Cant Sleep - Angleton,TX

Change her liquids to NOTHING but WATER to help her realize it is not quite as fun to get up in the middle of the night and when she does get up, redirect her to her bed. It will take a bit to get her to realize that her bed is where she belongs, but once you do it, you will be very happy.

I've never been big on my kids sleeping with us, mainly because we both take up tons of space getting comfy and when kids get added to the mix, mommy and daddy just don't sleep well. The kids have always been brought back to their rooms and tucked back in. There are some nights when it happens more than once, but most nights it doesn't happen at all.

Hi S.,

if you find out an answer that will work, please let me know, sarah is STILL doing this and she is 2 and half..

-Holly:)

I think you'll need to be very firm with her and just simply not let her do these things. Maybe leave a sippy cup with water only in it in her crib so she can have that, but otherwise ignore her requests to get out. Maybe go in and tell her that you love her and to go back to sleep, but do not pick her up. Do not give in because she will quickly learn that she needs to keep asking just so many times until you give in. These little ones can have an iron will, so your will must be stronger! It will take some time and probably some tears for everyone, but you both need sleep. A little hard work now will result in a lot more sleep-filled nights in the near future!

My husband was an advocate for the family bed. I wanted to keep a strict marriage bed, but he persuaded me to try letting our baby sleep with us on nights he would not stay in his crib. We sacrificed our pillows and comforter if we had an infant, but we slept well. As our children got older and our family grew, each child would spend more nights in their own beds.
Bed time is usually peaceful. Our youngest is three and he usually sleeps in his own bed. Some nights, however, he sleeps with an older brothers and some nights he still sleeps with my husband and me. Recently my husband started working nights, so this helps me too.

Really, how long are they going to be this little? Not long. Do you want to remember it as a series of nights fighting or crying or of fond memories of the scent of your child's hair or little sounds he made while sleeping. If I close my eyes, I can imagine having all my sons in our bed at the same time, never happened, but I can see the image clearly.

Hope you find sleep,
M.

Hi S.,
set a cup by her bed and tell her that is for when she wakes up at night ,,,so she dose not have to get up her juice is right there if she has no night light get a very dim 1 put it in the hall or other side of her room.tell her big girls stay in bed all night
good luck L.

I love the Baby Whisperer books - lots of great helps on sleep in there. I like the philosophy because it is gentle and authoritative, and it has worked wonders for our children!!

On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep by Gary Ezzo. You can get it online at Amazon for very inexpensive. It was given to me as a gift before my first child (from my sister-in-law who has 5 children) and I now give it to all my pregnant friends. (and many of them pass it on too.) It is short and easy to read. As a working Mom myself, I dont have time to read a very long book. I need something that gets to the point quickly, which this book does. He also wrote a "Toddler Wise" but I have not read that. Go and get it...You will love it and get some sleep too.

I would suggest .... spending a few monments with her before bedtime and asking her if she needs anything, right then because she needs her rest just like mommy does. Good Luck.

There was a really compelling letter on the list a while ago about the Ferber method -- perhaps that would give you the formula to get her sleeping through the night or self-comforting when she wakes up. As I only have one child I've had some freedom to indulge her (and myself) a little bit, answering her calls in the night and just hopping into bed with her -- sooner or later I have to figure out how to get her less dependent on me to relax at night. But in the short run, if Ferber doesn't have the answers for what you are struggling with or isn't appealing to you, you could take the gentler approach endorsed in Sleepless in America, by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, and either put a cot in her room so you can just stagger into her room when she calls and sleep there as needed, or else put a cot in your room so she can be near you but doesn't have to be in bed with you when she makes her nightly visits. While Ferber is all about accommodating the child to adult sleep needs, Sheedy Kurcinka focuses on the tendency of both children and adults in our society not to get enough sleep and advocates doing whatever works to allow a child to relax and get to sleep or back to sleep, aiming for whatever allows the whole family to get enough sleep. Although they are very different in approach, either approach can certainly lead to full night's sleeps for everyone in the family!

Good luck -- sleep is a rough one!
M.

Hey there,
I remember those days...Well I am a 29 year old mother of 4 about to be 5. I have a 13mth old and I am 6 1/2 mths pregnant. So I totally understand TIRED!!..what worked with me with my previous children was to let them cry. I know that its really hard to let them cry. I don't know if she is used to sleeping with you and your spouse, but it will be alittle frustrating to break. As long as you know that your baby is ok, (diaper dry, not sick ect.) it is ok, to allow them to cry if they wake up in the middle of the night. Eventually she or he will break the waking up cycle. Agian, I know that it is hard as a mother to hear your baby crying and not naturally want to get up and respond, but it is best for you and your child to break this now. Especially if he or she is wanting juice in the middle of the night. One of my friends kids used to want juice throughout the night as well, and as a result her two front teeth decayed. So good luck with this, I hope this helps. I know that once I started doing this about 2 kids ago, that my last two children have had no issue's as of about 10 mths old with sleeping in there bed throughout the entire night. Agian good luck...
S.

