I guess I was of the opinion of "well, at least they're sleeping!" My kiddos had a very hard time sleeping when they were younger. My daughter (now 7) would be up all night if we let her, and still has a few days a month when she claims that she doesn't sleep well. For the longest time we had the rule that we didn't care WHERE they fell asleep, just as long as they did. Of course now I'm dealing with a little boy (5) who prefers to sleep UNDER his bed.
Sheesh, reading this has made me realize just how weird my kids are! they must get it from their father hehe
JENETTPURVIS 4/12/07 11:43 P
I have three kids and it just get easier as they get older but we are just now getting our little girl age 1 to sleep in her toddler bed we sleep next to it and then every 4 days we inch out of her room bu moving our cushions a little further away from her bed this way when she wakes up and sees up sleeping she lays back down and it has worked we can now sleep in our room
ASKSTRATMAN 4/3/07 7:49 P
I learned quick with my 4 yr old and my 2 yr old, that bribes and threats don't work, or they work but then backfire... My oldest was 19 months when the little one was born, so we moved her to a "big girl bed" so the baby could have the crib. She loved it, then hated, she would come in our room and climb in bed between us (usually without us knowing), the solution that broke it was to pick her up, put her back in her bed, give a kiss and rub her back for a minute. In the morning ask them who sleeps in this bed and who sleeps in that, when they point to you or say mommy tell them they are right, and point out that they do not! I give my daughters 2 books, and a doll, if you wake up, read a book by nightlight, or give your doll a kiss and then close your eyes and try to count to 10. I've heard my little one do this now, around 4am I was up anyway and heard her count to 10 and then snoring, I think she got to 8... you need to find what works for you, but be consistant, 1 slide = repeat performance.
LOVINREGAN 4/3/07 4:37 P
Try a special bedtime only snuggle bear or whatever. We have night time elmo. He only comes out at bed time and it's a special treat to cuddle with. When or if your kiddo wakes up just get them to snuggle back up with there special lovie.
I hope this works. I would NEVER let my baby cry it out. It is just heartless and lazy. Children need love and bonding.
KVAEEA 3/30/07 4:04 P
I suggest "the no-cry sleep solution" book by elizabeth pantley - some good suggestions for getting kids to sleep with a routine (i highly recommend a routine), in their own beds and rooms, and no crying! I bought the book and it helped me figure out what i was doing wrong! it also helped me realize i'm not the only one with this problem. my 17 month old now goes to sleep on his own, in his own room, in his crib every night. we rock him and sing for about 10 minutes, lay him down and he puts himself to sleep. it took about a month of using the book's techniques, but he doesn't fuss about it now, and doesn't wake up in the night (except when teething (like now) or sick). also, check out babycenter.com - great articles about toddler sleep. good luck!
SKINNIJULIE 3/30/07 2:51 P
I had the same problem w/ my children. I saw a nanny911 show and she walked the children back to her room w/out saying anything. Eventually they got the idea and it worked. I didn't think it would work, but I was feeling desperate. I work full time and get up at 4 am every day to get everything/everyone ready. I was only getting 4 to 5 hours of sleep. I tried it, and I'll have to admit I was very exhausted for about a week, but it worked. I only have 1 child who still gets up occasionally and it's because he has horrible growing pains in his legs. Heat seems to help a lot so we have him wear long soccer socks to bed and that has helped to some extent too.
CARDSFAN8734 3/29/07 10:03 P
I'm with you on this one... My 5 year old and 2 year old share a room and I've tried putting one to bed first, but the easiest trick for us is to have them follow their same routine every night - brush teeth/bathroom, pick out a book, tell dad goodnight, climb in their beds and I read them each a story on each of their beds and then kiss each of them goodnight and leave the room. The two year old is known for climbing out of bed saying he wants me to lay down with him - I walk him back to his bed and tuck him in without saying anything. My parent educator suggested this and said that it should work after a few nights... and for the most part it still does after 1 or 2 times. We used to go though this "up and down" cycle for as long as an hour!
JRMORRELL 3/29/07 11:20 A
I feel your pain! My daughter turned 4 yesterday and has slept throught the night about a dozen times. She has a bedtime routine every night including stories, rocking and I lay down with her. She does not watch tv at all during the week. Most of the time she goes to be ok but wakes up constantly and wants in our bed. She then cries when I put her back in her bed. I've learned to live on less sleep, but am really looking forward to her outgrowing this! My 2 year old asks to go to bed and sleeps all night! Good luck with your situation, maybe someone's tips or ideas will help us both.
