Jackson turned 2 1/2 this week. To celebrate, he learned how to climb out of his crib. I know most kids figure it out before now, but I've been ok that he hasn't...or hadn't.
For the past two or three weeks, Jackson hasn't really been sleeping well. It started by him waking up around 4 or 5 every morning...for some reason we started bringing him into our bed again then. The reasoning isn't all that clear at that hour.
Then he started deciding that he doesn't want to go to sleep at night. We struggled with the sleep think for a long time with him, but he had been doing well for a year or so. Recently, we'd lay him down like normal and he'd be just fine and then five or ten minutes later, he'd start screaming for Daddy. I'd go in, tuck him in again, sing a song, and he'd go to sleep. Then it turned into into needing to do that 3 or 4 times. Uggh. Then he learned how to climb out of his crib. After two nights of that, last night I put one of those child-proof door knob cover things on and decided he'd just have to fall asleep on the floor if he didn't want to sleep in his bed.
Around 1:00 AM, I fell asleep. I don't know if Jackson fell asleep then too or if I finally just tuned out the crying. I woke up at 1:30 when Clayton started crying. I'm not sure if Clayton woke Jackson up too or if he just hadn't fallen asleep yet. I fed Clayton and listened to the crying & yelling in Jackson's room. Around 2 or 2:30, Jackson figured out how to pry off the door knob cover and escaped into our room. I took him back to his room and discovered quite the mess. The metal stool/night stand that is usually by the rocking chair was across the room by the door, tipped over. The rocking chair was on its side. The lamp from the bookshelf was by the door and the shade was crushed. Clothes from his drawers were across the room. Books from the bookshelf were on the floor. He had gone crazy in there! I sat with him the chair for a few minutes then pulled out the crib mattress and put it on the floor and laid down next to him until he fell asleep and then went to my bed. I don't know what time that was, or what time it was when he ended up in our room again.
This evening we took down the crib and set up the twin mattress. I still don't have the headboard painted so it is just mattresses on the floor, but that's ok. He was excited about the Cars sheets and hopped right in his bed and wanted to read stories there instead of the chair. This was good... I was hopeful.
But no, of course it isn't going to be that easy. The screaming started before I we were even out of the room. Jack laid in there with him for a long time and I went to the store. When I got home, Jack came out and I went in. I stayed there for a long time hoping he'd fall asleep and I could sneak out, but still knowing that wasn't really going to fix the problem in the long run. After an hour, I gave up and told him that I was leaving and he needed to fall asleep in his bed. He started screaming of course. It died down for about 5 or 10 minutes, but started up again. Now it is 10:45 and we just heard the rocking chair crash.
I am just totally at a loss here. What do we do?? The if-you-stay-in-your-bed-you-can-get-a-treat-in-the-morning approach didn't work. The new exciting big boy bed didn't work. The lock him in approach didn't work. Unless we totally empty his room except for his bed I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself if I leave him in there. I just do not know what to do to get him to sleep through the night in his own bed. Help!!
8 comments:
Sheesh! I'm sorry! I don't know if I can be of much help. Thankfully, Luke hasn't learned how to climb out of his crib yet, but maybe we'll only have a couple more months of that.
I've heard from other people that somehow you have to lock the door and after a few rough nights of letting him cry about it he'll realize you're not sleeping with him every night. I don't know.
I know with Luke he does well when we talk about what's going to happen and kind of prep him for different situations and then we almost always avoid any issues.
I think you'll just have to be firm and put your foot down.
If you figure it out let me know so I can prepare myself for the future.
Good Luck!!
