Sleeping Problem - Hightstown, NJ

I don't have any great advise, but can share with you my own childhood pattern. I was not a good sleeper as a kid. Your child is too young for this now, but you can tech this as she gets older. I had trouble falling asleep and would also wake up early. My mom allowed me to read in bed with a flashlight which helped me fall asleep, or at least pass the time quitely so my body was resting. I was able to do the same thing if I awoke early in the am. It helped so the rest of the house could sleep. I know this does not help you now, but I hope that as your dtr grows, this might be helpful.

My daughter is almost 4 and had this problem. I was thinking this morning to ask for some advice, but saw urs first. Please let me know if you get any good responses! Thanks and good luck!

Hi H.,

I agree that you need to get a routine going. Let's say at 7pm bath/massage/jammies/reading. At 8pm, it's bed time. Lights out, kisses goodnight. If she cries, you can try letting her cry it out (cry for 5 min./go in and soothe without picking up-leave/let cry for 10 min./go in and soothe without picking up-leave, etc.).

If she wakes in the middle of the night and is NOT crying, don't go in her room (be sure to have some toys in the crib). If she is crying, perhaps give her some warm milk and then leave her again. Or, if she needs soothing, rock her back to sleep (assuming this will only take a few minutes and can be done in her room). If you allow her to get stimulated in the middle of the night, she will continue to want that. It's best to keep a calming routine and she will get the hang of it eventually. I think the key is to establish a strict bedtime routine - that will set her clock.

Good luck!

I don't really have advice. I can only say we are in the same situation. My daughter is also two and we are often up past midnight. If she goes to bed prior to 9pm then she is up in the middle of the night for two or three hours. The only thing that helps a bit is waking her in the morning, but then I feel badly that she isn't getting enough sleep. It's a constant battle. Feel free to message me!! :)

I think you should start slow and work up to a gradual routine. One easy way way to start is to establish a nightime routine. A bath, a massage, a story, or anything else that your daughter would like is a good idea. Try doing this around the same time every night. This will naturally relax your daughter. Make sure her last nap is not too late. Once you have established a night routine, which may take a week or two, then you can start working on other times of the day. You also may need to realize that your daughter may be the kind of kid who does not need or enjoy routines. Most children generally do, but if she is happy and thriving then don't push it too much.

Hi H.
You seem to be saying you have a two year old that is not on a regular schedule and you would like that to happen. Right? Sorry to say but in my opinion that is a dream world of generalizations. No two children have the same sleep patterns, and no two children need the same amount of sleep.
Let me just tell my story and perhaps when things are frustrating you can say she lived through that I can live through this. OK
Our oldest was a dream child, slept all night and never napped.
Our younger son was difficult. By 2 years old he was only sleeping 2 hours in any 24 hour period. He went to bed at 8 and got up at 10, from then on he ran around our bed, from dad's face to mine constantly all night. He is now 32 and guess what he is a lawyer, married and has a son. His wife is thrilled that he only requires 2 hours sleep because she can get some sleep when the baby is up at night;our son loves having the company at night.
He was 14 when we had twin girls, one slept about 7-8 hours in 24 by 2, and the other slept about 4. I had always said if I had another child like our son, I would beat down the MD's door til he did something. I tried that, he checked over our daughter, just like he had our son and there was nothing wrong. They just don't require the sleep of other children.
Naps were history at a year old so that we would have all our sleep time in one chunk of time.
Live with what is, not what you wish or read about.
Some people think that children don't change your life that they fit into your lifestyle. I say you fit into their's because they change you entirely.
God bless you and give you peace
K. SAHM married 38 years-- adult children 37 coach; 32 lawyer; and twins 18 sleeper is commuting to college majoring in journalism, the non sleeper is on college campus loves dorm life because she has found that other people are up in the night, unlike her old parents and she is a fine arts major. I homeschooled them.

Hi H.,
I have a 2 yr. old daughter as well. I have a special routine that she looks forward to every night. That is the idea isn't it? To make it "special" for her. I give her a bath at 7:30, put her jammies on, brush her teeth, and brush her hair dry. Then she picks out a book for me to read, we pray to Jesus, we give each other tons of hugs and kisses, then she is off to sleep. We finish and it is approximately 8:15 at night. She doesn't wake until 7:30 in the morning. On weekends, or mornings we can sleep in, we'll stay up and watch a movie and I snuggle her to my hearts content. She still sleeps through the night and wakes at 7:30am. It sounds as if your daughter needs a definite consistent routine. It will probably take some time at first because children hate change, but they love structure and routines, it keeps them feeling secure to know what is going to happen next. Not only, because my daughter is so used to the routine, she helps me set everything up and it gives her that feeling of control and independence kids thrive on at this age. Hope this helps.