My 22 Month Old Wont Sleep Through the Night - HELP

Is there any chance she's getting her molars? Although I let my son cry it out at other times, when I knew his teeth were bothering him, I would go to him, give him baby motrin, and then repeat his bedtime routine (books, songs) to give it a chance to kick in. Then put him down. Then, if he woke up again, I knew I had already done what I could for his teeth, and would let him cry. It worked for us, but you daughter may have something else going on. Good luck!

There is a book called "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley that you might try.

My now 5 year old was never a good sleeper from day one. After she outgrew swaddling, I desperately sought a solution so I could get some sleep. I noticed she liked Baby Einstein videos so I looked for something that would play a movie on the ceiling. I found the Fisher Price Flutterbye Soother crib toy which plays a rotating cartoon image on the ceiling as well as lullabye music.

My daughter would turn it on 2+ times per night and would go back to sleep on her own 9 out of 10 times. Your daughter may be too old for it now if she's out of a crib. We kept it by my daughter's toddler bed until about 3 years old though.

If your daughter likes watching DVDs, perhaps you can find a toy similar to the Flutterbye that your daughter can turn on whenever she wakes up.

Good luck1

I wish I could help! I just want you to know that you are not alone. I have a 3 year old that has been such a yo-yo sleeper! Cry it out is so hard and it works temporarily but he usually has his cycles where he just wont sleep well. I figured out that its my inconsistency sometimes wanting things to work forever after trying something for 2 weeks. The point is that if you stick with whatever you feel works sometimes then eventually things will calm down and get better. Not to say that there will not be hard times but some kids/people are just better sleepers than others. Bless your heart I know how it feels!! I will tell you that the good cycles are much longer than the bad ones these days & my son is over 3. Good luck!! Just keep following your routine and she will get that you mean business.

For a child that old all they are learning is that you don't care about them. At that age we took a pallet and put it under the bed. They slept beside us and we all got sleep. The more of a problem you make it the more of a problem it will be. I've known so many people who fight their kids with the cry it out method and then they wonder why their 6 through 9 year old causes a stink at bed time when they are older. It's because that's what the parent taught them to do to get to sleep.

I had the same problem with my 2nd son. My first son slept throught the night at 8 weeks and is still a great sleeper. Son #2 had to be rocked all night. He woke up every 3-4 hours and would cry for attention. At about 22 months I thought I was going to lose it too and people made me feel bad when they heard he still wasn't sleeping more than 3-4 hours at a time. I tried everything...changed his bedtime routine, bath/no bath, books, changed his nap times, cry-it-out, everything. My dr. told me that it is a developmental milestone and some kids need to learn to put themselves back to sleep if they wake up during the night. It takes a while for some kids. About 2 months ago I moved him to a toddler bed and I still have to rub his tummy to get him to sleep, but he is finally sleeping on his own - he is 28 months. I know it's painful but there really wasn't anything I could do except give him love when he needed it. Believe me, I know you're tired and sick of it, but now that he's sleeping I still wake up and go check on him :) I had a lot of advice that was basically - deal with it and enjoy the time together. Now that he's sleeping I realize that rocking a sleeping baby really is treasured time. Good luck I wish I had a magic solution!!

I would highly recommend letting your child co-sleep. It was a life saver for us, and I never had to let my babies cry themselves to sleep. (how frightening that must be for them to cry for mom when they are scared, and mom never shows up!)

New studies based on science and neurology are showing that crying it out is bad for baby's brain. It causes the brain to release cortisol. The baby is highly stressed, which isn't healthy.

I'm going to try to post a link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article###-###-#...

I have been there! First of all, it is nothing you are doing. Some kids are just better sleeps than others. My oldest daughter was just like your little one (at 11, she still has trouble falling asleep easily, and actually doesn't need that much sleep), while my son has always slept great. My third seems to fall somewhere in between. Crying it out did not work for us either. Not only did she just get more wound up, but it made me too sad. Here are some things that worked for us. Try letting her listen to relaxing music, make sure she has a nightlight or enough light so that she's not scared, a special stuffed animal to cuddle with, etc. Don't understimate how much they can understand at this age. Tell her that everyone goes to sleep at night (mommy, daddy, the sun, the dog next door, her friends, etc.) and that she has to go to sleep so she has energy to play the next day. Promise to come check on her at regular intervals if she acts like a big girl and doesn't cry and tries to go to sleep. Keep it to a few minutes at first so she sees you will really come back and for positive reinforcement, then work up to longer intervals as she is ready. You could also try a sticker chart and give her a sticker for every night she is a "big girl," with a prize after five stickers, or whatever. This worked really well with my youngest. Finally, although this would be a last resort, you could give her Benadryl for a few nights to break the poor sleep habit, although check with your pediatrician first. Our pediatrician recommended this when my oldest daughter was about 18 months old because she was getting NO sleep. After about a week, she was sleeping through the night. Good luck and hang in there!