Sleeping Throgh the Night?

Mine didn't sleep over 6 hours until all his teeth came in. There was nothing we could do until those last teeth came in and, boom, he slept. If he already has his teeth, you may want to try new bedtime techniques or routines. No Cry Sleep Solution forToddlers is a good one. There are a lot of different ideas. One that worked for us was the "sleep fairy" who would deliver gifts for children who slept through the night. They were just dollar store nick nacks, but they worked. Take a look at the book and see if there's anythign that might work for you.

I'm not sure exactly what you've tried but I have to say with my son consistency of routine was key. Make sure you have a solid unwavering bedtime routine that your little one can depend on and give him/her key indicators that it's almost bedtime. Like turning down/off the TV, lower the lights or playing soft music.

There are tons of methods to help 'sleep learning' happen it's what you are most comfortable with that counts and finding what works best for your child. At 2 years old I would explain to my son that it was bedtime and Mommy was here but he needed to get rest. I'd rub his back until he fell asleep and then walk out but keep the door open. Often I'd let him sleep in my own bed at this stage to comfort and quell fears. But this is a personal choice and must be something you are comfy with too.

First figure out what the big issues are...does he/she wake up halfway through the night? Is it an actual waking or could it be bad dreams or night terrors? How does the kiddo fall asleep? Is this an easy process or tough one? Write it down and then you can come up with a game plan.

If you haven't done much research you should maybe check the web for the various methods, but just remember change happens over time with kiddos and there really isn't a quick fix to this issue.

Good Luck.

cry it outmethod does work - altho his is very late to start it - the key point is to stick with the method - whichever one you do choose. cry it out is the most emotionally difficult but everyone that i know that has done it has success.

Dear J.,
You haven't given much information but I would consider a few things. One, at what time do you put your 2yr old to sleep? Is he/she getting up to feed? is it nightmares? or just not wanting to be alone? Do you have a nightlight in the room? maybe that could help. I would try to give the last bottle of the night as late as possible and add cereal to it, and try to put her/him to sleep at 8-9pm. My oldest son, would want me to laydown with him until he fell asleep. It was uncomfortable for me, but it helped. He was 2 at the time and my baby was 4 months old and was in a crib in my room. So my husband and I would take turns to go laydown with him. My husband being 6'1" didn't fit in this toddler bed, so he would laydown leaning on the bed until my son would fall asleep. Try to find out what the issue is. I know my son at that age would love watching Scoobydoo but he would have nightmares every single time. I hope this helps you.

We have jumped through a number of hoops and tried many variations that worked at different times for DS. But after the last bout of teeth, we fell into a habit, and there was one night where he woke up every two hours. That was my breaking point.

So we did CIO. As painful as it was to listen to him cry, he only did it one night, and that was the end of it before he got the picture.
We endured a very long 17 minutes of him crying (he had all of his comfort items, he just wanted us to get up and rock him), before he finally laid back down and went to sleep.
We haven't had any issues since. DS is 20 mos old.

At this stage, it helped me to equate night waking to little temper tantrums during the day when he doesn't get his way. I wouldn't give in to him during the day, and I couldn't give in to him at night.

Worked like a charm. It's not for everyone, but it worked for us.
Good luck to you, whatever you decide!

Hi J.,
I agree with the other post to try to figure out why your toddler is waking up. Is she hungry, wet, scared? Is she not getting enough sleep? Is she over tired? I find that if I miss the window of when to put my baby to sleep, she then ends up being cranky, crying a lot and wakes up a bit more during the night.

I recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby by Marc Weissbluth. You might get a lot of advice from there.

Good luck!