Dear Moms,
We have a convertible crib on which one side is removable to make it a toddler bed. I recently made the transition, as my daughter Téa, now almost 3-1/2, has started potty training in earnest and I want her to be able to get up at night if she needs so. So far she has not needed to do that, but one unexpected result of the transition is that she will no longer nap. Now that she has the freedom to get up, she does it! It seemed in the week or two before the transition she was heading that way anyway, several days without sleeping at all at nap time, but now there's just nothing. Also, in the past three days she has awaken a good hour or more earlier than before in the morning. She is cranky, to be sure. Granted, before she was sleeping 12-13 hours at night and at least an hour nap, but now it's about 11-1/2 hours at night and no nap. Is this normal and ok for the transition, or should I put the side back on the crib?
Thanks!
S.
So....what happened is that I have decided to seek advice elsewhere than on this site. I would have thought that when a stranger asks for advice, she might be given the benefit of the doubt instead of being insulted and having her parenting brought into question. I am a first time mother and doing the best I can. I don't need to be told that I'm not as smart as a three year old or that I am ridiculous. My pediatrician said that I should wait until my daughter wants to potty train and not force her. Forgive me for following the advice of an expert. I don't consider your reality TV shows to be a legitimate source for solutions, either.
Maybe Americans nurture their children longer than may seem necessary so that they will grow up with enough sensitivities not to be provocative and insulting to strangers on the internet.
I think it is the novelty of the whole new freedome thing. 14 hours or more or sleep a day seems like a lot for a 3 1/2 year old in my opinion. She certainly needs more than she is getting now because she is cranky. I would drop the nap and put her to bed tired (but not over tired). You may need to stay with her to help her fall asleep. It should work itself out soon, I think.
We had this issue, too. I think it's smart to allow her access to the potty. Since she's already older, I wouldn't want to stall that process any more, so I would not put the side back on, do pull-ups or anything else that could set her back.
We did the Super Nanny "stay in bed" technique and only had to do it twice, once for bed, once for a nap.
1. Go through bedtime routine (even for naps, we do stories, potty, etc) and put her in bed. Say, "it's bedtime, sweetie. I love you."
2. Leave the room. If she comes out, physically put her back in bed and say "bedtime". Do not honor requests for food, drink, etc.
3. If she gets out again, put her back and say NOTHING. Repeat as many times as necessary until she gets the message that she will be put back in bed EVERY time she gets out. It's bedtime and we stay in bed.
This worked for us as long as we went through the whole sleeptime routine before trying to put him down. One day, I sat outside his door reading. I saw him "checking" to see if I was there so he could get out. My presence was enough to keep him in bed. This was only for one day, then he stayed on his own.
She may be ready to give up naps. My son still naps, but even when he doesn't, he'll have quiet time in his room, so I still see this being useful.
Good luck on both counts!
She is actually really too old for a toddler bed so don't go backwards. if any changes have to happen she needs to go up to a regular size bed. Toddlers are from the ages of 12 months up to 24 months. Your child is probably going to just have this transition issue for a while longer than normal since she is older and "realizes" she can play now.
If you want her to fall asleep and nap you are going to have to sit with her until she is actually asleep. This might work for her since she's so tired.
I recommend you put the bed up and get her transitioned to her regular bed though.
I am the mother of three and the grandmother of eight so I speak from experience.......I don't think Tea has the problem.....I think it is Mommy! Unless Tea has serious developmental issues I cannot imagine why you would consider putting a child that old back in a crib. She is only doing what you are allowing her to do. Check out the Super Nanny and use her bedtime techniques. When Tea gets up, just put her back in bed....it is as simple as that. If she is still wet at night use pull-ups and cut back on the water in the evening.......she may be waking up earlier because she needs to potty.....at 3 1/2 she should be totally trained, not just
starting....sounds like Tea is smarter than Mom!
