[Emster]

Ever since Woobie turned one, or right about, his sleep patterns have changed for the worse. We are at our wits end. He does NOT want to sleep in his bed at all, or much of anywhere for that matter. We are beginning to dread nighttime altogether. When we went to his first year checkup, Dr. checked his ears and they were fine, and no teeth appear to be coming in.

We fight to get him to sleep, despite knowing that he is exhausted. Then when we lay him in his crib, he either wakes up and screams immediately, or sleeps for 1/2 to one hour and then wakes up screaming. I can go in and soothe him and he'll most often calm down, but will quickly pop back up and start crying/screaming again. This will go on for hours. Usually sometime after 3 or 4 am he'll sleep for a few hours straight.

A few things you should know about us...we are NOT "cry it out" people, and we are NOT "baby sleeps in our bed" people. We are about to become "mommy and daddy need to drink heavily" people, however.

Anybody been there at this age? Sleep has never been a huge issue with Woob, especially to this degree. It seems to have happened overnight and has gathered momentum. Its making me insane and grouchy to say the least.

[Bexter]

Try a snack right before bedtime. My little one who was usually a sound sleeper did something similar. A full tummy did the trick for him.

[Gardenia]

My DD will be one in 2 weeks and has started something similar. Just this evening, she went to sleep, but about an hour later, she was standing in her crib screaming. I gave in and rocked her back to sleep (I usually stand beside her crib or lie on the bed near her crib so she can still see me, then sneak out when she's asleep). However, as soon as I put her back down, she was up and screaming again. This went on for almost 2 hours. Also in the last week, she's started waking up around 1:30 a.m. crying and it will take at least 2 hours to get her back to sleep. If I'm lying on the bed, she'll keep poking her head up to make sure I'm still there.

We still give her a bedtime bottle so I don't think she's hungry. I read somewhere that at this age, they may be experiencing separation anxiety...they wake up in the dark and get scared when they realize they're all alone. I'm thinking this is what's going on with DD because when she cries, it's a sad cry. It's hard not knowing what's making them cry!

I don't have any advice for you. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone going through this right now.

[kelceesmom]

I would also try feeding him something before bed. Does he have a night light in his room? If not I would put one in so if he is a little afraid of the dark he might not be with one. I believe they go through a growth spurt about this age also and that might have something to do with it. Not much help because Kelcee has always been a bad sleeper even pushing 2!! Good luck. Maybe also very light music throughout the night?

[bange]

Ahhh the sleep issue - I remember it well.

Put the child to bed, if they wake, go to them to reassure them... but don't pick them up. Hug, kiss, soothe but make sure they understand it is still bed time by not picking them up.

Say the same words every time (night night, or it's bedtime etc) that you say when you put him to bed. If he cries, still leave the room and let him cry a few minutes then go back into the room and repeat the process letting the times between your returning increase.

This will take many nights of consistent practice. But it works ONLY if you consistently do it. The key is to break the habbit of the child waking and knowing he will get held. (you may consider this "crying it out" but if you continue to reenter the room it reassures them you are there but they learn quickly you are not there to get them out of bed)

It teaches them it is bed time, that you will not hold them all night but that you care and are there. The music and night light are good ideas... or even a sound machine (that makes white noise, or ocean sounds). A stuffed animal or small blanket to hold and snuggle are great soothers too. Associate this item with bedtime only though... giving it to him when you put him to sleep and putting it back in his arms when he wakes. Also WARM milk can help at bedtime.

Hope this helps - it is hard but it does work. We tried both - the crying it out AND the sleeping in our bed... neither worked for us either.

[dawnrenee58]

I read in a book that what the child falls asleep to, he expects to wake to. Makes sense! So, if you are standing there, rubbing their back, that it what they will expect when they wake up. It is also how they will associate falling asleep, so they will then need that to fall asleep again in the middle of the night.

We went through this when our son was about 16 months old. We had been home a few months, and he was regressing in his sleepign habits. For us, what worked was to have a nighttiem routine outside his crib. We would put his PJ's on while singing to him, give him a sippy of milk in the living room, and then put him in the crib. We would then go. He has a blankie, but is not allowed to have it outside of bed. The first night he cried and cried, but we went in every 4-5 minutes. He went to sleep after about 30 min. The second night, same routine, cried for about 10 minutes. Third night, he was fine. They key is for them to fall asleep on their own. Then when they wake up things are the same. If you play music while they are falling asleep, leave it on all night on repeat. For Timo, a quiet, dark room is best. For your child, it may be different. But consistency is they key.

Hope this helps.