help. need sleep. ;)

Mrs.Reem · August 2011

Good gravy I can't believe my youngest is 20 mos old and I'm writing this. She won't sleep. help me.

She's slept all night on her own since last December.

Then we moved her to her big girl bed a month ago. Things were fine. She slept all night and didn't try to get out.

Then she got strep throat and everything went to hellina handbasket. She's been up every 2 hours for the past three weeks. After she was well again, I tried the no cry sleep solution and she's fine if I sit in her room while she falls asleep. However the second I'm out of her sight she's a mess. Screaming and crying, etc.

Basically she won't go to sleep without me there. Every two hours.

After the NCSS failed I moved on to the last resort. Ferber. That resulted in two nights of her eventually sleeping after 1.5 hours of off and on crying but then waking at 2am and not going to sleep at all until I gave in at 6am.

I don't have it in me to let her cry anymore because I feel like I'm breaking her trust (she's very attached to me) and I'm not getting any sleep.

Any other ideas for what to do?

Right now all i can do is sit in her room until she falls asleep, and then when she wakes at 2am I go in and sleep on a mattress next to her bed. She still wakes and cries for me but when she realizes I'm right there she goes right back to sleep. I'd really like to sleep in my own bed.

I've created a monster.

firsttogo · August 2011

From one desperate momma to another, I would drag her heiny in bed with me... bad advice, but survival.

Mrs.Reem · August 2011

lol! I was doing that until DH kicked us out.

No baby in the bed, he says.

LoveMyGirlz · August 2011

Oh poor you! Is she for sure feeling better/strep is gone? When they're sick all the rules are thrown out (in our house). My 19 month old is sick right now (pink eye and ear infection) and the last few nights has been waking up.She's normally an excellent sleeper (she's still in a crib though). What we do is my husband will go in and bring her into our bed and she lays down next to him quietly by some miracle, and then he'll bring her back to her crib after half an hour or so and she goes to sleep. I don't know if that would work for you. Will she rationalize at all? Like, you'll let her have water in her bed if she stays there, etc. Remember "it's only temporary"! I know though, you need some sleep!!

( I don't know why I use so many parantheses) haha

firsttogo · August 2011

Ok, so I know that this may be poorly received, but what if she is not really ready for the big girl bed? Nolan tried it, and went back to the crib for a while. He felt more secure in it, and we just left him. He slept better, and we did too! He was out of the crib by 26 months.

sweetpea18 · August 2011

firsttogo:
Ok, so I know that this may be poorly received, but what if she is not really ready for the big girl bed? Nolan tried it, and went back to the crib for a while. He felt more secure in it, and we just left him. He slept better, and we did too! He was out of the crib by 26 months.

My 29 month old is still in the crib. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Lol! We're actually going to convert her crib this weekend and it scares the beejeezus out of me!

LisaMarisa · August 2011

I feel you. DS didnt STTN until he was 2! I tried everything and nothing worked, he finally just outgrew it. It was exhausting but I think strong-willed children (as my DS is and I think you said before your DD is) are going to fight any method that you try to use so I would just do whatever helps you get the most sleep now.

Hopefully she outgrows it soon!

LoveMyGirlz · August 2011

How did last night go? What about if you bought several dollar store presents and explained that if she slept in her room all night long without you in there, she would get a present every morning...? We did this with Julia when we were getting her to sleep in her room, for about a week, week and a half and then the presents stopped but she stayed in. I don't know if Ana is too young for that concept or not, or if she'd care.

orange682 · August 2011

My DD did something like this around that age, and our Dr. said she was old enough to sleep on her own and we should let her cry it out. At that time we had a baby proof doorknob on the inside of her bedroom.

She suggested that rather go in her room, we stand on the other side of the door and say something like "Mommy loves you, but it's night time and it's time to go to sleep. I will see you in the morning". She said we should repeat the same thing to her after 15 min, then 20 minutes, then 25 min, etc. to reiterate that we are still here and that we love her, but that she needs to go to sleep.

christiney06 · August 2011

did you do check ins when you did the Ferber?? my son got worse when we did them, it was almost like we were taunting him w/ the possibility of picking him up, so as horrible as it sounds we just had to let him straight CIO. it worked much better and the longest he cried after that was 45min. good luck!

emmyloustu · August 2011

Well, we still have some teething/milestone related sleep disruptions & I STILL rock to sleep, so maybe my advice needs a grain of salt, but here goes!

So, E's sleep was AWFUL after her surgery in april and it took us a few months to get it straightened out. I took the advice of Lucyp and really started talking up sleep during the day and before bedtime. I say things like, "Tonight you are going to sleep all night long in your crib. Mommy & daddy are here and we will be here all night and when you wake up in the morning. You need to take a good rest because we had/have a very busy day today/tomorrow and mommy and daddy need to rest too. You are safe. We love you." All kinds of positive reassuring sleep talk. Then, in the morning, when she does STTN, we make a big deal, "HOORAY!!! You did it! You slept ALL night! We are SO proud of you. etc..."

Call me crazy, but we noticed a big difference almost immediately.

Another thing I know Lucyp did and I was going to do, was email the NCSS author for more personalized advice. She did that with jack and got a great response!

I feel your pain, mama! Hope it all works out soon!

Mrs.Reem · August 2011

sweetpea18:
firsttogo:
Ok, so I know that this may be poorly received, but what if she is not really ready for the big girl bed? Nolan tried it, and went back to the crib for a while. He felt more secure in it, and we just left him. He slept better, and we did too! He was out of the crib by 26 months.
My 29 month old is still in the crib. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Lol! We're actually going to convert her crib this weekend and it scares the beejeezus out of me!

It was broke. She's very tall and climbs out on the lowest setting. She's part monkey. I caught her one day sitting on top of her book shelf that thankfully is attached to the wall, when she was supposed to be sleeping. Yeah... part monkey. Crib tents don't fit on our crib either.

She was sleeping in her bed just fine and did so for a month before all of this went down. I just don't get it.

LucyPevensie · August 2011

I think the combination of a developmental growth spurt and being sick just has her spazzing out. I think if you can grit your teeth and give her say, 2 more weeks of you calming her down as needed - but sort of making yourself "less available" with each passing night (not talking to her, just calming/shushing her or patting her back and at most saying "back to sleep, time to sleep") - I think she'll come out of this on her own and get back to "normal." I think it is just residual "fear" from the sore throat/illness and again, a brain growth spurt.

Want a personalized experience?

help. need sleep. ;)

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