Ok I need HELP! Blake has been a great sleeper for a long time and this week he decided that his room was not the place to be! He refuses to sleep at nap time and bedtime is pretty much just as hard. I don't get it. He has been sleeping in his toddler bed since April so that isn't it. We do the same routine every day so there isn't a change there. We thought maybe he was spooked about something so Blake and I rearranged his room and I put his furniture where he wanted it. This didn't help. We added a night light to his room at night and this seemed to help a bit, but not totally. He just comes out of his room, closes his door and stands in the hallway crying. He will sit on the floor outside his door with his blanket and cry until he gives up crying and then just sits there.
My little guy NEEDS his nap... you can't go from needing a 2 hour nap one day to refusing to nap at all the next day. Help me please... any suggestions????
Let me tell ya Caleb did this not long ago and is still not acting like he normally would at bedtime. I used to say it's bedtime and he would run right in,get in bed and go straight to sleep. A few months ago he started not wanting to take his nap and when he finally went to sleep he would only sleep for about 45 mins. He would go in and cry and scream for me and initially everytime I went in and covered him back up and walked back out. Eventually I figured out that as long as I would go in he would keep crying for me so I just stopped going. I would put him in and then I would leave and eventually he figured out that I wasn't coming back in so he would just go to sleep. Naptime has gotten much better however bedtime is still not back to normal. He still takes some time to go to sleep but he is nowhere near where he was before. He still tries to get my attention but once he doesn't get it he realizes that we aren't going to play his game.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if maybe Blake thinks he "has" you. Maybe he knows that if he gets upset and cries and cries and cries that eventually you'll come to him and give him what he wants. He knows that eventually he'll get his way and then he's got you again. Trust me I know listening to them cry is not easy. I am not an advocate of doing it to babies in order to get them on sleep schedules but I think once they are older and understand what they are doing so much so that it's almost a game then I am just for getting them to do what I know they need.
That probably doesn't help but basically I'm just saying stick to your guns and do what you need to do. People will give you all kinds of advice but the same thing never works for two people and YOU are the one that has to live with it. I would do what I've done with Caleb and just let him cry it out for now and even when he stops and just sits there eventually he'll fall asleep..might take some time but he will and after doing that night after night he'll learn that what he's doing is not working.
I rambled..sorry :)
First over all, make sure he is not sick. An ear infection may not have other symptoms but inability to sleep (lying down can cause pain leading to inability to sleep). As long as he is not coming down with something, then I agree, stick to your guns, probably a testint Blake is doing with you.
ReplyDeleteWe struggle with StuntMan all the time at nap and bed. By the third child (all fight bedtime...but once asleep...good sleepers), I just don't have the energy to argue or fuss some days, so we agree that he doesn't have to "nap" as long as he stays in his room & plays with his toys until I come to get him. Most days he ends up falling asleep while playing. Then at least they are having some down time...even if it isn't necessarily sleep time. It is a phase, it will pass. Whatever you try, just be consistant...he may be testing the waters.
ReplyDeletei think its just a phase...i don't have any suggestions on how to fix it. Avery used to do the same thing...i just let me play in his room until "naptime" is over. most days he will sleep...other days he doesn't. but he at least gets his down time. does he maybe have teeth coming in?
ReplyDeletenot sure about bed...ive never had problems at bedtime. knock on wood. hang in there mama! hopefully he will be back to his old self soon!
Luckily, my girl is still loving her afternoon naps.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping it is just a phase as well. Good luck!!
Let us know how it goes.
sorry Lori, I don't have any suggestions on this one. We are having some difficulty with Sonia sleeping in her bed also! We are trying everything.
ReplyDeleteMost likely for Blake it is just a phase and he is trying to test you about this. IDK!
Hope it gets better soon.
Hmmm I don't know if I have any suggestions. Jacob is almost 4 but there are times where he naps sooo easily and others he just won't. I don't know why it is, but the less sleep they get the more wired they are and the more sleep they get the more calm they are. I always thought it should be the other way around.
ReplyDeleteI found pushing nap time an hour ahead helped me. He used to go right after lunch but now it is more around 2:00pm and he will go down much easier now. I guess he just still had his morning energy.
Sorry I haven't been around in a while. Just been so busy! Anyway, I'm so sorry to hear about the sleep issue. That's a tough one. Lyndsy went through an "afraid of the dark" phase but other than that I have no suggestions. Sorry! Good luck I hope you figure something out!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh the sleep issue really stinks. I have had my battles here, in different ways with both.
ReplyDeleteGoose went through a faze where she did not want to sleep in her bed. We did the whole rearrange furniture and all of that. I refused to let her sleep in our room. We ended up making her bed on the floor and that is where she slept. I even talked with the DR. about it. He agreed, as long as there were no hazzards on the floor, there was nothing wrong with it. It was a phase, she now happily sleeps in her bed.
Now my little guy, if he does not take an early nap, he wants to stay up until late at night. I can not do that. So if he misses an early nap, I intentionally skip it,let him have quite time, and put him to bed early. It works for us.
I will pray for you, I know how frustrating it can be.