Help me- toddler sleep problems

slwprincess · August 2012

Sophie was always a good sleeper- lay her down and walk away, she would sleep all night. But the problems started in June- right after our big family trip to Disney. While we were down there, her schedule got screwed up. Then we got home and all of a sudden- no more laying her down, she wanted to be rocked. That was fine for a while- I like my snuggles and it was just a few minutes and then she'd pass out. Well, over time, those few minutes turned into half an hour. And now an hour. So we have tried CIO a few times- that always worked with Gavin. He'd scream for 20 min or so and then give up and pass out. One or two nights of this and he was back to his usual sleep pattern. Well, not Sophie. Last night, she screamed for a full hour. We'd go in and pat her back and tell her we loved her every once in a while at first, but then she'd just scream harder when we left. Finally, at the 1 hour mark, I went in there and she had thrown up a little on the floor! We both felt so bad that I picked her up and rocked her to sleep while DH sang songs. 10 min and she was out like a light. But now, I don't know what to do?! I'm afraid we basically just taught her that if she screams long enough, we'll cave. But I mean, SHE THREW UP! What was I supposed to do? Leave her there? We probably shouldn't have done CIO last night- she's been teething horribly and I thought it was over but she still had a lot of mucousy drainage (probably the cause of the throw up). So now, I need a plan for how to fix this? Obviously, I'm going to wait another week or so to make sure she's totally healthy but then what? We have tried earlier bedtime and later bedtime. Waiting for her to show signs of sleepiness. Regular bedtime routine. What else can we do?

susangilchrist · August 2012

What would happen if you gradually decreased the amount of time you rock her? Good luck!!

smynings_bride · August 2012

Sounds like you're doing all the right things. The only thing I would add is that I'd probably give her motrin or tylenol and gas drops. I find when we're in a CIO situation I think she gives herself a headache from crying and she sucks in a lot of air and sometimes ends up with gas pains. I don't mean this as a long term solution but if we do this for one night it usually helps us get back on track.

mingaling2 · August 2012

I'm sorry. It seems like you're doing all the things we've tried, too, but Mia never threw up. We started playing her music at night before putting her down to try to relax her and then we turn on that turtle thing that projects stars.

She was HORRIBLE in Orlando last week, so I had to start telling her she has to stay in bed "until the sun comes up" a million times, over and over, and that seems to be working for now ::knock on wood::

slwprincess · August 2012

smynings_bride:
Sounds like you're doing all the right things. The only thing I would add is that I'd probably give her motrin or tylenol and gas drops. I find when we're in a CIO situation I think she gives herself a headache from crying and she sucks in a lot of air and sometimes ends up with gas pains. I don't mean this as a long term solution but if we do this for one night it usually helps us get back on track.

I have been giving her tylenol and/or benadryl at bedtime b/c of the teeth and congestion. Actually, I'm wondering if the benadryl wasn't part of the problem last night. It has unpredictable effects on my kids- sometimes they will pass out and sometimes it makes them super active. I think it may have made her active last night. But I haven't thought about the gas thing... hmmm.

slwprincess · August 2012

susangilchrist:
What would happen if you gradually decreased the amount of time you rock her? Good luck!!

The problem is, right now, we have to rock her until SHE's ready to get in her crib. If we put her down before she asks for it, she starts screaming. That's what set it all off last night. DH gave her a bath, pj's, sang songs and rocked. Then he tried to put her in her crib and she became the demon spawn. Seriously... I think I saw her head spin on the video monitor.

slwprincess · August 2012

susangilchrist:
What would happen if you gradually decreased the amount of time you rock her? Good luck!!

The problem is, right now, we have to rock her until SHE's ready to get in her crib. If we put her down before she asks for it, she starts screaming. That's what set it all off last night. DH gave her a bath, pj's, sang songs and rocked. Then he tried to put her in her crib and she became the demon spawn. Seriously... I think I saw her head spin on the video monitor.

Temp925407062502290 · August 2012

Wesley does this same thing during teething. He is more clingy and bedtime and everything gets messed up. But I promise once the teeth cut through then it is back to usual. I started reading books while they are standing in the crib. and sometimes I will sit in the rocker without them until he calms down. But all this passes once those teeth cut threw. He just needs a little bit more TLC.

