The little man sleeps....
Jack is finally asleep. I think he drifted off around 10:45, after two hours of stalling and fighting.
Over the past few weeks Jack, our former champion little sleeper, has changed dramatically. For one, with the toddler bed upgrade, Jack got used to Mama or Daddy (mainly me) putting him to bed, and sitting/laying beside his bed until he was out. This process used to only take maybe half an hour.
Starting about 3 or 4 weeks ago he refused to sleep in his bed, and now will only sleep on the floor. With this, he has started to pull out every stall tactic known to man to prevent going to bed. One more book. Oh, let me play with this truck just a little. On and on and on.
I had decided a week or so ago that crying it out would have to be our option (it worked when Jack was a baby in his crib). I don't know that Addam was entirely on board with this idea until last night, when it took Addam about an hour and a half to put Jack to bed. Trucks were confiscated - it was not a pretty sight.
Tonight I stayed in there with him, and tried out the "sit down a little further away" plan that I saw on one of the nanny shows - we did this for about an hour and a half. Addam eventually joined the frustration, which eventually led to us - finally - evacuating his room, closing the door and letting Jack deal. After about 30 minutes, he finally fell asleep on his pillow. In the floor, but asleep. Somewhere around 10:45 at night.
I know a lot of moms that oppose "crying it out", but he's very stubborn and there was no other way. We've reasoned with him; tried rewarding/taking away. There was no other way. If someone has a better solution, I'm all ears.
This needs to work out with his bedtime, and soon. I don't like the late bedtime for him - it's not healthy - and he needs to know how to put himself to sleep without Mama. What will I do if we have two kids fighting bedtime battles? When will I work? When will I sleep?
Labels: Jackson, sleep issues
posted by Emily @ 10:04 PM
7 Comments:
Ok...some people really won't agree with me here, but, I never would sleep or lay down with my kids...ever. I wanted them to be able to put themselves to bed. I would read a few stories...not every night, but three nights a week. And my kids go to bed...no problem, unless they are sick.
I would stick with your plan of being consistent and persistent. He may be stubborn, but he will adjust.
We never co-slept. When Jack was an infant, we would let him fall asleep while we held him and then put him to bed. When he was somewhere between 6-8 months old, we started just putting him in his crib at bedtime, and that worked. He was doing OK in the toddler bed, but I guess some separation anxiety stuff is going on too.
We have to stick to this plan. With another child on the way, and my need to continue to work part-time from home (some at night) we have to make this work!
"Crying it out" is so hard, especially on mamas. You know what is best for your little bub. Hang in there!
I feel your pain...Caitlin was always a champion go to bed gal but since moving to a bed (nearly two years ago!) she continually does the "bedtime stall routine" and unfortunately it got worse when Amelia arrived last year. It's tough not to lay down and at least read with them though. I love story time! I'm not imparting much wisdom here. Sigh... Consistency is good, though!
Agh! Blogger just ate my comments!
Bridgermama - thanks for the support. It is hard, especially when he's crying out MAAAA MAAAA! I'm praying this will only last a couple of days - he's a quick learner.
Jamie - I love story time too, but what starts out as 2-3 stories turns into stalling. What's worse, he can't talk and tell me what he wants to read, so he gets out of bed and gets a book, meaning I have to start all over with the tucking in and getting settled and comfortable. Agh!
Emily, we do a one book/read twice routine and that really is good because it limits the "book choosing!" Also, my mom always gives Caitlin a flashlight when she spends the night at her house and that works great too. But the bedtime thing is always an "adventure" here.
I'm sorry about your bedtime struggles. With my kids it always came to a head around 2 years old. Just stick with what you're doing, and you'll probably be having a much easier time of it sooner than you think.
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Thanks, and congratulations!
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