I am at my wits end.
I am having so much trouble getting my kids to sleep.
Noah has all the sudden decided that he doesn't want to take naps. It is a total knockdown, drag out every day at 2:00 now.
I have tried everything I can think of.
I have laid in bed with him. He just talks and tosses and turns, never falling asleep.
I have punished him for getting out of his bed.
I have gone in and put him back in bed over 20 times in one naptime.
I have shut him up in his room by himself and he just screamed for 2 hours.
I have put a movie on hoping he would fall asleep during but, nope, he watched the whole thing and was at the door crying to be let out.
I HAVE to have that time for myself. I really don't think I can function without it.
I AM DESPERATE!
Someone please give me a magic cure.
And to make matters worse, he is now starting to give us serious trouble at bedtime too.
Last night he fell asleep at the dinner table because he had refused to take a nap.
I put him in bed (it was around 6:30) because we couldn't keep him up. I thought he would just sleep straight through the night but no such luck.
He woke up crying his head off at about 9:30 and it was a full on battle until almost 11:30.
Keep in mind I have an infant who is still not even close to sleeping through the night.
Chris helps when he can but I try to handle it as much as possible when he has to work the next day because if Chris doesn't get enough sleep he is just as bad as the kids.
Urg!
On to the next problem. Eden. still. not. sleeping. through. the. night.
In fact, her sleeping habits are even worse now then they were in the beginning. I can't figure her out. She goes to bed at all random times and wakes up at random times, usually only allowing and hour or 2 in between wake ups.
I just can't take it any more.
I can't be the mom I want to be during the day when I am continually getting next to no sleep at night.
Something has to give.
Advice?
PLEASE!!!!!!
I am having so much trouble getting my kids to sleep.
Noah has all the sudden decided that he doesn't want to take naps. It is a total knockdown, drag out every day at 2:00 now.
I have tried everything I can think of.
I have laid in bed with him. He just talks and tosses and turns, never falling asleep.
I have punished him for getting out of his bed.
I have gone in and put him back in bed over 20 times in one naptime.
I have shut him up in his room by himself and he just screamed for 2 hours.
I have put a movie on hoping he would fall asleep during but, nope, he watched the whole thing and was at the door crying to be let out.
I HAVE to have that time for myself. I really don't think I can function without it.
I AM DESPERATE!
Someone please give me a magic cure.
And to make matters worse, he is now starting to give us serious trouble at bedtime too.
Last night he fell asleep at the dinner table because he had refused to take a nap.
I put him in bed (it was around 6:30) because we couldn't keep him up. I thought he would just sleep straight through the night but no such luck.
He woke up crying his head off at about 9:30 and it was a full on battle until almost 11:30.
Keep in mind I have an infant who is still not even close to sleeping through the night.
Chris helps when he can but I try to handle it as much as possible when he has to work the next day because if Chris doesn't get enough sleep he is just as bad as the kids.
Urg!
On to the next problem. Eden. still. not. sleeping. through. the. night.
In fact, her sleeping habits are even worse now then they were in the beginning. I can't figure her out. She goes to bed at all random times and wakes up at random times, usually only allowing and hour or 2 in between wake ups.
I just can't take it any more.
I can't be the mom I want to be during the day when I am continually getting next to no sleep at night.
Something has to give.
Advice?
PLEASE!!!!!!
12 comments:
I remember when Drew decided he didn't need naps anymore. such a sad day. We started having 'quiet time' instead & then moved his bedtime up. I can't figure out Maddi's sleep schedule either. It's like she just cat naps 24/7. I started feeding her bananas at night & she a little longer now. good luck :)
Oh girl, I'm sorry. I'd call your doctor or nurse there and ask for advice. Addie was a TERRIBLE sleeper until she turned 11 months...she now hates nap and bedtime but will sleep good once she finally falls asleep at midnight or so. Sometimes I just let her skip naps.
I wish I had good advice for you. My girls both stopped taking naps about 8 or 9 months ago and it was devastating. I just put them to bed earlier and try to keep my sanity during the day. It can be really hard, though. Good luck and let me know if you find something that works!
Cari-
Izzy was horrible at bedtime and naps...I just had to start letting her cry it out. She is still my night owl and early riser...Cole on the other hand is asleep before his head hits the pillow and sleeps in...and then there is Gus, he breaks all the rules. He slept through the night for three weeks right before is birthday...those were the first three weeks. Naps are better but like Izzy I just have to let him scream it out. Izzy stopped naps at three. But there was rest time...movie on the couch staying on the couch or books on the bed set the timer for 2 hours and when it rang then it was ok to come out or get off the couch...good luck with all the suggestions.
So you remember Christian's room in NE, second duplex? Cute bed, cutey curtains... but that was all?! He stopped taking naps and randomly boycotted bedtime, just out of the blue... he was around 2 1/2. His dr told me to empty his room of all toys, books, etc, everything, except bed and curtains. And to let him cry it out each day for one week. She had told me to call her again if this did not work. I did not have to call her. Even though it never seemed that Christian was overstimulated in his bedroom, the dr said that making the purpose for his bedroom... to sleep... more clear would help. It sure seemed to. I did not reintroduce anything back into his room until he was 4 1/2, and that was books only.
The first couple days of that VERY long week, he bawled forever...he eventually fell asleep at the closed bedroom door, so sad. But then about the 4th day he still cried but would shortly climb into bed and go to sleep. If his doctor had not told me to give it a whole week, I would have caved after day 3, but was so glad I did it for that whole week, cause it worked. I guess a whole week is long enough to set a pattern for a toddler.
In CA, still no toys in his room, but books only... Christian at age 4 transitioned into quiet time. He went to his room for 1 1/2 hours and had to be quiet, sometimes he dozed anyway... sometimes he would literally talk to himself, read books, or sing... but he was quiet for the whole time.
