My younges is just a little over 2. He used to be a wonderful sleeper. As in, lay him down he'd go right to sleep and sleep the entire night through. Here lately, however, it's a battle to even get him to stay in the bed. It's usually an hour to an hour and a half after we first put him in the bed before he goes to sleep. We've tried everything we can think of: letting him take a few small toys or books to bed, taking things away, rocking him beside the bed for a few minutes, lights on, lights off, door open, door shut, and even a swat on the behind. Nothing seems to work! Any suggestions?

__________________
Come check out our scrapbooking deals!


myspace.com/jessthenurse1980

Sorry, I don't have any good suggestions, but a lot of sympathy because I am in the same boat as you are. My two year old does not want to go to bed!!!!

Lately I have to either lie down beside him next to his bed, or since that is not very comfortable I just take him into my bed until he falls asleep then I move him into his own bed.
It is so very frustrating and I look forward to any good tips or advice here!!

is he still takeing a nap. If so limit the time of the nap. I have to do this with my dd she was taking a 2 hr nap and i had to only let her nap an hour so that she would go to bed if I let her sleep 2 hours she was up till 10 or 11. HTH Also quit time before bed time helps lights off relaxing reading, what ever you may choose but no toys and no active play

__________________

For what it's worth, I think SuperNanny just quietly takes them by the hand and puts them in bed until they stay. She doesn't talk. She just does it. Supposedly, after a few nights the kids learn that you mean business and they stay in there.

That being said, I haven't had the problem with my older two kids. I'm just crossing my fingers about #3. I do agree with limiting the nap, though. It might work...

This happened with DS. It helped when I changed his naptime to smack in the middle of the day. He was up at 7am, so he went down for his nap between 1 and 2. Once he woke up an hour or so later, he had the same amt of time until he went to bed. Seemed to help. Also, we told him a short story (verbally) quietly with the lights out. I held his hand. (when DH put him down, he stroked the side of his head) When we finished the story, we repeated it, but so softly that he couldn't make out what we were saying very well. He just knew we were still telling the story. By the time the second story was finished, he was usually zonked out.

Also, is he warm enough? DH balked for weeks about me putting DS in footies or a sweatsuit & socks to sleep in at night during the summer. But DS would kick off his blankets once he got into a deep enough sleep and with the fan in his room (that we found out to be necessary to blocking out noise from the tv, traffic from the road, dogs barking, etc) he'd get enough of a chill to wake up. The nights I put him in full pjs (down to covered toes) he slept like a rock. The nights DH insisted he be put in tshirt/short pjs he was up all night (DS I mean) - and me with him. (DH just slept hard while I got up 99 times with DS). It sounds weird, but he must be like his mom (I sleep inside a folded fleece blanket year-round), and if it works, I'm going to go with it.

__________________
~~Amanda~~ Mommy to one Little Man (3 1/2 yrs old), TTC #2

I hadn't thought about him being too cold. I'll have to try that. I talked to his daycare teacher and she's going to keep him up a little longer and get him up a bit before the others to see if that'll help sleep at night. They told me he's been sleeping for two hours (!) and then doesn't want to get up sometimes. So, hopefully something will work out.

__________________
Come check out our scrapbooking deals!


myspace.com/jessthenurse1980

I could have written your post! I'm having the same problem.
I like the idea of telling and then retelling a story. It's worth a try.

__________________
~Jeweled

Her's a sleep profile thing you can fill out and it gives you reccomendations on helping you child fall asleep. I thought it was pretty cool.

My girls go through stages of having sleeping issues. I try to limit stimulating activites and any sweets. We have a rigid routine. My almost 2 year old will push me down the hall to get her started for bed after her movie goes off. We brush teeth then read books, then she asks to go to bed. My four year old challenges the system. That is another ball of wax. Right now, she is getting a sticker on her rewards chart if she stays in her bed and tries to go to sleep. The end reward will be a leapster game.