My 2Yr Old Son Still Will Not Sleep Through the Night...

Awww poor thing..could it be teeth (2 yr molars?)..maybe a nightmare? it seems like 2 yr old go through a no sleeping phase. -Jen (mom of a 7 yr old,2 yr old, 5 month old)

I'm sorry to hear your woes! My DS (over 3) just got off the Nuk (we snipped the tip) and there was no struggle. He labelded it broken and that was that. However, I would not take away the nuk until the sleep issue is resolved.

But about the sleeping-- does he wake at the same time every night? Does he wake with fear? Is he having dreams (ask him what happened, ask him to tell you what he feels)?

I ask these questions b/c homeopathy has helped my kids' sleeping inconsistencies. we see Dr. Polich in Naperville (www.dupagehomeopathic.com). She uses homeopathic remedies to help treat kids and adults w/ chronic illness, and sleep disorders are just one part of a whole person's "picture" that she uses to figure out the right remedy.

You could try an "OTC" remedy that's homeopathic: Hyland's Calms Forte. The next time he wakes at night, give him one pellet (he can just chew it, doesn't have to be dissolved under the tongue to be effective). YOu should see improvement. If he doesn't improve after giving him one pellet after each waking session in 2 nights, then the remedy does not work, and you should stop it. Then you need to see a professional homeopath. You can email me offline if you want to know more about homeopathy (I am part of a study grp), or you can read all about it on Dr. Polich's website.

Best of luck!
Jen (Naperville)

Is he potty trained Yet? Maybe he drowning in p.p. or an acidic b.m. Maybe he's hungry. Do you get up and check that everything is alright? Have you tried a music box or musical toy ball he can knock around his bed until he falls back to sleep. Playschool maked a plastic ball, larger than a softball that has flat edges. Every time the ball is rolled it plays another note (not songs). Good luck

hi J.,

Your post is almost identical to another one I responded to recently: Here is my response (she was posting about her 3-yr-old daughter - so I just copied and pasted here) Also, we have a bedtime routine that we stick to (bath, pj's, story, prayers), they are comforted by routine.... good luck to you.

I can sympathize with you - as my 4 yr old daughter STILL doesn't always sleep through without calling for me, so I'll be interested to read other responses with you.

A lot of people will disagree on this - but I wouldn't worry about the pacifier, I would let her have that if it comforts her - later on you'll figure out a way to take her off that when she's a little older.

The only thing I found that gave us some nights of uninterrupted sleep at that age was a LeapFrog thing that plays music with a softly-lit picture (sorry I can't think of the name of it right now). It's made to go on the side of a crib but you can also just prop it up in her bed a(it has rounded corners) and if she wakes up and plays it, it can help her get back to sleep (this worked SOMETIMES with our daughter).

The key is - as you said - to help her learn how to get herself back to sleep, although it can be difficult with her brother also waking up.

Since you just recently potty-trained (that is huge I know) you might want to wait just a little while longer before changing any other routines.

I know from the sound of my daughter's voice if she REALLY needs me (like she had a nightmare, or is sick etc) or if she just wants me to come in and help her back to sleep. I had to stop going in every time and let her cry a bit, sometimes I would stand just outside her door and tell her firmly to "go back to sleep, everything is okay" and finally she stopped calling for me so much. I also noticed this reduced drastically once she gave up her daytime nap (but your daughter is still young for that).

Since she likes to touch your ears, she wants the reasurrance that you're there - you can probably gradually get her used to that in some other way, like sometimes just talking to her from outside her room - and giving her something soft to touch at bedtime (my daughter has a 'blankie' with tassels around the edge).

But still, even at age four - I don't always get uninterrupted sleep every night - and interrupted sleep is really the worst! It's interesting how all kids are different, my other two never interrupted my sleep - although both had 'blankies'and my other daughter had a pacifier.... good luck ... I'll be reading the other posts with you.... (Yawn)

W.

Oh, I feel your pain. My daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was past two. She's still a fairly bad sleeper at four, coming into our bed sometime during the night almost every night. It's the total opposite of my son who sleeps like a log. I guess it's just personality difference.

As far as the pacifier, we got rid of it at three, and we started by limiting use to only when in her bed. We did that for a couple months. Then the flat out not having it at all took three nights of fits before she accepted it. Then we were done.

We had the exact same issue (so let me say, oh I am soo sorry-that is soo hard, and no you are not a totally incompetent parent :)!) We finally found some help with this doctor, she is a pediatric sleep specialist out of alexian brothers hospital, the number is ###-###-####...She had advice that totally worked for our son and was the antithesis of all the millions of things we had read about sleep!! Hope you get some sleep soon!