Louise06 · August 2012

It sounds like typical toddler behavior. Ry has been doing something similar. We have tried shutting the door but he got so upset he banged his head so hard he got a giant goose egg. I think this behavior has something to do with separation anxiety. It sounds like you are doing the right things though. If only there was toddler ambien.....

KT&John · August 2012

slwprincess:
smynings_bride:
Sounds like you're doing all the right things. The only thing I would add is that I'd probably give her motrin or tylenol and gas drops. I find when we're in a CIO situation I think she gives herself a headache from crying and she sucks in a lot of air and sometimes ends up with gas pains. I don't mean this as a long term solution but if we do this for one night it usually helps us get back on track.

I have been giving her tylenol and/or benadryl at bedtime b/c of the teeth and congestion. Actually, I'm wondering if the benadryl wasn't part of the problem last night. It has unpredictable effects on my kids- sometimes they will pass out and sometimes it makes them super active. I think it may have made her active last night. But I haven't thought about the gas thing... hmmm.

Have you tried Zyrtec (We use the Walgreens generic) for the congestion instead of Benedryl? It works like a charm for my 2.

ebearwife · August 2012

I'd keep the tylenol/motrin and drop the benedryl. Isaac has the same hyper reaction to it and well, I only give it in an emergency like a bee sting or something. Her behavior sounds very similar to my kids during teething. I think what you can do is hit the "reset" button on the tried and true pre-Disney bed time routine. Be STRICT! Teething is a nightmare but it will get better soon. When the snot and demon spawn come out in Isaac I know we are finally near the end. Now that its back to school time you should be pretty consistent with bed time so you have good mornings. (I need to give myself this same lecture. Bed time has gotten lax since the summer long days and all....)

lrn327 · August 2012

I'd also say stop Benedryl (it only sacks C out for a few hours and then he's wide awake) and do a dose of Tylenol. Motrin works better for us b/c it helps the inflammation and lasts a bit longer, but use whatever pain reliever works best for you guys. We tried the checking on him too every few minutes and he'd just get irate when we left each time. So, I guess I sound like a big meanie, but we just did his normal routine and then shut his door. When he cried, we stayed out. The first night he cried for an hour off and on, the second for 40 mins off and on, and the third night was great. So far, pretty good, FX. Hope she settles down for you soon.

GAGirlyGirl · August 2012

This might sound simple but it made a big difference for us... When we finish our night time routine we say to DS "Its time to rest. When you feel sleepy close your eyes and sleep all night long. Mommy and Daddy will come get you in the morning when the sun comes up." He doesn't fuss anymore when we put him down even though it takes him a while to fall asleep.

Another thing to think about, when is your bed time? 7:00 PM is our magic time. If bedtime gets pushed even 20-30 min later DS fights sleep. I think he has a window of time that he's ready to sleep before he gets a second wind.

HTH!

K&P414 · August 2012

GAGirlyGirl:

This might sound simple but it made a big difference for us... When we finish our night time routine we say to DS "Its time to rest. When you feel sleepy close your eyes and sleep all night long. Mommy and Daddy will come get you in the morning when the sun comes up." He doesn't fuss anymore when we put him down even though it takes him a while to fall asleep.

Another thing to think about, when is your bed time? 7:00 PM is our magic time. If bedtime gets pushed even 20-30 min later DS fights sleep. I think he has a window of time that he's ready to sleep before he gets a second wind.

HTH!

I agree with this. When it is time for bed I try and make sure we tell her the plan so she knows what to expect. "Okay, it's time for bed, let's read 2 books and Mommy will sing 3 songs and rock you. Then you go night night and sleep all night long, have sweet dreams, and I'll see you in the morning." And even if she fusses about going to bed after that, I'll just remind her what the deal was. It doesn't always work like magic but usually logic works better with her than force.

However, I will add that as the mom of an almost 10 year old....boy does this phase pass. I enable some of the rocking, singing snuggling more with Tess than I did with Emma because I have such a different perspective now

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Help me- toddler sleep problems

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