Noah is testing his limits, all kids do it in some form or another. Give this a week and I pray he will understand his boundaries like Christian did.
I'm with Dawn - it could just be him testing you - don't give up yet! Jo Frost, the Supernanny, has some great advice on sleeping and it works for naptime and bedtime - you should be able to check out her book at one of the branches of the library. Both of my boys still have quiet time when they have to stay in their room - even if they are watching a movie or reading/coloring. Most of the time if I can just get them to sit down for two seconds, they'll fall asleep anyway. I'm with you though - I lose a little more of my sanity every time we miss a naptime. For Eden - are you doing cereal at night? Both my boys started sleeping through the night when we stuffed them full of cereal right before bed - we started both of them on it at 4 months. Mix it with some formula too - that's extra calories to help her sleep longer. Also, I'm a big, make that HUGE fan of setting a pattern - do the exact same thing every night so that she knows it's bedtime and that it's when she's supposed to sleep for a long time. Good luck honey - I'm sure I'll be crossing both of these bridges again soon!
I agree with Dawn! My boys (they are now 4 and almost 3) have both gone through their phases of no naps. A lot of friends have talked of their kids deciding not to take naps anymore (far too early) but mine do not have that option!!! I've found that if I just keep on doing naptime through these rebellious phases, it may be a few days or so (and they may cry, etc)but I just keep putting them in their bed for naps as scheduled, and after few days we are back to normal. Until they get past naps (Kindergarten?) their room is just for sleeping, so they get bored eventually and decide sleep is okay again.
One thing I've learned is that overtired kids have a hard time settling down for sleeping, so even though it may sound weird, you might try moving naptime earlier.
As far as the baby goes, I feel your pain! My first was/is my best sleeper, but my baby is now 11 months and has been sleeping through the night for about a week now. One piece of advice I got that helps for some nursing babies is for Daddy to take a turn going in if they are getting up more than once in the night. If he can put them back to sleep without a feeding (because it's not mom, they don't expect it and after they get older they don't NEED all the feedings during the night), this can help them go longer stretches and eventually all night.
I hope you get some relief soon Cari!!
the younger generation is in good hands. I am so thrilled to see the mothers of young children rally around each other and offering help and support.
Our pioneer sisters rallied around each other doing quilts, harvesting together and helping with births etc.
So many women are isolated from other women and isn't it wonderful how blogs have filled that place for many.
I don't always make comments but I do read the comments of the mothers of young children and have learned so much.
I am in awe of the talents and strength of these women.
Their children are in good hands.
I don't know if this will be any help, but maybe approach it as quiet time with Noah... tell him he doesn't have to go to sleep, just stay in his room and be quiet, look at books, etc. And, I was going to say something the other day abot Eden, but my mom says when a baby is 12 pounds, they are physically capable of sleeping through the night, so I'd just let Eden cry it out. It'll be rough for a couple nights, but it will be better in the long-run. My doctor also told me to let the baby fall asleep on her own... in her bed, not nursing her or rocking her, etc., to get her asleep. Maybe try that at naptimes and get where she can get herself to sleep and then move on to the night, that way she will know how to comfort herself back to sleep when she wakes up during the night. Good luck.
Hey Cari! Hope things are getting better. I have that Super Nanny book Mandy mentioned if you ever want to borrow it. It's been a great tool for me. I also agree with Dawns advise. I hadn't thought about it before, but my three boys share one room and all they have in there are a few books. There just isn't room for anything else. Anyway, he's usually good about naps when I'm consistent. We always nap after lunch. Sometimes (if he's finished what he's supposed to eat) I'll let him take a fruit snack up with him. I don't know if that's a bad thing, but it just helps him make the transition smoothly. As far as Eden goes, the best baby sleeping advise I've ever gotten was from a book I red called Baby Wise. I don't follow it to the tee, because it is extreme in some ways, but the one thing I did glean from it was the eat/wake/sleep pattern. I've done it with all of my kids and all of them but Linc did well on it. (There's always one!) THe idea is to feed your baby when they wake up and keep them awake for a bit before letting them nap again. Then when they are acting sleepy lay them down. At night I fill Ellies belly up and then play with her for a few minutes before I lay her down. Sometimes she cries a little, but eventually falls asleep. I used to feed her a bottle at night before I went to bed while she was asleep just while she was stretching out the hours.
Good luck. I know every child is so different, and sometimes you wonder if you'll ever have energy again, but I can promise you that things will get better!
Maybe it's something in the name:) I am having the exact same trouble with MY Noah. I don't know where my little sis found your blog but forwarded this post to me b/c we are having the same issues. Seriously, I could have written this exact post. My hubby and I were ready to turn in for the night at 10 something the other night but Noah kept us up until 12 getting out of his crib. I don't have any advice for you but it sure was nice to know someone else was going thru the same thing. We have tried everything (he gave up his nap a couple months ago)during these nightime battles--putting him back in w/o saying anything (like the Super Nanny) only to have 2hrs pass with my wrist throbbing from putting him back so many times, we also did the thing where we cleared out his room, we even tried spanking him (which is NO fun for anyone) but he is just too stubborn. He can get out of child locks so I had to tape one to the inside of his door handle to lock him in. Hang in there. You aren't alone. Let's just cross our fingers that they outgrow this FAST. I too have another little one and it is hard to balance them and get two seconds to yourself. Sorry this is long. GOOD LUCK!!!
Kari,
I'm living in your world, our 23 month old has decided that nap time isn't for her, and she is waking up again at night and doesn't want to go to bed. We've been basically using the Super Nanny method like everyone else talked about. So far no luck but we just started. I hope it gets better! Like you I NEED that nap!! LOL!
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