Help. I moved ds to big boy bed too soon!

dar12

I really thought this was a good idea. We had been sleeping in the extra bed with him or just him and so I wanted him to have his own bed that I could lay in if he was having a hard time sleeping.  Yes I know all of the bad things about a 2 yr old and this arrangment but that's not today's issue.

 we moved ds's crib into ds2's room because it was nicer and then moved the other crib out. Ds has been in his big bed for a week and I am about to jump off the balcony. He gets out 4000 times but he runs around and gets so hyper that falling asleep takes forever. I know 10 pm does not sound late but I physically can't stay up this late anymore. We are up at 5:30 with ds 2 and I'm officially a zombie. What do I do? I have not seen any great things to keep them in bed aside from the bedrail we already have.

Ds has a language delay so I can't rationalize with him yet. Getting closer but not there yet..

thanks for help

Hooray2005

So you still have a second crib?

From my experience working in a pediatric sleep clinic, the best bet is to move him back into his crib.  Developmentally, some children are not ready for the "freedom" a bed provides until age three or later (my DS will be three next week and is still in a crib b/c he'd be doing exactly what you described above!)

You might have a few nights of protesting, but more than likely, if he was sleeping well in his crib prior to the move, he'll do well again (and if he is trying to climb out, a crib tent is a great way to keep him safe).  GL!

dar12

I think you're right. He just got 90% there in brothers crib *baby is in our bed until he falls asleep at night, and I put him in his bed for the full fall asleep but I can't keep going like this :O)

jen5-03

Are you trying to just put him in bed awake and let him go to sleep on his own? My DD has never fallen asleep on her own in her life, so no words of wisdom there.

Or do you stay with him until he goes to sleep and he still does this? This is what works for us.

DD has been in a big bed since 16mo and does pretty well with our night time ritual. At 8 the TV goes night-night and so does DD. Night time diaper, brush teeth, pajamas and pick out books.

She gets 3-5 books, read with only a dim wall-light on, not the bright overhead light. The last book is always the same and the light gets turned off. It's pitch dark in her room. We sing about 3-4 songs until she goes to sleep.

On nights she fights going to bed, one of us will lay down next to her and hug her next to us so she's slightly restrained and can't get out of bed (but can roll over and flop around a bit). Holding her in place usually settles her down very quickly and once she stops moving she usually drops off fast. She does not get out of bed at night, if she wakes up she'll cry and call for me - i think this is because it's so dark in her room.