"Re-Training" a 2 year old - BEDTIME

As I posted a week or so ago, my DS (turned 2 in August) climbed out of the crib for the first time on 9/24, during naptime. That morning, he got his 2 year shots. I chalked it up to him being sore / cranky etc. He was screaming & having a meltdown. Ok. Same thing happens that night, and every night since. We tried a toddler bed, wouldn't stay in it. Put the crib back and turned it around so the high back was facing front, that worked for a few nights in terms of stopping the climbing, but not the crying. Then of course he figured out how to climb out of that setup. He's been up at least once a night, if not several times a night, since then. This is a kid who was STTN since he was 4 months old. I tried to see if his molars are coming in, he won't let me but he is drooling a lot. When he wakes up screaming it's like he's terrified. I've been laying on his floor until he's asleep and then I sneak out. Lately I've just been going straight to bed (early for me) since I know I will be up during the night. And I work FT :( I spoke to the ped yesterday and she said I have to re-train him to self soothe and sleep on his own again, just like I did when he was an infant. Basically I let it go on too long with me sleeping on the floor, etc. Last night I tried to put him to bed and reassure him then leave - he stood at the door crying hysterically until he threw up in his room. Of course I then went in and cleaned him up, soothed him and I gave up and laid on the floor til he was asleep. He slept til 1am and then was up again.

The plan for tonight is to put back the toddler bed (safer than climbing out of the crib). My DH is going to put up a gate across the door. We also have a gate at the top of our stairs. I also bought a nightlight / white noise machine, since he also now seems to wake at every creak of the floor. The ped said to keep putting him back into the bed and he will eventually get the point. She said he may give up and sleep on the floor. I know it's going to be hard but I hope it's just something we have to do to get him back to where he was.

Has anyone successfully "re-trained" their 2 year old, in regards to sleep? I really need this to be rectified somehow. I can't function on barely any sleep. I'm not getting anything done in my house either, because I am going to bed same time he is and he gets up at the crack of dawn in the morning. I used to get stuff done when he went to bed for the night and I would get up in the AM before he was awake to shower and get ready for work. I can deal with him getting up early, it's the up-5-times-a-night-and-mommy-sleeping-on-the-floor that's killing me!

eta: he takes a 1.5 hr nap at daycare and I've tried putting him to bed later every day!

PLEASE HELP!!!

Message edited 10/13/2011 2:18:38 PM.

Re: "Re-Training" a 2 year old - BEDTIME

I replied to your other post the other day. I was the one who put the pillow in and my DS went right to sleep.

Well, it was a fluke!! Bedtime became difficult again the next night. DS turned 2 last week. He too had been STTN since 4 months and we never sleep trained. He was just great about seld-soothing.

Well, we decided 2 nights ago to CIO. It was soooo difficult, especially since we never did it before. Night #1 he cried for exactly 1.5 hours He woke up at 5AM and when I went in, he had poopied, probably during the crying that night. Felt like the worst mom. But, last night we did it again. DH put him in the crib. He clung to DH like a little monkey and cried (i heard in the monitor) but DH was strong and put him in there. He only cried for 9 minutes and then fell asleep.

My problem is that he is falling asleep sitting up and so his head bobs and he wakes himself up every 5-10 minutes until he finally lays down (30minutes - 1 hr later). So, it's not restful sleep. And, he's waking at night 1-2 times.

So, we haven't figured it all out but I feel like we have at least made some progress. Well, we'll see how tonights goes, the 9 minutes may have been a fluke too.

Teething here for sure, drooling and hands in mouth but I don't see anything. 2-year molars are what's missing.

No advice on the climbing out of the crib. I fear this. Do what you think is best. I know my DS is in no way ready for a toddler bed. I might try CIO while in the crib and then changing to a toddler bed. Trying to do both sleep training + getting him used to a toddler bed sounds like too much. I think do one at a time.

Re: "Re-Training" a 2 year old - BEDTIME

Kaydyn was in a toddler bed and got the stomach virus the night before her 2nd birthday. Since she got sick in bed we think she had a fear of sleeping there. She started giving us the hardest time going to sleep.

We ended up putting a gate up at her door, putting on a CD and getting a night light and let her CIO. For a couple of days she ended up falling asleep on her floor. A couple of times we tried to put her back in bed after she fell asleep and she would wake back up and be hysterical. One time she fell asleep right in front of the door (it was closed). I would say it took about a week until she got the hint that once she was in bed, we weren't coming back in. She eventually stopped sleeping on the floor and wouldn't cry anymore when we put her to bed.

Re: "Re-Training" a 2 year old - BEDTIME

Jen, dont go in his room and sleep on the floor. Let him cry. He will give in. j pulled this for a few nights. I have ZERO patience with no sleeping i tried the bed, he wouldnt even go near it. Tried the gates in the door, he kicked them down. I finally shut the door and let him scream. After an hour he passed out.

t knows you will go in, and lay with him. Dont do it. Keep putting him back into that bed and walk out, no talking.

Good luck.

Re: "Re-Training" a 2 year old - BEDTIME

Posted by JennZ

Jen, dont go in his room and sleep on the floor. Let him cry. He will give in. j pulled this for a few nights. I have ZERO patience with no sleeping i tried the bed, he wouldnt even go near it. Tried the gates in the door, he kicked them down. I finally shut the door and let him scream. After an hour he passed out.

t knows you will go in, and lay with him. Dont do it. Keep putting him back into that bed and walk out, no talking.

Good luck.

Re: "Re-Training" a 2 year old - BEDTIME

Thanks guys...here's what went down last night:

Had him stay up a little later, gave him his usual bubble bath, PJs, story, etc. After story, he tells me "night night mommy" and points to the floor (little sneak!). So I had on the night light, the fan, the music, the usual...and we put up the toddler bed and a gate across the door. I put him in his bed and told him you go night night in your bed and mommy will go in hers. He of course wanted to no part of that. I had to repeat it several times and since my room is right next to his, he saw me go into my room. Miraculously, i watched him on the monitor, he went to his bed and laid down and went to sleep. Until 1am. Then he was up screaming and I told my DH to go deal with it since he's more of an "authority" then I am. Well, don't you know - he climbed OVER the gate and was standing in the hallway screaming. My DH was very stern with him and told him to get back in bed - so he did - and he cried for maybe an hour. Then fell asleep. THEN was back up at 4. At this point, I went back in and out of sheer exhaustion, I laid down on the floor. Mistake, I know. But I was desperate. Since it's now the weekend, tonight and tomorrow night we will have to really pull all the stops and do some tough love and let him cry. I'm at work now and I am about to go get my 2nd coffee. I can hardly focus and concentrate. I told my DH last night this $hit is ending. We can't continue like this!