LoveToKnow Baby:AllComments

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Ginger, He definitely still needs a nap, so taking his naptime away actually makes him overly tired. You don't say what you are doing when he wakes up at night. Are you heading into his room right way, or are you giving him a chance to settle himself back to sleep? How you respond to him when he wakes up can make a big difference in establishing a routine of sleeping through the night.-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

I have read a dozen stories on how to get my toddler to sleep and none of them work for me. My son is 17 months old and has eczema. I give him 3ml of Benedryl most every night. On days when his skin is looking good I don't give it to him. I was told by his dermatologist not to bathe him but once or twice a week. So soothing bath time is out of the question. Even with Benedryl he wakes up every 4 hours. I have tried over feeding, under feeding, early bedtime, late bedtime, taking away naps, exhausting him and nothing seems to work. I can't take much more. I'm over tired. He takes a 2 hour nap every day at the same time. Nap or not he still wakes up crying every 3 to 4 hours. I need help.

-- Contributed by: Ginger

Theresa, You need to stop rocking her back to sleep. You have to take control of this situation because right now your daughter is in control. You have to very sternly tell her to go back to bed and take her there if she doesn't obey. When she starts to get out of bed, tell her to get back into bed. Think about it this way...If your daughter was about to run out in front of a car, you would take control of that, and you can take control of this situation as well!-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter who only sleeps for 2-3 hours at a time. When she wakes up she comes in my room and I get up with her, hold her in the recliner and rock her back to sleep. This happens EVERY NIGHT... I've tried taking her back to her room and bed when she comes into my room but it hasn't worked. Any ideas? Could there be something physically wrong with her?

-- Contributed by: theresa

Judy, Please read my advice to many other readers on this topic. Your situation is almost identical to many of our other readers as well!-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

i have 2 girls one is 4yrs. and the other is 5mon. i'm having trouble getting my four year old to go to sleep in her own room in her bed she always ends up back in my bed what can i do? i've tryed many different ways but none have worked:(

-- Contributed by: judy

Annie, You've got to get that bottle away from her. You'll have some sleepless nights until she gets the picture, but you've already got those, right? Take the bottle away. Don't go pick her up, but reassure her from the doorway of her room. This will take several nights, but eventually she'll settle into a pattern of sleeping uninterrupted. Good luck!-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

I've been having trouble with my toddler since she was about 9 months getting her to sleep thru the night. I can get her to go to sleep on her own with a bottle ( which she shouldnt be using at 20 months. ) but she'll wake up and want another one. Last night was the worst, she went to bed on her own and woke up every 2 hours wanting another bottle. I did that up to 2 am and finally i got up and watched tv with her until she went back to sleep. Something has got to give....

-- Contributed by: Annie

Hayley, Sounds like you need to do the same routine that I suggested for Esther in the comment below yours. Please read that comment, try it for yourself, and let us know how it goes! Good luck!-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

i have a 2yr old how has been sleeping with my husband and i for about three months now and i am wanting her to sleep in her own bed,she is ina big bed know and wants one of us to sleep with her. when i do get her to sleep in her bed she awakens a few hours later and comes to our room. not sure what to do to brake this.

-- Contributed by: hayley

Esther, I'm so sorry that you are having such difficulty! Wow! You must be exhausted. I realize that you are being extraordinarily considerate of your neighbors, but it make take 3 or 4 night of noise to correct this problem. Talk to your neighbors ahead of time, and explain what you are about to do. The first step you need to take is to teach your child to go to sleep by herself. No more sitting in the room with her, playing quiet music, etc. You should establish a routine that leads up to bedtime, such as a bath, story, etc. Once she is in the bed (awake), however, you need to leave her room. She will probably try to get up and/or cry. You've got to be very firm. Tell her to stay in her bed, and then leave her room. You may have to take her back to her bed each time for the first few nights. Again, don't do a lot of talking, don't give her sympathy, just very firmly say "Go to bed and to sleep." Then, leave the room. Eventually, out of sheer exhaustion, she will go to sleep on her own. Each night will get easier. Once she's learned how to soothe herself to sleep, if she wakes in the night, she'll know how to settle herself down. Until then, however, do the same thing in the middle of the night. If she wakes, give her a chance to settle herself. If she doesn't, be very firm, and tell her to go to sleep. Do not allow her to get into bed with you, and don't go sit in her room. Consistency and firmness will pay off. Good luck!-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

