Natural Birth & Parenting

All suggestions for fixing my 1 yr olds sleep issues have backfired :( (PIOG)

January 21 at 4:51 AM

My 1 yr old ds used to be a great sleeper. We've coslept since birth. I can tell he is ready to stop,but won't. Here is what is going on: He's become a super light sleeper. I move an inch and he wiggles. He constantly wants his bottle until 2 am. As in,he wakes every 20 min to an hour looking for it. Often he will be wide awake after only an hour or two (Goes to bed at 10) even though he is still tired Lately he fights sleep with all he's got (the other night he stayed up til 2 screaming for two hours no matter what. Yeah,overtired) As expected,he rolls around in bed making room for us slim to none (small bed) His wake/nap/sleep times are over the place (I have a routine for putting him to sleep) When we lay him in his crib he either wakes up every two hours (hubby lays him down) or wakes up instantly (I lay him down) and screams. He hates his crib What I've tried: Feed him more,later (yeah,then he won't take his bottle and can't fall asleep without it. Made him over tired) to try to get him to sleep longer Lay him down as he is falling asleep,in a deep sleep,any stage of sleep. He still wakes up. Hubby will do the Cio method,but I will not. I can't handle it. He can't stand his arms wrapped up so swaddling is a no go.

If we had a bigger bed,I would keep cosleeping. Buuuut I'm also 37 weeks pregnant. I'm exhausted! He's been going through a ton of developmental milestones lately (started saying 3 words on Wednesday!!!) and I know that has something to do with his sleep habits. We've been trying to wean him for months.

I just don't know what to try now. He is becoming a night owl more and more. Only time he sleeps good is when I regretfully allow him to take an evening nap. Then he stays up til 1 or two.

CANCEL

Replies

by imtheonlysane1

January 21 at 10:25 AM

I would try putting him to bed earlier, it could be that he is overly tired and just can't get settled down. I would also at all cost stop the evening nap. With anything you try the first 3 or 4 days are going to be awful but for it to work you will have to stick to it. I am not saying to let him CIO but for your sanity you may have to let him cry a little. Maybe let him cry a few minutes, go in lay him back down, don't talk to him because they get no attention when it is after bedtime. Rinse and repeat until he finally falls asleep. When he wakes up in the middle of the night do the same thing. It will be some long nights but after a few nights he should get the hang of it. It could also be due to you being so far along in your pregnancy. Children are sensitive to how we feel. You aren't comfortable so he isn't comfortable either.
Oh and by the time you figure out what works and you get him sleeping...the baby will be born and then the new issue will be that the baby is waking him up lol.
by jellyphish

January 21 at 3:38 PM

Side car.
by tabi_cat1023

January 21 at 3:43 PM

I am thinking side car the crib, get a toddler bed or put mattress on the floor next to your bed...
by larissalarie

January 21 at 9:09 PM

I don't know that it's wise to make ANY changes with a newborn set to arrive any day/week. I think you waited too long, sorry.

I know with my kids, they've gotten to where they can't sleep with me and need their own room (even being in their own bed in my room was too disruptive to them), but they've always at least started the night in their own bed, so it was just a matter of me putting them back into their bed if/when they woke at night instead of bringing them to bed with me. (ok, the middle child took at lot more more work)
by jconney80

January 21 at 9:14 PM

Yup sidecar the crib

Quoting jellyphish:

Side car.
by SarineLewis

January 21 at 9:54 PM

Each time I've tried putting him to bed earlier he'll wake up an hour later and stay awake for 2 hours. If we try to put him back to sleep he will scream beacuase he wants to be up and play. We live in student housing so I feel bad about him crying.
He also continues to SCREAM in his crib. I think he is afraid of being confined. Letting him cry at night often wakes him up. That's why I'm so torn how to teach him to self soothe. Water in bottle wakes him up too.
I never thought of that. Maybe after I'm not uncomfortable he will be better.

That's what I've been thinking too. Is it even worth it to try to adjust his sleep schedule?

Quoting imtheonlysane1:

I would try putting him to bed earlier, it could be that he is overly tired and just can't get settled down. I would also at all cost stop the evening nap. With anything you try the first 3 or 4 days are going to be awful but for it to work you will have to stick to it. I am not saying to let him CIO but for your sanity you may have to let him cry a little. Maybe let him cry a few minutes, go in lay him back down, don't talk to him because they get no attention when it is after bedtime. Rinse and repeat until he finally falls asleep. When he wakes up in the middle of the night do the same thing. It will be some long nights but after a few nights he should get the hang of it. It could also be due to you being so far along in your pregnancy. Children are sensitive to how we feel. You aren't comfortable so he isn't comfortable either.
Oh and by the time you figure out what works and you get him sleeping...the baby will be born and then the new issue will be that the baby is waking him up lol.
by catholicmamamia

January 22 at 12:21 AM

Get a bigger bed, get another mattress to place next to your bed, or sidecar a crib/ toddlerbed.
by catholicmamamia

January 22 at 12:22 AM

Good Luck.. :o)
by littlelambe2

January 22 at 2:42 AM

How about putting him in his own big bed? We transitioned dd from bed sharing in a queen, to her own twin sized bed at 15 months. She hated being confined. The bigger bed let her stretch out, plus, when she was going to sleep or waking in the middle of the night, one of us could still lay with her but slip away once she was asleep. Of course, the mattress was on the floor.
I wouldn't do anything drastic as far as forcing sleep before the new baby comes. Chances are, he'll have some sleep issues when the new baby arrives.

Quoting catholicmamamia:

Get a bigger bed, get another mattress to place next to your bed, or sidecar a crib/ toddlerbed.
by SarineLewis

January 22 at 3:53 PM

1 like

I would do that, but we don't have room. Last night I put his mattress on the floor next to ours and he slept decent. Til he got stuck between the two lol. I woke up, but he didn't when that happened. It was funny.

That's what I've been thinking. We've decided to research and fix his schedule later.

Quoting littlelambe2:

How about putting him in his own big bed? We transitioned dd from bed sharing in a queen, to her own twin sized bed at 15 months. She hated being confined. The bigger bed let her stretch out, plus, when she was going to sleep or waking in the middle of the night, one of us could still lay with her but slip away once she was asleep. Of course, the mattress was on the floor.
I wouldn't do anything drastic as far as forcing sleep before the new baby comes. Chances are, he'll have some sleep issues when the new baby arrives.

Quoting catholicmamamia:

Get a bigger bed, get another mattress to place next to your bed, or sidecar a crib/ toddlerbed.

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