Sleep Training my almost 2yo

DS will be 2 in August and he still does not sleep through the night

He naps very well (typically 1-3p) and he goes down well at bedtime which is around 7:30p and gets up for the day between 7-7:30a... sounds good right?

Until we get into that space between bedtime and waking the next morning where he wakes up on average 3 times a night and either DH or I go in and lay him back down. It's a quick pop in, no talking just lay him back down and leave, but he'll just scream and scream if we just leave him.

He still has a pacifier too which he definitely relies on as part of his nap/nighttime routine. I think we're at the point where we need to rip the bandaid off and do CIO and lose the paci. His scream is just so high pitched and aggressive I can only take it for so long.

Sorry this post got so long... any help/suggestions appreciated!!

Re: Sleep Training my almost 2yo

I just spent last night listening to DD who is 20 months cry herself to sleep after being allowed to sleep with me one night when she had vomited. She was very clearly communicating that she likes sleeping with me better (but I don't and she kicks).

It is crappy... but it stops. There is no magic to it.

Your 2 year old sleeps a whole lot: I'd try cutting down on naps by some time or keeping him up a little longer... but my kids don't seem to need sleep.

Sleep Training my almost 2yo

I agree time to get rid of the pacifier. My DD loved hers and the she broke a tooth and the dentist said we had to cut it cold turkey. After one bad nite she got over it. I think maybe he's sleeping too much during the day so he's not tired long enough at nite. I would try cutting the nap by half an hour or even an hour and see if that helps.

Message edited 5/24/2017 7:05:35 AM.

Sleep Training my almost 2yo

I just re sleep trained my 21 month old after 4 months of suffering with middle of hte night wake ups.
He will definitely fall asleep...eventually. It's so much harder at this age, because they are way more aware of what's going on. I had my son CIO for about 45 minutes on night 1, I set a timer for 1 hour and I said if he didn't stop, I'd go in. He stopped before the timer was up!
it's not going to be easy, but be consistent. He knows you're going to come in, which is why he is so persistent. My son is back to sleeping through the night after just 2 nights of torture.

I also recommend, if you have a monitor with a button that allows you to speak to him, use it! I put the "intercom" on if my son wakes up and I tell him "Okay baby, it's still night time, lay down" and I was shocked when he actually laid back down.

Good luck! I know how hard it is, but you have to be able to function to be the best mom you can be...and he needs sleep to be able to help his brain function at its highest capacity!

Sleep Training my almost 2yo

I feel your pain!!! DD has always been a terrible sleeper. I definitely spoiled her and coslept while we were living in an apartment, because I didn't want her to wake her older brother. About 6 months ago we used a sleep trainer which helped a ton, but she's still all over the place with her sleeping. We now just converted her crib to a toddler bed so I have to stay in her room until she falls asleep because she tries to escape.

She has middle of the night wakings like your LO, and I just tuck her in and leave. If I don't go she screams and wakes her brother, then I have two kids awake in the middle of the night!!

To give you some tips, try making nap time a little shorter and ty putting your LO to bed a little later. I don't like DD nap for more than 1.5 hours because gen she'll wake up a bunch of times at night. Good luck!

Re: Sleep Training my almost 2yo

Is it that he can't find the pacifier? If so, just throw more in the crib.

In general, though, I wouldn't go in. He's screaming and crying b/c you've taught him that he sees mommy or daddy if he screams. He's old enough to lie back down himself, so let him do that.

Sleep Training my almost 2yo

if he wakes up I wouldn't go in. He's thinking you'll go in and put him back down and he's going to continue doing it until he realizes that you're not coming. I would do that first and get him on a better schedule, and then work on the pacifier. I wouldn't do both in one shot, though

Re: Sleep Training my almost 2yo

You need to get rid of the Paci and stop going in there, but not at the same time. Since the priority right now is getting sleep, I would leave the paci for now, but when he cries and whines for you, don't go in. He knows you and DH keep coming in which is why he does it. I know it's hard, but stay strong. I had to CIO with all 3 of my kids. One of my twins was the toughest. I would go take a 45 min shower when he would cry and just cry in the shower, but DH would not let me in. It took 3 nights. The first night he cried for almost 2 hours, the second night about an hour, and the 3rd night maybe 15 minutes. The 4th night , not a peep. I thought something happened. Since then, they go to bed no problem. Say goodnight, kisses, close door and lights out.

Once he gets settled with that, then I would take away the paci. One of my kids was addicted to his. I really thought he might go away to college with his. As soon as he would get in his crib, he would feel for it, like an addict and stick it right in his mouth. Ugh, don't miss that phase. Hang in there!

Re: Sleep Training my almost 2yo

Thanks for all the support since i posted this a few days ago, we've jumped right into CIO. it's really hard but we're doing our best to stick to it. Can't say it's fixed everything yet bc he's still waking up crying but hopefully we'll get there.

For now we're going to focus on getting the sleeping thing down before pulling the plug on the paci. DS1 was done with his paci by this age but he was a much better sleeper at this point too. Plus we moved from NY to London 2 months ago so it's been a lot of change so hopefully we'll get him sleeping well soon and move forward from there!