I have a two year old daughter, who also does not sleep through the night. In fact, I think that she has only slept a whole night about six times in her short little life. It is extremely exhausting. I have attempted to get her on schedule where she naps in the late morning or early afternoon. But both my husband and I work, and keeping her on a routine when we are not there is difficult. When we put her to bed the only way to get her to sleep, is to sit in the room with her. We turn on some quiet music, and sometimes we will read to her. But as she dozes, she will awaken, and see if we are still in there with her. If she wakes up and notices that we have snuck out of the room, she becomes fully awake, and cries and cries. We have tried to let her cry herself to sleep, but she is very persistant. Her cries will become blood curdiling screams, and it has gone on for hours. At one point she literally cried for three hours. We would check on her periodically, note that there was nothing wrong, and leave. She would continue to scream. She is not a bad baby, and our biggest trouble is getting her to sleep without someone being with her at all times. She doesn't seem to like to be alone. I have gotten advice that it could be that when I got married her sleeping arrangement changed, but as I mentioned, she has been like this since birth. She usually only sleeps between one to three hours at a time. We live in a basement apartment, and out of consideration for the other people living in the house, we really can't have her screaming for such a long period of time. We are both extremely exhausted, and running out of options. Is this normal? Any help that you can give us would be greatly appreciated. Best Regards.

-- Contributed by: Esther

Traci, I can understand your frustration. It sounds like she may be overtired from skipping her nap, however. My son is almost 4, and he still needs a nap. If he is too exhausted, he has more difficulty sleeping, and this may be what is happening with your daughter. Why not let her continue taking an hour or 2 nap in the afternoon? You may find that she rests better at night. Try to put her down at the same time each day to establish a routine for both her afternoon nap and bed time. If she is still getting up, you'll need to be consistent and firm. Put her back in the bed, and tell her to go back to sleep. Then, leave the room. This may have to be done several nights in a row, but eventually she'll get the idea that you mean business!-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

I have a 2 year old who will not sleep through the night. We have elminated her afternoon nap which helps her to go to sleep withing minutes at night. The problem is night wakings when her infant brother wakes up to feed, she wakes also and cries and comes out of her room. One of us then has to stay in her room to put her back to sleep...My hubby wants to gate/or lock her door. I dont want this to happen, but we are all exhausted.....please help with any advice. Thanks!

-- Contributed by: Traci

Jay, I understand your pain. I've been there. First, you've got to establish some rules. This will take a few nights, and you and your wife will be exhausted. Since your wife is pregnant and probably already exhausted, you really need to take this problem on for the next few nights. That being said, you both will have to present a united front. Since your son is almost 3, he is old enough to understand what is going on. First, tackle the going to bed issue. Establish a routine. This may include a bath, drink of water, and a story or whatever you choose. Then, tuck him into bed. He'll fight it, and he may cry or try to get out of bed. Each time he does, very firmly put him back in the bed and instruct him not to get out. You may have to do this several times the first few nights. Once you've gotten him to go to sleep on his own in his own bed, you may not have any problems with him getting up through the night. If you do, however, you'll need to immediately take him back to his room and tell him very sternly to get into his bed and go to sleep. Do this every time without fail! Eventually, he'll get the picture that you are in charge and he isn't! You'll have to be consistent, firm, and take a no-nonsence approach. You'll probably be exhausted the first few nights and want to give in, but don't! Write back and let us know how things go!-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

I have a 32 month old that is relentless. He insist that either myself or mommy (usually mommy) go to bed with him at night. He will watch tv quietly until he goes to sleep. He will then wake up multiple times throughout the night wining (asking for mommmy) and will come to our room. He will either get in the bed and go right to sleep or he's ok if mommy goes back and gets in his bed. Ultimately, I am the one that sleeps alone because mommy will fall asleep in the bed with him. I can't really fault her because she is exhausted since she is almost 7 months pregnant and as I said, he usually (95% of the time) will only go back to sleep if mommy comes. Additionally, I think this is affecting his behavior during the day. He is pretty disobidient sometimes. Any ideas? I really need some help here.

-- Contributed by: Jay

Pauline, Try to stick with what you are doing. I know it is hard, but if you don't nip this in the bud, neither you nor your son will get a good night's rest. Let us know how things progress.-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

Hi I am struggling to get my toddler to go back to sleep he wants me to sit on a chair by his cot and basically stay there until he decides. At the moment i know it is a battle of wills but when this continues every night between the hours of 2.00am-5.00am, it becomes really stressful. I am now doing the controlled crying method which hopefully we will see improvements soon. I end up feeling o guilty because he neds up totally frantic and exhausted .

-- Contributed by: pauline glasgow uk
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