DS exploiting his new found freedom

[abishek20]

Hi all,
My DS 27mo old recently jumped out of his crib and walked over to our room and woke us up at 4am. Since then we change the crib to a toddler bed for his safety. This however has its own disadvantages as he wakes up 2-4 times at night and immediately walks over to our room. I have taken him right back to his bed and he doesn't complain. His only requirement is that one of us sit down on the floor next to his bed. This is not too much trouble at the early portions of the night (before 1am) but could very well translate to him not falling into deep sleep (4-6am) and hence require one of us to be there.

Just to give a little history, he has been sleeping in his own bed since about 4mo old. However we have always put him to sleep before getting away. In the mornings he usually would be up and talking singing for around 30mins before calling one of us. He always slept through the night (at least that is what we thought until we changed his crib to a bed) so now I am suspecting that he never slept through the night even when it was a crib, but probably woke up and went back to sleep whereas with this new found mobility he can walk over to our room and sleep next to us.

We don't want him to get used to sleeping on our bed and hence are yielding to his demands of siting next to him. I am not sure how we are goings to take it to the next step, where we can put him and walk away. Any suggestions? TIA.

[*Becky*]

Hi there,
Could you post his routine just so we can see if there could be any OT or UT issues....
Have you got a gro-clock? They are very good for reinforcing that it is night time.

[abishek20]

Hi,
Here is his schedule:
Morning wake: anywhere between 6 and 7:30am
Bfast : 8:30
Outdoor Playtime : 10:30-12
Lunch : 12-12:40
Afternoon nap: 1-3pm
Indoor reading/play time: 3:30-5
Outdoor play time: 6:00 - 8:00 (yes, he needs two outdoor play time and is still not ready to wind down.)
Dinner : 8:30- 9
Night sleep : to bed by 9:15, falls asleep in 45mins ( I have tried putting him to bed earlier like 8:30, then it is 9:15 when he eventually sleeps)

He is an extremely energetic kid and used to go to bed around 8:00pm about 6mo ago. When we started getting him into the habit of brushing his teeth at night, the whole fiasco added another 30-45mins to his bed time. We also incorporated some other changes gradually where we put him in the crib ( yeah this was back in the crib days) and would be sitting in a gliding chair about 4ft from him. He would be tossing nd turning and eventually fall asleep.

Lately he just keeps talking and then falls asleep. I feel like he needs more sleep but he somehow gets away with this schedule.

 One thing I am noticing he sleeps longer and deeper in our bed ( even when we are not on it), so perhaps his nature of tossing and turning during sleep makes him constrained in his toddler bed and wakes him up.

I am just hearing about this gro-clock. Will read up more about it. Meanwhile any other pointers is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[*Becky*]

I am wondering whether he needs to have his nap capped....2 hours is quite a bit. Have you tried a 1.5 nap? That would also help to shorten his day as it is getting pretty long.