What to Do with My Sons Sleeping Habits

Hi O.,

I think the night terrors are pretty common for his age. You might try adjusting the amount of light in his room at night. Also, when he wakes up, reassure him that everything is OK. Talk to him about what he's scared of and try to reassure him before he goes to sleep. You might also get some "monster spray" (Glade makes some nice varieties) and have him help you spray his room before he goes to bed. I gave my son a squirt bottle with a little water in it "for emergencies" and I sprayed a little Lysol, Oust, or Glade room freshener in there before bed for a few days and told them it was like bug spray for monsters. It helped a lot.

As for getting his legs stuck in the crib. Another option would be to take a big sheet (King or queen size), put it under the crib mattress and up over the sides of the crib bumper and pin it into place. That way, he can't get under it, but he can't get stuck between the rails either. I hope I explained that enough. My mom had to do it with my brother.

Good luck!

Well I had to take my daughter out of her crib when she was 16 months old, because she was trying to crwal out. I put her in a twin bed that has rails all around and she did great. Maybe you should try putting himin a big boy bed.

As for the night terrors, I had them when I was little. My mama said she used to try to hold me, but she couldn't, so she would take me out of my bed and let me run in the living room until it was over. You can't wake a child that has these, they just have to take their course. She would keep me from hurting myself and i would eventually calm down and she was able to give me hugs and kisses and put me back to bed. I finally grew out of them, but my mom said it was stressful to watch. Good luck.

Hi,
I also have a 21 month old and I am also pregnant (22 weeks). I also have two other children, 7 and 4. I feel for you. All children are sooooo different and they each have their own quirks and their own fears. My daughter is a fish in the water and my 4 year old son has screamed through every single bath we have ever given him since birth. Talk about frustrating. Anyway, you might just have to take away a lot of the things he is pointing at that are making him a little scared. We had a stuffed moon with eyes that my daughter has had since she was a baby, when she turned five we had to put it away for awhile because she said it was staring at her and she was real scared. As he grows so does his understanding of his surroundings and his concepts of things. Also you might not want to start this but if he had his own bed you could lay with him to calm him down or your partner could, just to make him feel secure and safe. Those are just a few suggestions. Also a bright nightlight that is almost like a soft lighted lamp might help. I have tried a million other things with my kids because some works and some doesn't, but I will say that laying with them helps them to sleep but it can get frustrating when they take too long to fall asleep. Good luck.

O.K.,first off my daughter just turned 2 and she is a wiggle worm sleeper too,AND she seems to have nightmares also...waking up terrified of things that have ALWAYS been there,I think she's still asleep when she does this.I just try and calm her and we have to end up moving to another room becauase she refuses to go back to sleep in the bedroom,we co-sleep,so usually we move to the sofa.Also just wondering,what DO you have on the walls?Is it clowns???I've heard that is one of the leading phobias in people and it usually starts young!My nephew,who is now 23 years old,is terrified of clowns...since he was born,his mother decorated his room with clowns,at various stages-cartoon clowns,matinee clowns,etc-and he never told her until preteen that clowns absolutely terrified him!!!Just thought I'd throw that in,just in case.For the life of me I don't know what these babies could be having nightmares about,but I guess they have them just like us and you just have to calm them down,sorry I have no good answers,just wanted to let you know,your not alone,Good Luck,R.

Is there a bumber in the crib?

My daughter is 22 months old and we have moved her into a daybed with a guard rail on it and she is sleeping so much better there. We also have a baby gate at her bedroom door. She was just too big for her crib.