2 1/2 Yr Old Getting up Every Three Hours Since We Put Her in Her Big Girl Bed

My son did the same thing. From when he was about 2 1/2 and gradutated to his big boy bed till about 4! The difference between us though was I was either too lazy or too tired to take him back to his bed so he just ended up sleeping with us. I am pregnant now with #3 and decided that just isn't going to work so I NEEDED to get him out of this habit. I created a sticker chart for him and put it on the refrigerator. For every night he slept in his bed ALL night he would get a sticker; after 20 stickers (20 nights sleeping in his own bed) I would get him a small toy. Then again for 20 nights ( a medium toy) and and one more time for a big toy and hopefully, after the 60 nights he would be broke of the habit. It only took about 20 nights total for him to receive 13 stickers and he now sleeps in his own bed all night. Even nights when he doesn't feel good or I ask him if he wants to sleep with me, he says "NO, I won't get a sticker!" I worked MUCH better then I ever planned!

Good Luck!!

My son does the same thing at times. We switched him to a toddler bed, and he suddenly knew he could get up and walk around, explore the house, etc. (He's just turned 3). I set up the pack'n'play right next to his bed, and for about a week, reminded him that if he got up after I tucked him in, and came out of his room, he was going to sleep in there for the night. He didn't like it, needless to say, but I was consistent without getting angry. If he walked out of his room, I just moved his pillow and blanket into the pack'n'play and tucked him in, and said good night. He cried, but he was asleep in minutes. After a few nights of that, he'd cry in the middle of the night to be let back into his regular bed, and I complied, switching all the stuff back.

It's been a few weeks since we've had a problem, but the pack'n'play is still next to his bed. I don't remind him about the consequence, but I think knowing it's there helps him stay in bed, and he sleeps SOOOO much better now (and wakes up really happy).

I don't think you are hurting your daughter by doing this...and she needs her sleep as much as you do! Many kids at this age find it hard to resist the freedom of being able to get up. But if it interferes with her sleep, and yours, it's okay to take away the freedom for a time, to get the sleeping patterns back on track.

Good luck!

I read in a magazine about this problem. One of their suggestions was to put a gate in the doorway so that they can't get out. Couldn't hurt to give it a try. Good luck.

Hi D.,
My son had gone through the same thing. We did put him back in the pack-n-play just like you did for a couple of months and he did sleep better - after he figured out he couldn't get out, so that helped to get him back into the sleep routine.. once we felt he was ready, we put him back in his bed. He is doing better, still wakes up but he goes right back to sleep with a little comforting. I think the pack-n-play helps, especially for you so you can get some rest.. believe me, I know how you feel. Keep her in there so she can get used to sleeping again, I don't think it makes much difference except she can't get out of bed, and she will figure it out and just go to sleep. :)
Good luck.

We started with putting crib and bed in same room and letting dau choose which one. STarted w/ naps in bed and sleeping in crib. Eventually in bed we ended up putting a long body pillow next to the wall and a bedrail with pillows next on the other side so she felt a little more cozy, that seemed to help make the transition go a little faster. Good luck.

Have you tried using one of those toddler bed rails? Maybe that would help make her feel more secure. That's what we used when we turned my son's crib into a day bed, I think it helped ease the transition a bit. I don't think it's a bad thing for her to sleep in a play pen for that long. It does sound like she enjoys the security.

My daughter, who is 2 and 1/2 has been in her toddler bed for a long time now, but if she had the option, she would sleep in her pack-n-play all the time...even though she doesn't really fit in there and it can't be comfortable on the hard cardboard! I think she does just like to be enclosed sometimes, she has somewhere to put her feet up and stuff.

**actually, I know for a fact she likes to be enclosed because she likes to just sit in our empty hamper and play forever!**

I think it's ok for yours to sleep in the playpen...if it's ok with you, or go back to the crib until she's ready to understand that the toddler bed is where she has to stay...

With my son, we left his crib up when we moved him to a big boy bed. He went back and forth between the two beds for about a month. Then he was fine sleeping in his big boy bed. Now he is 3 and in a twin bed. We did the same thing. We left his big boy bed up when we transitioned him to the twin bed. After about a month, we were able to take it down. Good luck!

A.

sleeping in a play pen is safe. My grandson slept in his playpen when he was with his father.

She may sleep better there because she is familiar with it. She could also like feeling enclosed. Another possibility is that she can't get out to come to you like she can from her big girl bed.
Another guess is that when she wakes up her surroundings feel different and she gets frightened.

Have you asked her about what she thinks of the big girl bed. Perhaps the two of could figure out a way that she would feel more secure. For example something she could do or see when she wakes up.

Do you use the same bedding in her big girl bed as in the crib? If it's a twin size bed you could put on a bottom sheet and then use the same bedding on top of her.

At this age it's all a guessing game. My daughter made it a big deal, with her daughter, of having a big girl's bed. Lots of praise and excitement. She got a new Tinker Bell blanket that her mother had made. And we put up tinker bell pictures on the wall and stars that glow in the dark hanging from the ceiling. Perhaps that's why she didn't have as big a problem with her waking up. But she still had difficulty getting her to sleep.

There is a theory that I have embraced with my two children ages 3 and 6. In a nut shell the point of it is that you give your children all the things that they need when they are young, like giving them lots of love and attention...so that when they are older they are (oddly enough) more independent. When I say "things they need" Im mostly talking about the argument of should you pick up your child when they cry all the time, or, in this case, should you let your child come to bed w/you in the middle of the night if thats what they choose.

Or,if you think of their emotional needs from the day they are born as "buckets" that need to be filled, and then imagine once they are grown up, them being able to give what they have been given (in these buckets) to others that they create relationships with. If they aren't filled when they are young, they won't have them when they are older to give. Our children came with hearts to be filled...and they have a really good sense of what they need from us. Remember, they aren't articulate with words, but their actions speak quite loud.

In other words, I would let the little one sleep with you. Your child will not, I promise, be in her 30's still hopping in bed with you...so whats the harm. If this is what the child is communicating to you that she needs, thats what we as parents are here for. ;o)

Hi Kristine,

Every child is different. I have found that if either my husband or i is apprehensive about a change, she is as well. This has been true in many cases. Children are taight what to fear. Our daughter is 18 months and is in a toddler bed. I now close the door when she naps to prevent her getting out. Though she does get out frim time to time, it works much better. If she falls asleep on the floor in her room, i am fine with that. I know she will grow out of it eventually. I think it is great that you are making the experiece so comfortable for your child. What a good mom!

Blessings,

Katherine