Question about sleeping in a dark room all the time!

[albertasweetpea]

Just wondering what others have experienced regarding their LO's sleeping habits when they ALWAYS sleep in a darkened room. We have a towel over Molly's window so it is fairly dark in her room all the time. Today she went to Grandma's while I took Mason to a movie and she would not go to sleep. Grandma insists it is because she can only sleep when the room is dark. I just say she was having a non-sleeping afternoon  :lol:

If you keep your LO's room dark, do they have troubles sleeping elsewhere? I have had Molly on EASY since 7 weeks and her naps and bedtime sleep are good. Sometimes she has the 45 minute naps but sometimes her naps are 1.5-2.5 hours so I can't really complain.

If she won't be able to sleep anywhere besides her own room where it is dark, I want to nip this habit in the bud so that she is more mobile as she gets older and we aren't tied to the house.

Comments, ideas, suggestions...experiences??
Thanks!

[Jaime]

well, just this week i went back to work so luke has had to learn how to sleep at the sitter's house. 

the first day he went on a nap strike.  slept about 2 hrs total, so he ended up with a catnap after i picked him up.

by the 3rd day though, he took 2 decent naps, so i think it was just a matter of adjusting.

honestly, though, when we visit my mom i put him in the bathroom so it's dark.  he's so darned touchy a lot of the time that i prefer to keep things similar for him.

HTH

[evanskimberley]

I'm the oposite. DD has been a good sleeper and can sleep almost anywhere, but we went away this weekend and their house was pitch black at night.
We've always kept the landing light on, for me not her, I've had it on since a child and it helped me to see what I was doing when she really young. When she woke in the night when we were away she howled the place down as if she was scared.
We've since had vistors and have had our landing light off but a small bathroom light on, she didn't wake up as many times, but did cry once every night.
Should I start getting her used to the dark?

[Jaime]

Should I start getting her used to the dark?

i don't think you need to.  dd was scared of the dark as well - heck, she still is and she's 2!  we just make sure to have a nightlight on for her in her room all the time & she's fine.

oh - forgot to mention in my first post - we do have a nightlight in luke's room too... that seems to help with new places too...

[Katw]

Yes Michelle I agree with you! Alana now finds it really hard to ' let go' and sleep anywhere!! She now always wants to be in a dark room, swaddled and on her side!!!
I felt the same as you about wanting her to sleep anywhere so I now try to stay home for the am so she gets 2 naps and then often go out in the pm so she has to get used to the stroller and car seat again.
It seems to be working abit as she is starting to fall asleep in them both again.
Sometimes you just can't win!!!!

[shines]

My lo does better in the dark, too - when it's light, she gets distracted by all the stuff she can see.  I think therein lies the problem.  When sleeping at my mom's, since the room doesn't really get dark (I do put stuff over the windows), it helps a little to drape blankets on the sides of the crib so she can't peek through the rails.  Another major problem though is that she's used to quiet, and my mom's place is anything but!  The TV is on over there, and the walls are thin.  So, I always turn the little fan on in the guest room to drown out all the other noises.  It also helps to have the blanky she always sleeps with at home.

[sousafamilia]

Oh Kindred Spirit!

We're in the same boat.  It's fairly dark in his room, and he sleeps very well, when we're home, but try taking him somewhere else for the day and it's crazy.  At five months he spent the day with mom at her sisters and didn't sleep at all between 7am and 6pm!  Lots of crying, but no sleeping.  He finally slept in the car on the way home.

It took a few attempts before he was able to sleep at Grandma's but he does now.  I think it is to some degree a matter of getting them used to it.