Hello S.,

I agree with some other mothers who advise you not to let your daughter in bed with you during the night.

Hearing them crying is heartbreaking, that is true but you also need time for you, as well as the bed.

My daughter is 19 months old also. She has been teething for almost 6 weeks now (premolar). She's very easy to fall asleep but sometimes, she wakes up screaming and calling. I usually wait between 5 to 10 minutes before checking on her. If she keeps crying, I go in her room, I talk to her, I give her the sippy cup with water (no juice) and go back to my bed alone. If she looks scard (nightmares), I will take her in my arms and sit and sing to her...

Good luck.

I've heard nothing but wonderful testimonials about the Nikken Sleep System. It is a pad that lays on top of your mattress, along with a special comforter and pillow. The mattress pad and pillow have special magnets embedded in them, while the comforter has far-infrared ceramic tiles that react with the magnets to put your body into an all-natural, safe, balanced magnetic field. This improves circulation, regulates body temperature, and balances ph levels, all of which provide a much deeper and more recuperative sleep.

I use it myself, and swear by it. My special-needs son also sleeps on one, and his sleep quality and brain function have improved dramatically. When my grandbabies sleep over, they sleep on it, and wake less often. A friend of mine has a little boy who used to sleep-walk. They'd find him all over the house, and were obviously concerned for his safety. They put him on the Nikken Sleep System and he has stayed in his bed all night ever since. It's all-natural and perfectly safe for babies. It would help you get more, and better quality rest for yourself if you got one, too. If you'd like to learn more, please visit my webisite at www.nikken.com/brendaramsey.

Hi S.-

When my daughter went through this phase she was a little bit older, but I believe that she would wake up in the middle of the night and come down stairs thinking that it was morning and time to wake up. Some days she would actually get dressed before coming down to our room at 2:00 am! We started giving her a drink to keep by her bed and we told her to look out her window when she woke up and if it was still dark she had to stay in bed until it was light. She still came down for several nights after that, but we would take her back to her room, look out the window together and then decide whether it was time to get up or not. This seemed to work for her.

Good Luck,
K.

Oh puhlease e-mail me when you find the right answer b/c i am about to go NUTS with the same problem. I am not pregnant but I need my rest and I am so tired of the little person waking up at 4 kicking me saying mommy, move. mommy, hold me! Yesterday at 4 am ish she took off her diaper, (dry) and was rubbing it on herself and me and then wet my bed.....oh the drama. Please let me know what works. I also get that intense, at a funeral cry for mommy and I give in.....my husband could sleep through a tornado.
S., I feel your struggle!

At 19 months, my older daughter stated waking up three times a night because she just wanted to be with us. She had been sleeping through the night and quit. Because of teething, sickness, etc., I got in the habit of responding and letting her nurse to calm down.

Finally, after a few months of not sleeping, my husband and I picked a night and ignored her. This was painful, because she called for me by name for a really long time (over an hour). Then, my husband couldn't take it anymore and calmed her down. But I didn't go in and nurse nor did we give her a bottle. She was tired enough to go to sleep without it.

Then, the next night, she cried for about ten minutes and went back to sleep on her own.

The third night, she slept through the night.

It was REALLY, REALLY hard to do this, and it felt cruel at first... but I really needed sleep. Afterwards, she slept through the night like a charm for about another year.

I don't know if this works with every kid, but it did work for us.

Can you put a sippy cup near where she can reach it? Also I wouldnt let her get in your bed. Even if she has a bad dream we sleept on a blanket on the floor. That is a hard habbit to break. Think about when your fiance goes out of town and you have to try to fall asleep with out him there. You get use to having a warm somebody next to you and its hard to adjust. Good luck hope she stays in her own bed and sleeps threw the night.

I am having the same issue with my two year old, but have found a few things that seem to be working (keeping fingers crossed). I gave my son, one of my shirts that I had worn for him to sleep with. That way he could smell my scent. Alsok my son was coming to our room because he was scared of something in his room. So now in the night, I return him to his room, check the room, hug him, lay him down and then turn on some children's music or favorite story for him to listen to. It helps keep his mind off of what he was scared of. The player has an automatic shut off and only plays for about 15 minutes, just enough to help him sleep.

Bed time is bed time, you will have a fight on your hands. This is something that will cause tears for both of you. But just like getting off a bottle it will need to be done. Do NOT put this child in your bed. Keep her in her bed and make sure that she it in it. It will take repeated trips but you will win in the end. Good Luck. This is hard for everyone been there.