Any ideas? At all? Please.

mamarazzi

Andersen just turned two.  He's always been a crappy sleeper, but it had gotten better. It was to the point where we could read a couple books, lay him in bed, give him his monkey and leave and he'd fall asleep.

Over the past few weeks, it's been getting progressively worse.  First, he started with throwing all his stuff out of the crib a few minutes after we left the room.  He often does this in the middle of the night.  Typically, we just give him back his stuff, tell him "night night" and walk away.  This routine has been getting more and more frequent.  Sometimes we end up laying him back down ten times.  Often, he'll kick his legs and start crying, kicking and throwing stuff before we even get out of the room.

He shares the room with his brother, so this is a huge disruption for him.  I started warning Andersen that if he wasn't quiet, his brother would sleep in the spare room.  This worked for a couple days (and we follow through and do move his brother), but now that threat doesn't work either.

Last night, I ended up sitting in the room until AJ fell asleep.  It took an hour.  Then he woke up at 3am.  He was up for over two hours, even with one of us in the room.  We're ALL exhausted today...especially since he was then up at 6:15.  I tried to let him CIO and go back to sleep, but after two hours, he hadn't.

I'm pretty sure it's a manipulation thing.  He knows if he cries and throws his monkey/blanket/binky that we'll come back.

He's crying it out right now for a nap.  I don't know what else to do.  He's obviously exhausted -- he'd actually just dozed off in the car, so I know he's tired.  We were just at the pediatrician and he checks out fine.  He has bouts of constipation that we've chalked sleepness days and nights up to before, but he's been regular in that department lately.

I'm at my wit's end.  I just don't know what to do to improve his sleep habits.

EMT

Crib tent and CIO? Sounds freaking miserable

DandelionMom

With the constipation, I'd worry about food allergies/intolerances being a problem (didn't he have trouble with this before?).? DDs with celiac disease always have insomnia issues when they've been glutened.? White noise helps.??

hikerbeth

I can't remember how old he is.  When DD started having sleep troubles (after being a pretty great sleeper for a long time) she told us she wanted a "big girl bed" and that solved everything.  She was about 28 months.

mamarazzi

DandelionMom:

With the constipation, I'd worry about food allergies/intolerances being a problem (didn't he have trouble with this before?).  DDs with celiac disease always have insomnia issues when they've been glutened.  White noise helps.

He was diagnosed at 6 months with allergies to milk, soy, eggs, oats, peanuts and tree nuts (with a skin test).  He had a blood test around 18 months and was negative to everything but nuts.  However, dairy still gives him issues if he has too much and he had a reaction to egg-based immunizations, so I don't know if I trust the results of the blood test vs. the skin test.  We do notice a change in his sleep when he's gotten an abundance of dairy, but since this has been going on for a few weeks, I don't necessarily attribute it to diet.  Maybe we should head back to the allergist anyway, though.

mlm1128

I'm sure this will get some negative feedback,but only one thing ever worked for us. DD was the crappiest sleeper until she was, oh..let's say 4.  She is a true manipulator, and frankly for a while there I was too tired to care.  I did whatever she wanted because I needed to sleep.  Fortunately she was in a bed by 2, so one of use would lay down with her until she fell asleep. It was the only way to get her to go to sleep.  And then we bought her a body pillow, so when she woke up she felt like some one was there. It worked about 50% of the time. Other nights one of us would go back in for a bit until she was sleeping again. She still gets up about once a week, but now she just comes in our room and crawls in between us.  Normally it's about 4 am, so we just let her stay there.

Does your other ds have a bed big enough for him to lay in with him?  Maybe he will fall asleep and then you can move him.  DD just always likes to feel close to someone or snuggled up.  She is very attahced to her blanket and her baby.

r9stedt

Ug.  I don't know.   I agree with EMT, but DM makes a good point.

 

I was up all night long redirecting Lucas to his bedroom because I don't want him in my bed anymore.    

krissymoves

What about moving him to a bed/toddler bed? It might mean moving the older one to the spare room temporarily, but maybe it would be better over time? He'd have access to his monkey and blankets, and could possibly occupy himself until he's tired enough to fall asleep. Once he's in a rhythm, you could move your older back in.