Our oldest had this same problem . She does not go to sleep really well however, when she got her adenoids/tonsils out it improved a lot. We also used primary music. It helped me stay calm and helped her have "something" to do in bed. She sang.Hang in there. Shelby accused me of being the wicked step mother on Cinderella when I locked her in. (we actually reversed the knob on her room door)
I'm sorry Natalie. That's crazier than I ever had it. Caleb did have rough time at that age though. They are very attached to mom and dad, especially if the attention is somewhere else (another sibling). Before reading the comments, I thought of music or bedtime stories on CD, like the second commenter stated. It may really interest him. I know they have series of them that have 2-3 CDs worth of material, so it's not the same thing over and over and gets old fast.
You may want to get a door knob that locks and just try both methods at the same time????
Though we never had it this bad, Dave and I have found that setting a very strict bedtime routine that DOES.NOT.CHANGE. AT. ALL. really helps. They get accustomed to it and after a while point out to you if you left something out. With us, it's put on P.J.s, brush teeth, read books, read scriptures, say prayers with each child, give hugs and kisses all around, turn off lights, say good night and I love you, shut the door.
Good Luck!!
I'm sorry it's so hard.
Yikes - what a bad night!! I keep debating whether to try to get Kyler to sleep in a big boy bed now or wait til after the baby comes. He still sleeps fine in his crib, but I just didn't know if it would be harder for him now or later when everything else is changing as well. You will have to let us all know how it goes - sounds like we're all wondering what to do on this one! - Chelsea
I transitioned both my kids around 20 months (before they figured out the climbing out of the crib thing) and put a gate in their door (kind of like a bigger crib). The first week or two were rough (lots of crying) but we just let them cry it out and gradually it got better. It was a little harder with Blair because Easton would sneak out of his room and break his sister free! I don't know if the gate thing will work since he knows how to climb (maybe if it is tall enough?) but I like it because I can peek in every once in a while and because up until this point they always had their door open so I feel bad closing it on them.
I've heard of people that sit next to their kid in bed and then gradually each night start closer to the door until they no longer have to be in the room. I didn't think this method would work very well for my kids though.
I've also heard of standing next to or outside the door and every time the kid gets out of bed you put them back into bed. I've tried this and I'm guessing over time it probably works but with both kids I was pregnant and it wore me out faster than the kids. I don't particularly like the crying out method but it did work for my kids.
I can't offer much from experience with a 2.5 year old, but I have followed the methods in "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and they worked well for us. When I weaned Savvy and we struggled with how long to let her cry I used methods from "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" (http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems/dp/0671620991). At first I was offended that the doctor would suggest she had a sleep problem, but the trick was she related sleep to nursing, which I knew was a fact.
Anyway, the Ferber method worked like a charm for us. And I know he has chapters that relate more to Jackson's struggles. I have to agree with Leslie, find a method and stick to it. Savvy knows the routine perfectly and doesn't fight it, it just took a few nights to get used to a new one at the beginning.
I've never used music in Savvy's room, but when we mess up and the routine is off and she cries for a bit I always listen to music to keep myself calm. It helps. Hilary Weeks is my go-to for that one :) Then I don't overreact to Savvy when she needs me.
Good luck. You are a fabulous mother and Jackson will appreciate you giving so much effort to his sleep in the long run. Love you!
That is scary that Jackson is tearing his room apart. I really hope he doesn't knock furniture over on himself. Maybe you should trade his room and Clayton's since there isn't much of anything in Clayton's room. Bolt the rocking chair to the floor? Good luck sister.
Natalie,
You poor thing! I had some hard times, but never that bad! But I'm willing to bet that his enlarged adenoids have a great deal to do with his sleep problems. The poor kid is probably trying to fall asleep, but keeps gasping/choking and wakes himself up. (My mom had this problem and could never get a good night's rest.) Not only that, but it probably scares him sometimes and now he relates the dark room with frustration and not being able to breahe. My nephew had his adenoids taken out at 2 and the recovery was fairly quick- four or five days I think- and he has done much better since!
I'm guessing that once you take care of the breathing thing, you will simply need to have a pretty structured and predictable routine for a bit and then he will fall right back into being a good sleeper. But in the meantime, I would clear out his room if possible... Good luck!
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