's very common for toddlers (with their growing imaginations) to wake up at night and need reassurance. Good Luck to you-hang in there!
I think sleep problems with toddlers is really common--my four year old still gets up 2-3 nights a week and comes into our room. He just wants to be tucked back in bed. I think setting a routine in which he starts in his bed will help, even if you have to sit next to him until he falls asleep. But don't exhaust yourself trying to butt heads with a 2 year old. The power struggle with just drain you of your energy at night. We weren't able to successfully do a bedtime routine in which my son would stay in his bed, all night, until he was 3, closer to 3.5. Yours may be different, but that's just my experience. Just remember, they're not little forever, and this stage will pass!
Good luck.
I have no advise as my DH sleeps with my 3 yo and my 2 yo sleeps in bed with me. Just ((HUGS))
All of the wonderful advice you have recieved seems like some good tips. Glad to know that we are all not alone. My 4 yr old son still gets up in the middle of the night. Normally I turn around and take him back to his bed or once in a blue moon I lete him sleep with us. As for my 1yr old and I. We both have gotten into the habbit of him waking up in the middle of the night and instead of standing there holding him till he goes back to sleep. I just turn around and take him to our bed room. Course it is fine with me but not for my husband who gets kicked most of the time and is forced to sleep on the couch...lol We have always had a night light in the boys room so it wont be so dark. But we recently got a lightening maqueen night light lamp that is much brighter and they have both been sleeping tons better.
But I have a friend where her daughter sleeps on the couch. She did it for a while and then later on found out that she likes her bed. She would even get up in the middle of the night and walk and lay down on the couch and go back to bed. So yea if he is happy leave him be. Maybe try to talk him into sleeping on the couch instead. Maybe he dont like his bed try a new big boy bed let him pick it out. Also you can try the night light lamp. Good Luck!! Just remember you are not alone.
I think you should just keep picking him up and putting him back into his bed. He'll eventually just get tired and fall asleep. If you find him on the floor or on the couch, then pick him up and put him right back in his bed. My daughter, who's 28 mo now, still wakes up and comes into our room but we just walk her right back to her own bed. It'll be tough but he'll get the point if you are consistent.
TRY TAKING HIS MATTRESS OFF HIS BED AND PUTTING IT ON THE FLOOR WITH HIS FAVORITE BLANKIE IN HIS ROOM, SEE IF THAT HELPS, IF NOT PUT THE MATTRESS IN THE LIVING ROOM SEE IF MAYBE ITS THE BED HE DOESNT LIKE.
HOPE THAT HELPS
G.
