Exhausted!!!!!!!

[Cathmomof6]

Thanks for all of the great advice. I am determined to get this little guy to sleep all night before his new brother arrives in March so i will try everything!! We started last night. I changed his diaper and laid him down in his crib at 9:00. i tried to get out without giving him his bottle but he fussed and I caved - baby steps!!! He actually then slept until 4 am (he usually wakes between 1 and 2). Unfortunately, i was up at 2:30 because my hands and wrists keep going numb at night during this pregnancy. I have a brace but that is another thread I guess:shrug: Anyways, when I went in his room, he was sitting up. He immediately grabbed his blankie and handed me his empty bottle. I picked him up confused and told him “no more babas”. i told him it was sleepy time and rubbed his back and kissed him. Then I laid him back down, turned on his aquarium, and gave him his gloworm. Needless to say he was mad!! He flung his head forward and popped up. I walked away and shut the door. He screamed the 15 minutes, I went back in, picked him up because he was screaming, and told him it was sleepy time now. Then I laid him back down. Now he was really pissed off! (sorry for the lanquage but it really best describes his reaction!!) He screamed for 10 minutes and then quieted down. He fussed on and off until about 5 am. I didn’t go back in though because I thought he was calming down and then he would fuss a little again. He slept then until 9:30. I know I probably should have woke him up earlier, but my older kids were on a 2 hour delay and that gave me some time to catch up on laundry without him tearing apart everything i just did!! He won’t get much of a nap this afternoon since we have to take my 8 year old to the dentist!!

So anyways we did manage to get through the night with only that initial bottle. I will work on getting rid of that too eventually!! We will try again tonight. I am a little skeptical about going in when he is quiet though because it just seems that that would get him all wound up again!!?? So how did I do?? Any suggestions for tonight???

 

[Xantippe]

Sounds great!

 

[Cat]

Thanks for all of the great advice. I am determined to get this little guy to sleep all night before his new brother arrives in March so i will try everything!! We started last night. I changed his diaper and laid him down in his crib at 9:00. i tried to get out without giving him his bottle but he fussed and I caved - baby steps!!! He actually then slept until 4 am (he usually wakes between 1 and 2). Unfortunately, i was up at 2:30 because my hands and wrists keep going numb at night during this pregnancy. I have a brace but that is another thread I guess:shrug: Anyways, when I went in his room, he was sitting up. He immediately grabbed his blankie and handed me his empty bottle. I picked him up confused and told him “no more babas”. i told him it was sleepy time and rubbed his back and kissed him. Then I laid him back down, turned on his aquarium, and gave him his gloworm. Needless to say he was mad!! He flung his head forward and popped up. I walked away and shut the door. He screamed the 15 minutes, I went back in, picked him up because he was screaming, and told him it was sleepy time now. Then I laid him back down. Now he was really pissed off! (sorry for the lanquage but it really best describes his reaction!!) He screamed for 10 minutes and then quieted down. He fussed on and off until about 5 am. I didn’t go back in though because I thought he was calming down and then he would fuss a little again. He slept then until 9:30. I know I probably should have woke him up earlier, but my older kids were on a 2 hour delay and that gave me some time to catch up on laundry without him tearing apart everything i just did!! He won’t get much of a nap this afternoon since we have to take my 8 year old to the dentist!!

So anyways we did manage to get through the night with only that initial bottle. I will work on getting rid of that too eventually!! We will try again tonight. I am a little skeptical about going in when he is quiet though because it just seems that that would get him all wound up again!!?? So how did I do?? Any suggestions for tonight???

Try to keep your sense of humor. This will pass, and you will be so happy!

Also, be firm. Keep telling yourself that if you can’t control your child now, when he’s not even 2 years old, how on earth will you control him when he’s 16 and feet tall?!

And don’t buy this stuff about “a child must learn to control himself.” Of course he does, but when he is little, he doesn’t know how and must be TRAINED, and because children are created with a free will, they don’t always submit gladly to the training! Kids want to have fun and party, not sleep, eat, and pick up their toys! We have to be firm! Parents must be the most courageous people in the world!

I agree with GloriaMaria that there seems to be something “magical” about the 3-day (or 3 night) mark. It seems that at that point, most kids get the idea, unless they have some kind of medical or psychological issue that truly does result in waking during the night.

But just keep telling yourself that MOST kids are normal! Keep saying that! I think nowadays, too many parents are too ready to give up and explain their child’s behavior by assuming that the child has “Aspbergers” or “ADD” or “gluten-intolerance”.

Frankly, I’m amazed that my husband and I lived through childhood.

 

[EasterJoy]

Thanks for all of the great advice. I am determined to get this little guy to sleep all night before his new brother arrives in March so i will try everything!! We started last night. I changed his diaper and laid him down in his crib at 9:00. i tried to get out without giving him his bottle but he fussed and I caved - baby steps!!! He actually then slept until 4 am (he usually wakes between 1 and 2). Unfortunately, i was up at 2:30 because my hands and wrists keep going numb at night during this pregnancy. I have a brace but that is another thread I guess:shrug: Anyways, when I went in his room, he was sitting up. He immediately grabbed his blankie and handed me his empty bottle. I picked him up confused and told him “no more babas”. i told him it was sleepy time and rubbed his back and kissed him. Then I laid him back down, turned on his aquarium, and gave him his gloworm. Needless to say he was mad!! He flung his head forward and popped up. I walked away and shut the door. He screamed the 15 minutes, I went back in, picked him up because he was screaming, and told him it was sleepy time now. Then I laid him back down. Now he was really pissed off! (sorry for the lanquage but it really best describes his reaction!!) He screamed for 10 minutes and then quieted down. He fussed on and off until about 5 am. I didn’t go back in though because I thought he was calming down and then he would fuss a little again. He slept then until 9:30. I know I probably should have woke him up earlier, but my older kids were on a 2 hour delay and that gave me some time to catch up on laundry without him tearing apart everything i just did!! He won’t get much of a nap this afternoon since we have to take my 8 year old to the dentist!!

So anyways we did manage to get through the night with only that initial bottle. I will work on getting rid of that too eventually!! We will try again tonight. I am a little skeptical about going in when he is quiet though because it just seems that that would get him all wound up again!!?? So how did I do?? Any suggestions for tonight???

I’d get him a no-leak water bottle, if that is practically possible, because then he at least has the possibility of getting his own drink in the middle of the night. Insulated bottles are even better, because with an ice cube it stays cold all night. (The only problem is that all your kids are going to want one! ) As I said, our kids are in high school, they still like to have a water bottle at their bedside and with them throughout the day, and it is a good habit that can be taken on sleepovers and into adulthood. They are even allowed in the dugout!

 

[GloriaMaria]

I disagree on the water bottle until he is older. The only time I would do that is if the child has a cold with a sore throat. Otherwise they need to pee in the night a lot and there is more lost sleep. It sounds like the first night was rough! But there will probably only be two more like it! Way to go! Keep up the good work!