21 Month Old Dd Still Not Sleeping... Should I Move Her to Her Toddler Bed?

Give her a snack before bed so you know she's not hungry. Then forget the repeated patting and rubbing etc. She has you trained. Who wouldn't want to get back rub and cuddle all night every night. Put get bed say night and walk out. Do that over and over. No talking, no hugging etc. Bed time is bedtime. If you put her in the toddler bed get a gate and child proof her room.

She would already be in a toddler bed in my home. All were in theirs by age 18 months. If you don't have a toddler bed just put a mattress on the floor and let her sleep on that. I do think I'd lay down on her bed with her and just sleep there for a while.

She is plenty old enough to be in one and since she's not safe in her baby bed she needs to be out of it. It only takes one fall to get hurt.

Ditto Sherry. Get a high gate with vertical slats she can't climb, too.

If she is getting out of her crib and can't be left alone, then it is time to go to to a big girl bed. ( Personally, we skipped the toddler bed phase and just bought a twin. We just put a body pillow next to our kids and didn't worry about getting rails).

Yes, it will start a whole new set of problems. I think with both of my kids it took about two LONG months before they learned to stay in bed when they were first put in bed. We were just really consistent about putting the kids in bed immediately without talking to them. There were occasionally desperate nights, where my husband would lay with them until they feel asleep. And I have to admit, that as much as I disagreed with starting bad habits, I was really relieved not to be chasing a two year old down the hall. I would come up with a new, shorter routine. I'd drop the extended patting and rubbing. She needs to learn to fall asleep on her own. As hard as it is to hear the crying, remember that she is safe, fed and dry...a little crying won't hurt her.

A gate may help contain her, but it won't stop her from getting up, just from getting out of the room. And you will have to make sure she hasn't figured out how to climb over the gate. After my kids learned how to get out of the crib, it did not take long for them to learn how to scale a baby gate.

I can't help but wonder if she is getting her two year molars. My kids never seemed to be too affected by teething during the day, but at night, they were miserable and it DESTROYED any hope of sleep for anyone.

Get her at her regular time no matter how much or little she slept during the night.
Shorten her nap during the day.
Make sure she gets some fresh air in early in the afternoon (walk, playground, running around the back yard).
This age is tricky with sleeping.
Their imaginations are running full tilt day and night - so nightmares are starting up and they get scared if they wake up in the night.
My son slept better if he was with us at night.
Initially he woke us up when he woke up, but then I'd take him back to his bed.
Once he figured out not to wake us up, he'd just tuck himself in at the foot of our bed and go back to sleep while holding my foot - we ALL started getting a lot more sleep.
We were lucky in that he never wandered the house at night.
He always came straight to me (and our room was right across the hall from his).
He out grew this at about 4 yrs old.
Then he was fine sleeping in his room all night.
She's already climbing out of her crib - so you might a well switch her to a bed.
We never bothered with a toddler bed for our son - he went straight to a twin bed - we put rails on both sides and he loved that I could sit with him in it to read bedtime stories.
If she just wants to be with you, you might set up a sleeping bag for her next to your bed.
They do grow out of it eventually but it's an annoying stage.

I'm usually a proponent of leaving in the crib as long as possible - why change something that's working. But, in your case, it's not working - your daughter isn't sleeping. So I say go for it. Depending on how your doors are installed, you may be able to shut her door and put the gate on it. We can in our house. If not then yes, leave the door open and put on the gate.

Also, check out her room for anything that might seem scary in the dark. Right around that age, my son suddenly starting waking crying at night. We couldn't figure out why for a while. Then one day he managed to get across to us that a stuff giraffe in his room (which had been there since birth) was scaring him. We moved it out of the room, and he started sleeping again immediately.

Maybe she just wants to be with you? Have you tried co-sleeping?

Hi fellow Clearwater mom! I feel your pain! My 1 year old daughter doesn't sleep well and hasn't for the last 6 months. I'm lucky to get 4 hrs a night. I feel like a walking zombie some days. And yes I'm one of those moms who drop their kid off to school in pajamas..sigh. I've tried just about everything excpet the baby gate at the door because I don't want my cats in her room. Hang in there! We live in a apartment and I've had neighbors tell me they have heard her screaming and they understand.

Cut her naps during the day,she isn't tired by the time she goes to bed or she is overly tired she is unable to relax, soothe herself to sleep other than your assistance.What time is she going down for the night?Do you have a bedtime routine?Has anything changed in the home or has she been sick that has effected her sleep pattern?More than likely it is just a phase children go thru so many changes & we as their parents need to help them.Staying with her for a long period of time after she gets tucked in will only continue if you let it.She is still young and learning & finding what she likes or dislikes about her routine adding in more comfort time during the day will ease the process of her need for your touch in the evening.