Mom Seeking Sleep Advice on 16 Month Old

I am 39 years old married for almost 3 years to a wonderful man. I have a 9 1/2 year old son and a 23 month old son who is a handful. I am a stay at home. Sound familiar?? My little one will come and go with the screaming episodes and I've reacted in plenty different ways. The one that seems to work best is to ignore him or send in my husband because it's me he wants. I refer back to a book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child a lot for help. I hope it's been better for all of you:)

I know that it only takes 3 days to make it become a habit, so something needs to be done quickly if you are not ready to rock him back to sleep every night and nap. My son started doing this about 2 weeks ago, he's 12 months old. I thought it might be his teeth or an ear infection. I did the baby whisperer PUPD method and it worked great. Knock on wood, he hasn't gotten up in the middle of the night since.

Follow nanny suggestions( i have used them all at some point) sit in room away from the bed but dont look at the child, keep putting htem back in if they get out.. it may take hours, but they will get it. Dont Budge!! My girl is 3 and i tell her if she is good,i will keep coming in to give her kisses. If she is crying i wont coem back. so every 5 min i go back in, this will train her to not make a fuss and reward her for good behavior. Some nights i (forget) to go in and she has no problems. She is good going down for a few weeks, then bad for 1 week. Just testing me. no matter how upset they get, dont let it get to you!! They will absolutely love you in the morning... it is hard to hear them want you so bad.. but you know more than they do. Use a chart too, that is good for temporary rewards.

The feeling you get when they get up screaming really does stink. When I asked our pediatrician what to do he said that we had to ignore her, as mean as it sounded. He said she would learn that if she got up in the middle of the night every night screaming, one or both of us would come running in to soothe her, take her out, etc. He said we had to just let her fall back asleep. At first, I felt mean- but it worked, and now when she wakes up in the middle of the night she'll talk to herself for a little bit and go back to sleep. And if she wakes up screaming, we know there is genuinely something wrong. I hope this helps.

My 16 month daughter does the same. Not every night. YOu may think this is crazy, but every night before I put her to bed. I hold her and tell her how much I love her and missed her while I was away, but she needed to be a big girl and sleep all night, in her own bed, by herself till 6:30 or 8am(depending on the day). Would you believe it works!I know it sounds crazy, but she understands me and most of the time it really works.She likes to get up and sleep with me. I have now had to resort to going to bed much earlier. A few hours maybe,, after her. Getting less sleep due to getting up at 5:30 am M-F! She never as an infant ever wok up during the night. She has always been a great sleeper until she was 12 months. That's when she started this sleeping with mom. As long as she can touch me and see me she is happy and will sleep. If I let her sleep with me all night she will sleep all night. I don't know what else to do. I love her sleeping with me once or twice a week, but I hate how it makes her father feel and that we argue about it also.

Good luck! E. mother of 16 month Chloe Janae!

My 16 month old son does the exact same thing. We have started to try to help him learn to soothe himself, so I sit in his room with him at his bedtime. I don't talk to him or look at him. Just my presence is enough for him. He does little things or sings little songs until he falls asleep, which is usually within 10 minutes. My husband and I are hopeful that us needing to be there will end soon. When he awakens during the night, when he comes in our room, I just lead him back to bed.

The biggest things are making sure your son gets a good dinner, doesn't drink too much fluid before bedtime and that you're following your nightly routine.

Of course, I know this is easier said than done. Our son has NEVER been a good sleeper and my husband and I did ALL the WRONG things because we were desperate for much needed sleep. Now we are paying for it and trying to correct our mistakes.

Perhaps some of this will help!! Good luck!

The same thing happened with my daughter around 16 months also, it was during us getting ready to move so lots was going on around her and when we got to the new house we finally figured it out she couldn't look around her room the bumpers were in the way!! So we took the bumpers off of the front side of the crib and folded them back so it is just around 3 sides and I think the first night we did that she didn't cry!! Hope this helps!!

My son is 18 months old and he use to do around 12 months old so i read some where that if you play soothing music for them it helps. so now i put baby music on before he goes to bed then i put it back on before i go to bed and he sleeps like a log. He just needs the noise he doesn't like it to be quiet.but good luck.....

My daughter used to do the same thing. Have u tried givin him a bath in Huggues Lavendar babywash? Does he have a fav blanket or toy? or even try a sippy/bottle of icewater and a nightlight of some sort

Hi B.,

Let me ask you a question, when he starts screaming in the middle of the night do you go running into his room?
My doctor told me when my son started doing that, to just let him cry, not to go in his room. He said that by going in his room and taking him out of bed it was giving him the message that I was "rewarding" him for crying by hugging and kissing him and giving him drinks etc. After a couple of weeks of my son crying at night he seen that I wouldin't come running and he started sleeping through the night.

R. B

Staying home and loving it

The Future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams..... Eleanor Roosevelt

http://www.stayinhomeandlovinit.com/cgi-bin/team.cgi?id=R...
http://www.cbc.ca/MRL/clips/rm-lo/mesley_cleaner030311.rm

Hi B.-I think you already have an idea of what you need to do---not take him out of the crib. I know it is not easy, but, it is the only way he will get out of the habit. Since you are a stay at home Mom I am sure you love to hold your son, but, at 16 months, when he is trying to fall asleep, he really needs to learn to comfort himself. I know it is hard, but, it should not take him long to understand that Mom is not coming back in and he will fall asleep when he gets tired enough from his crying. Good luck and I feel for you, I have ben there myself. Just think of the more fun you both will get to enjoy after he learns to get a good night sleep and take naps on his own. You should both be better rested after a few weeks.