I know what you are going through. I went through the same thing when my eldest was little. Although he didn't have a paci,he couldnt get the concept of sleeping. So, we had sleep deprived parents and child. Anyway, his paci might be falling out of his mouth at night and he doesn't' know how to put it back in. OR you can try to transition him to another self soothing solution like a stuffed animal or a blanket. If all he needs is a hug a night, maybe you need to start having "bed time business" where he knows what he has to do and have an extra cuddle time before he goes to sleep. Read him a story and let him know that you are in the next room. So he knows where you are. Good Luck

J.,

I have an 18 month old daughter that we went through several different attempts with to get her to sleep better at night. She was never a terrible sleeper, but just wasn't good at soothing herself back to sleep if she woke up. So I was going in at night and having to hold her for 10 minutes to get her back to sleep. What I finally found is that for her she needed to learn to fall asleep on her own. I am not a proponent of cry it out, especially of the HSH,HC theory of letting them cry for as long as it takes. We tried it a couple of times, but never got past a half an hour. Like your son, my daughter would just get herself really worked up.

What ended up finally working was that I would go through the nighttime routine with her and when she was just about to fall asleep, I would lay her down in the crib. The first few nights she got really upset, but I would talk to her calmly, try singing some songs to her and I would pat her on the back, or run her head, or put my hand on her cheek, whatever she would let me do to help calm her down. The only time I left her was if she wouldn't lie down I would tell her I was going to leave until she could calm down and lie down. I would leave for a minute the first time and if she wasn't lying down when I went back in I would lie her down and tell her it was time to lie down. If she wouldn't stay down I would leave for two minutes and do the same. I never got past four minutes. When she woke up during the night I would do the same, I didn't pick her up and just told her it was time to sleep and that I would stay with her but she needed to lie down. The first 2 nights were tough. It took a week in total before she would lie down and not fuss at all and she would sleep all night on her own.

Less than a month after my success she got a skin irritation around her mouth and I was forced to take her pacifier away (last Friday). It was much tougher this time! She had a really hard time and it did not work to not pick her up at all. She was hysterical in her crib. This time I tried the 3 minute rule. I would lie her down like usual, and if she threw a fit I would try the old pattern but when she got really worked up I would tell her that I was going to hold her for three minutes but then I was going to put her down and she needed to lie down. Then we would start the process again. The first two nights she had such a tough time that during one of 3 minute pick ups she fell asleep and didn't stir when I put her back in the crib. The third night was a little easier. Last night I laid her down when she was about to fall asleep and she looked at me and then rolled over and went to sleep. She slept until 5:30 on her own and then slept with me for another hour. So I hope that by the end of the week she is sleeping well on her own and without the pacifier.

I have read suggestions that would say do the pacifier and the sleeping on his own at once. I don't know if it would have been better or worse for me. If the first 2 nights without the pacifier had lasted a week I am not sure if I would have stuck it out, because it was hard. Having the success of her sleeping well with the pacifier helped me deal with it.

I think I learned the 3 minute rule from someone who used "The Baby Whisperer" so you might want to check that out. In the end you will recognize what works for you and your son and the two of you will figure it out.

Good luck,
D.

Same here - but we've to take the child into our bed - it's crowded in there! lol!! I'm of the school that you cannot "baby" a toddler - the poor little guy might be scared of the dark, had a bad dream who knows - if my child wants me then i've no problem in making them happy. I hope you can get uninterrupted sleep soon, though.

Your son probably need more of your attention during the day. He seems to need a bit more assurance that you are there. Separtation anxiety. let him be able to see you while you do chores.

Let him cry it out. He is older, so he may cry for hours the first night, however, the second night it will be less and even less the third night. If you are consistent, your problem will be solved in one week

What is going on before he goes to bed? Play time, TV going and what is on it? Have you tried reading to him a pleasent book of his choice. How about a bath to relax him. How about a friend (like a stuff animal) at the foot of his bed to protect him when he sleeps.

Hi!We have 18 months son who was not a good sleeper either.We bought a Fisher-price aquarium and put it in his crib. Every time when he woke up crying, we turned it on. It did not help in the begining, but after few weeks we realized that the aquarium calms him down.Now he turns it on by himself and comes back to sleep.Maybe you should buy this aquarium.Good luck.

Hi jenna
My daughter was the same way when she was born. What i did was not let her napp, and wore her out doing many different activities at night before her bedime. Then when she took a bath i used lavender body soap and gave her a warmer bath than usual and i would lay next to her pretending i was asleep, within an hour she knocked out. the key is no napping and get him really active before bed, do this everyday until his bedtime routine changes, sometimes a car ride would knock her out.

I would still suggest letting him cry it out more. It may take days before you see improvement. Yes, it will get louder and he'll be more upset in the beginning but the payback will be worth it. He'll learn to comfort himself and that he doesn't have to get up to feel secure. It won't be long and you'll get a good night's sleep!