We moved my son at 19 months because he would get out of his crib in the middle of the night, but had trouble getting back in. We put the toddler bed in his room, baby-proofed it the best we could, then put him in there. It took him a little bit of exploring to discover that his bed is the most comfortable place to sleep (he slept on the floor and in his chair a few times), but it didn't take too long.

Just a thought.

AngelNDavid

I suggest a crib tent, CIO and this white noise machine ( White Noise Machine - SleepMate 980A).  Google it and you'll get tons of places that sell them.  I have them for both of my DDs and they basically sleep through anything now.  You can actually buy two and put one near DS1 and the other near DS2.  

 Can you move DS2 to the spare room until he works through his sleep issues?  I'd feel more comfortable letting my DC CIO in their own room versus having them bother their sibling.   

Sarah&JoeinSC

My 2 yo is very stubborn.  Just before she turned 2 she began throwing paci, etc. out of her crib and crying for it until we'd retrieve it.  She also started attempting to climb out.  We switched her to a twin mattress on the floor and that way if she got out, or threw stuff out, she could get it and get back in herself.  It lost it's appeal and she's gone to sleep pretty well since. 

cokt

Could he be getting his molars? That might explain the waking in the middle of the night. Also, how do you think he would do in a regular bed? James got tired of his crib a little before 2 1/2 and the transition to a twin bed was super easy and he slept great in it. I hope you can find something that works before the baby get here! I'm sorry, sleep issues suck :-(

ccm1203

I would warn him before bed that if he throws his stuff out that he won't get it back if that doesn't work after a few days I would seriously think about moving him into a regular bed.

AngelNDavid

I wanted to add I wouldn't recommend putting him in a big boy bed yet.  I personally wouldn't have been able to handle my DD1 going to a big girl bed 3 weeks before her sister was born.  There is going to be such a huge adjustment for both of your boys when your DD arrives that I wouldn't throw that into the mix yet.  Seriously, I'd go with the crib tent and see where that takes you.  

Good Luck! 

Zenya

DandelionMom:

With the constipation, I'd worry about food allergies/intolerances being a problem (didn't he have trouble with this before?).  DDs with celiac disease always have insomnia issues when they've been glutened.  White noise helps.

He sounds uncomfortable.  Awake for 2 hours in the night is not a comfortable child, I'd say. 

veloelle

ccm1203:

I would warn him before bed that if he throws his stuff out that he won't get it back if that doesn't work after a few days I would seriously think about moving him into a regular bed.

I wouldn't put anything back in the crib unless it was essential, like a paci and blanket. No extras. 

peekaboo716

Do you think any of this could be related to the stress of the holidays and then the upcoming arrival of the new baby?

I would do a crib tent first. If that doesn't work, I would move him to a new bed.

(((hugs))) you all need your sleep!

J&A2008

Since you mention the spare room... I'd think about separating the kids for good. 

penguingrrl

Both of my girls showed those kinds of behaviors when they were ready to move from the crib to the bed.  And both adjusted quickly.  Julia stayed in the room while Emma moved to a bed (there was nowhere else to put her) and now they share Julia's bed. You might want to try moving to the bed and see how he does.

Another thought is that he's aware that you're about to have a baby and you're distracted (I know you've posted about false labor a few times) and he may be reacting to that.  I would try giving him extra undivided attention for the next few weeks as well as you're able to.

shiloh17

I would say either 2yr molars, try motrin or tylenol before bed. If thats not the issue, it sounds like what my guys did when it was time for the toddler bed. It may be a pretty easy transition bc he can be a "big boy" like his brother. We put a gate at their door, and kept the crib up. We pushed the toddler bed up against the crib, so it wasnt a shock that his crib was gone. We kept the bedtime routine the same, and stayed in the room til he dozed off the first few nights. It made bedtime an hour ordeal, so we did it over a weekend. I didnt stress about him wandering around the room, but rather kinda ignored him. He explored a lil bit, but eventually laid down. It took a few nights, but it wlas fine. Good luck!