I have a 2 year old boy who hates going to bed at night. One of us has to lay down with him in his bed while he fights going to sleep. This takes about one hour for him to finally fall asleep. The problem also is we have a newborn and I am breastfeeding so it makes it difficult to have a set routine everynight. Also he will not nap during the day for us but at daycare he will nap. Any suggestions?
I will tell you about my bedtime routine, between 7and 8pm is bath time wash hair every night massage head (soothing) and do try lavender bath (gerber). I go to their room and we have story time, every night is story time followed by SLEEP. My daughter is also breastfeeding, she has two boys, 3 and 4, and a 5 month old. My daughter still loves storytime. I wish you luck. Be Well
at about 2 y.o., we quit nursing cold turkey and bed-time was the hardest. my dh put her to bed the first few nites... then i did and just stuck with a routine... ours is brush teeth/ wash face/ 2-3 books/ lullabies/ bed. she fussed quite a bit the first few nites... and i would go in and comfort her, but not get her out of her crib. it took a week probably... but she does wonderfully now.
i think the most important thing is to decide once and for all how you will deal with bed-time... it sounds like you are ready for a change. decide how to deal with it. (i'm sure you're getting alot of suggestions)..... and STICK TO YOUR GUNS!!! do the same thing every nite... and although it might take up to 2 weeks for your ds to realize this is the new plan... he'll get it!
ALSO, give him extra snuggles/ book reading/ mommy/daddy time during the day to make up for the lesser snuggles at nite... he needs your love still!
HTH
darci
P.,
I had the same problem with my youngest last year. You have to put your 2 yr old to bed (and lay there if you'd like). Then when he wakes, you have to be stern with him and make him stay in his bed. He will cry...sometimes for an hour or longer. But wiat him out. Continue this practice each night and each night the amount of crying will lessen. Within about 5 days he will understand the routine and accept it. It is very challenging and you may feel like you are neglecting him, but you are not...
I know exactly how you feel. My daughter is 3 and does the same thing. I would suggest a music box or some soft music to put him to sleep.Usually works with my daughter. You could also try putting both kids down for naps around the same time. That way you can still lay with him then slowly remove yourself from the room quicker. I've noticed some kids just need that extra comfort before bed. you could also try a favorite stuffed animal for him to lay with .
My two-year-old went through this same thing and thank goodness it seems to be over now. He actually tells us when he wants to go to sleep. But for a looong time, months, he wouldn't go to bed easily. We just held firm and told him that we would just be in the next room, and walked out and let him cry Eventually, he only cried for 10 minutes, then five, then two, then none. Just be firm, and let him know you're there for him, but he has to go to bed. It worked for us.
he just wants your attention, he's not used to sharing that....you're a grown-up and you're adjusting to a baby....look at it from a 2yr olds perspective. You don't have a schedule for the baby yet and that's okay but your sons schedule should stay in tact....put him to bed at his normal bedtime and say goodnight.( he will get up a few times the first couple of nights and you can remind him it's bedtime once or twice but after that don't talk to him when you put him back in bed, after a couple of days...he'll get it). Naps are all important (for you both)when does he nap at daycare? my guess would be right after lunch...so right after lunch(every day) wipe up and to bed you go....my friend plays a lulaby CD (45mins)for her daughter and when it's over she's aloud out of bed....this idea is great, most of the time her daughter falls asleep and the days when she doesn't they both got 45mins of downtime! (it'll take a couple of days for him to get into the routine)I have 3 kids in school and 2 still at home and I've followed my routine for 8 years and I've never had a lot of naptime drama(every once in a while). if they have a routine then they know what comes next and what to expect...and we don't miss naps fpr playdates or errans...all that is done before or after...best of luck!
Tuck you son into bed, and put on a radio with relaxing music. Even if he cries for awhile, he will eventually fall asleep with the music. Give it 20 minutes the first time, it will seem like an eternity, but it really isn't that long. I have 4 kids and 8 grandkids...it works!
M.
My guess is he is reacting to your new daughter. It is probably behavioral. Try working more with him (alone time) during the day and perhaps he will stop some of the antics at night (when he clearly has your attention. Just a thought....
Buy the book how to solve your child's sleep problems by Dr. Richard Ferber - worked for me in two nights - and it wasn't all that bad - now I put my girls in bed and it's bed time -good luck to you
We had this problem with our daughter as well, its terrible!!!! What did work for us, that maybe you could try, is to limit her nap time during the day. We only let her sleep one hour at around 12 noon. You may need to let your daughter sleep longer mine is 20 months, but you get the idea. Good luck!!!
We haven't had any luck yet, and I am pregnant now so I suspect we will be in the same boat. Letting him stay up later helps, but then we miss our quiet adult time