Jen
KRIS10LEE 3/28/07 11:34 A
My SIL had this same problem only hers are 5 and 2. She put them in the same bed (full size bed) and it has been working very well.
She also tried "bribing" the 5 yo before they got the full size bed. She put a basket outside the childrens door and one outside her door. Everytime the 5 yo got out of her bed and went into mom and dads bed she had to "pay" for it (you can use money or favorite toys in the baskets). So for instance if your child loves barbies, everytime she gets up she has to take a barbie out of her basket and put it into your basket (she loses the barbie for a week then). That worked well for the 5 yo but not the 2yo.
CUDA440 3/28/07 11:28 A
Sorry, I don't have this issue, BUT try checking out www.askdrsears.com and babycenter.com they might have a LOT of articles about this.
Both my kids have slept through the night since they were 6 weeks old. My 8 month goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up at 6:30 am. My 3 year old on a rare occasion wakes up in the middle of the night and comes in our room. But we put him on the floor with a pillow and a blanket.
Beckie
ROBYNHOME 3/26/07 3:34 P
I feel your pain. It is very difficult when 1 child wakes up another child or hinders the other from sleeping
NICCIJ101 3/26/07 1:45 P
I have a 28 month old boy. When I had my 2nd baby, he was 15 months and was still falling asleep on the couch with me at night, which made it very difficult when my newborn was hungry. After a few weeks of hectic chaos, I decided it had to change. I started putting him to bed around 8:30. Bath, story/snuggle time, then bedtime. The first night he cried for maybe 10 minutes, the 2nd night, maybe 5 minutes, the 3rd...about 1-2 minutes. After 4-5 days, no crying and he slept through the night and still does. I do the same for his naps. It is fantastic and well worth the little crying! Now, if he fusses when I lay him down I usually pick him up, hold him for a few minutes and sing hush little baby, then lay him back down, and he's fine. I also recommend using a crib until they are 3 years old or can climb out.
I am also not a fan of the "cry it out" method, but a 2 year old crying for 5-10 minutes a couple times, it not bad at all. Try doing dishes right after you lay them down so it doesn't make you want to cry :(. The water makes it harder to hear. It is tough, but can be done, just takes a bit of work.
Best of luck!
LDYGWNVR 3/26/07 11:48 A
My daughter is 2 now, and still doesn't always sleep through the night. We do have a pretty consistent bedtime for her, though, which has been a huge help in keeping her well-rested (and us too!!). She still sleeps in her crib, because if she didn't she'd be climbing out of her bed every night!! I'm not one to enjoy letting my baby "cry it out" AT ALL (which may be a flaw in me, and for which I've been criticized, but oh well...), so she may fuss and yell for me for a minute or two, but if she's still upset, my husband goes and gets her, snuggles her up in a blanket, and holds her. He doesn't let her get up and play, but will hold her until she gets sleepier. (I, on the other hand, would have her up playing or reading or something, which makes her more lively.) That's why my hubby takes her at bedtime, because he's very good at keeping her relaxed and still, so that he only has to hold her maybe 10 or 15 minutes, and then she goes right to bed. My best tip would be to use cribs if you don't already, and make bedtime consistent, and have a bedtime routine...baths, lotion, story, low lights (we even got a dimmer switch installed in our living room specifically for this reason!!), no tv, soft music, anything you can think of that will gradually taper off the high energy of two-year-olds!! It's so much better for them if there is a routine...nothing strict or rigid, but something to show the babes that it's time to slow down for the evening. :) Best wishes!!!
LABELT 3/26/07 9:20 A
Hello, does anyone have any insight on how to get 2 toddlers ages 2 and 3 to sleep of the night by there self? They share a room together and they usually fall asleep on the couch and then we put them to bed. But they always come in our room when they wake up. And when one wakes up he wakes up the other one. We have tried even putting there beds in the same room as us to try and get them to sleep in a bed all night but they still wont. My husband is the type to that will not allow them to cry so letting them cry it out and put them back in the room will not be an option. If anyone has any other ideas please let me know!
