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SLEEP => Sleeping For Toddlers => Topic started by: Stacie:Emma&Josh Mom on December 16, 2005, 21:18:07 pm
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So we've been really lucky that dd almost always stays in her bed and happily goes to sleep. Lately however she's started complaining from time to time at either naptime or bedtime saying "up pease" and not wanting to go to sleep after we finish her routine. I know she's just fighting going to bed as she complains before bath as well knowing that's the start of her bedtime routine and I know it's normal, but what to do about it. Most of the times we've convinced her to stay in her bed by giving her one of her decorative pillows or another stuffed animal which I guess distracts her enough to stay in the bed. Twice this week though she's stayed in her room talking for about an hour and then starts banging on the door (I have a childproof doorknob thingie on the inside for just this reason). When I go in, that's definitely the end of naptime or like today, I lay down with her until she fell asleep which I DO NOT want to get into the habit of doing especially with baby coming so soon. How do you get out of the room when they don't want you to leave? We used to let her cry for a time when she was in her crib and fighting bedtime cause she'd give in after 2 mins, but now she follows us and bangs on the door. How do you keep your dc in bed on the chance that they might fall asleep or atleast get some down time???
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We go through stages like this. There will be 2 or 3 days where she just does not settle for a nap. When she comes to the door I was going in and placing her back in bed and walking back out. Sometimes this went on for an hour or more :shock: :evil: . Then all of a sudden after a couple days of no naps she'd be fine for a while. Lately I've gotten to where when she does this I tell her that I have to go take a shower/do laundry/something boring :wink: and she can read her books and I'll come back in a little bit to get her. Surprisingly it is working and she usually falls asleep! Looking back though, most of the times she has had bad spells of not napping she comes down with a cold and just this last time a molar came in!! Just wish I knew what was up at the time!
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i may be in the minority here, but i settle for her being contained to her room. when we first moved her into there - with a new big-girl bed, i figured she was old enough to deal with the sleeping aspect of it. the first few days, i went in and would return her to her bed until she understood that the bed was for sleeping and that's why she was in there.
nowadays, there are many time she plays for a while before she goes to sleep. that's fine with me because it means she's learning what it feels like to be tired & to go to sleep. i have a standard wake up time; she gets woken up then no matter when she fell asleep. sometimes this results in earlier bedtimes, but it works.
if she ever does bang on the door and it's not time to get up yet, i will go in there and return her to her bed & tell her it's time to sleep. almost always, she does.
my 2 cents :D
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i may be in the minority here, but i settle for her being contained to her room. when we first moved her into there - with a new big-girl bed, i figured she was old enough to deal with the sleeping aspect of it. the first few days, i went in and would return her to her bed until she understood that the bed was for sleeping and that's why she was in there.
nowadays, there are many time she plays for a while before she goes to sleep. that's fine with me because it means she's learning what it feels like to be tired & to go to sleep. i have a standard wake up time; she gets woken up then no matter when she fell asleep. sometimes this results in earlier bedtimes, but it works.
if she ever does bang on the door and it's not time to get up yet, i will go in there and return her to her bed & tell her it's time to sleep. almost always, she does.
my 2 cents :D
I just wanted to clarify in my original post, if she is just in her room playing during naptime I do not disturb her, I only go in if she is banging on the door too. If she's not tired she's not tired. We also get her up at the sametime even if she's only been asleep for 15min.
Also, she has very few toys in her room. She just has books and stuffed animals. We often listen to her reading stories to her friends :D
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i think it is the age where they start to really assert control over when and how they do things. alex also says she does not want to nap some days - sometimes she actually stays up the whole day (only happened a few times so far) but i always make her go to bed for an hour minimum because amazingly on some of those fighting it days she will go to sleep soemtime in that hour so it reassures me i am doing the right thing.
just like everything else with kids i am learning that it is really our job to offer things like food and sleep but it is up to them to take advantage of those things. what i mean is - if you provide a safe and inviting environment for her to relax in, your job is done (she is 2 after all). she needs to learn to settle and give in to her tiredness or learn that when she does not nap she will maybe be grumpier later or not have the energy to do some fun activities etc. I would not start laying with her at all - especially since you certainly won't be able to do that when baby arrives!
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I know I should thank my lucky stars that Josie stays in her room for Quiet Time (except to come out to use the bathroom). What I do with her, besides remind her of "all" the things she can do in there (books, a few puzzles, a couple stuffed toys, the jewelry in her dressing table, coloring books - not too much, and all quiet stuff), is to put on one of her Music together CD's; I keep them in a CD holder on her dresser, she chooses one, and she'll get out the book that goes with it and follow along as she plays or reads or does puzzles or whatever. Each CD lasts about 55 minutes, and with a bathroom break it's about an hour break for me. And once in a while she will fall asleep if she's really zonked, but given what happens if she does nap, I almost prefer a horrible afternoon and an early bedtime (like tonight's 5:45 sacktime, but this is the exception and she really COULD and SHOULD have napped today :roll:).
Anyway, the music gives her a nice guideline, or I show her the clock and tell her "When the long hand comes back around to the 3 (or wherever it is), Quiet Time is over." Actually, used to be that she'd forget to look at the clock till it was past that and then stay in there another hour if I didn't come get her - and sometimes I DIDN'T! :twisted: LOL Sadly, she's working that out now..... *sigh*