Mamas, please!
Dillon has taken to waking up even earlier. I am not talking about thirty minutes earlier than usual. I am talking about two full hours earlier.
I admit that I've been a bit spoiled. Since he was eight weeks old, he has slept through the night from 8 to 6 without waking. There have been a few days when he tried to wake up at 5, but he was easy to get back to sleep.
So this is all new to me. He has been up like clockwork between 4 and 4:15 every morning this week.
These are some things I have tried:
1) Rocking him then laying him back down to sleep. Doesn't work, he cries when I leave the room. (Monday morning)
2) Patting his back and not picking him up. Once again, this is fine as long as I don't leave the room. (Tuesday morning)
3) Changing his diaper in case the wetness bothered him, and then laying him back down. Doesn't work - apparently the wet diaper doesn't bother him! (Wednesday morning)
4) Letting him cry. This is how we taught him to sleep so well to begin with, so this wasn't too hard for me. However, after two hours of crying, it is obvious that he is not going to go back to sleep. (Thursday morning)
5) Putting him to bed later at night. He didn't go to bed till 9:15 last night, which is really late for him, and he was up at 4, crankier than usual!
6) Slipping him a mickey. I gave him Motrin one night thinking maybe that would help, but it didn't. I also gave him some Tylenol one morning when he woke up, and that didn't help either.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? I am fresh out of ideas and I am sleep deprived so I am willing to bet that my brain isn't going to turn out anything worthwhile right now, anyway. He sleeps in a crib, but is 19 months old. Is he ready for a big boy bed? Will that help?
I admit that I've been a bit spoiled. Since he was eight weeks old, he has slept through the night from 8 to 6 without waking. There have been a few days when he tried to wake up at 5, but he was easy to get back to sleep.
So this is all new to me. He has been up like clockwork between 4 and 4:15 every morning this week.
These are some things I have tried:
1) Rocking him then laying him back down to sleep. Doesn't work, he cries when I leave the room. (Monday morning)
2) Patting his back and not picking him up. Once again, this is fine as long as I don't leave the room. (Tuesday morning)
3) Changing his diaper in case the wetness bothered him, and then laying him back down. Doesn't work - apparently the wet diaper doesn't bother him! (Wednesday morning)
4) Letting him cry. This is how we taught him to sleep so well to begin with, so this wasn't too hard for me. However, after two hours of crying, it is obvious that he is not going to go back to sleep. (Thursday morning)
5) Putting him to bed later at night. He didn't go to bed till 9:15 last night, which is really late for him, and he was up at 4, crankier than usual!
6) Slipping him a mickey. I gave him Motrin one night thinking maybe that would help, but it didn't. I also gave him some Tylenol one morning when he woke up, and that didn't help either.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? I am fresh out of ideas and I am sleep deprived so I am willing to bet that my brain isn't going to turn out anything worthwhile right now, anyway. He sleeps in a crib, but is 19 months old. Is he ready for a big boy bed? Will that help?
posted by Amanda
at
5:58 PM
8 Comments:
You are sooo lucky to have had a baby sleep through the night!!! I can relate to you on almost all points except for giving meds :) But my kids are early risers.
My eldest would wake up at between 430-5am till he was around 3. He started waking up a bit later-6am- I said a bit, when he started going to school.
THe little one wakes up between 530-6.
Tried everything but to no avail. THe trying to get them to bed a little later just really makes them cranky - at night and when they wake up.
So, I don't really have any advise, sorry! Just that, it will pass in time :)
Oh I so am waiting for that day when I can actually sleep in on weekends! It has been so 6 years ago!
Wow. I have no ideas for you. I moved my son to a twin bed (with a safety rail) at 18 months. I worked with him so that he knew he couldn't get out of bed without permission, so he would holler (his room was upstairs) and say "Ahhh?!" (18-month-old-lingo for "all done") and I would say "all done, Jacbo!" and he would slide off his bed and slide down the stairs to see me. I can still hear his voice now (and he's eleven!)
I did move Bella to a big girl bed shortly after she turned one since she was never a crib baby anyway. I put a mattress on the floor in case she'd wake up in the night and want to explore.
Perhaps trying a big boy bed might work. The rule could be he has to at least stay in his room to play if he wakes at 4am. Probably take a good week to get him used to the newness but a safety gate in the doorway of his room should help. It did with Bella.
Of course we screwed it all up by me bringing her to bed with me when I became pregnant. And she was still nursing. So avoid those two things and it might work for you!
Put him to bed earlier! That may sound SO ridiculous but seriously, try it. I went through sleep problems with Emily since the day she was born so I have some experience in this field!
When a child starts getting overtired on a regular basis he then becomes chronically tired. When he's that tired, he'll wake earlier and earlier in the morning. It's true. Trust me.
If his bed time is at 8, get him bathed (if you do that at nighttime) before 7pm. Wind him down for at least 15 min. with no TV or anything stimulating. Then have him in bed by 7:20pm. It's a way to transition him to go bed earlier.
That is one of the suggestions by an author (Marc Weissbluth)of a great book that eventually became my bible for my problems with Emily. His book is called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". I highly recommend it.
Dr. Weissbluth actually recommends putting your child to bed around 6pm (which I did with Emily for MANY months, and sporadically thereafter whenever she gets overtired), and 95% of the time it gave me the results I was looking for!
Seriously, try it. Sleep begets sleep.
Email me if you have anymore questions.
Good luck!
kelly - i will be doing THIS! good advice, and you are totally right. in the deep caverns of my mind, i knew this. but in my sleep-deprived state, i tried other remedies, to no avail.
early to bed, it is!
ahhhh! how often is it that the easiest and most pleasant solution is the BEST ALL AROUND SOLUTION???
hooray! dillon is still sleeping after eleven and a half hours! the boy was TIRED!
thanks, kelly!
Oh, yay!! This technique works with Ava too. Put her to bed past 7:30 and it makes for a loooooooong night of snacking.
Yay! I'm so happy it worked! Hooray for sleep!
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