Play Pen Sleep Training...major help needed

[Grace's Mom]

We are going to be traveling a bit over the next couple of months and will need to have Grace sleep in her play pen.  When she was younger she did fine, but now that shes older it is a very traumatic experience for her  especially since we haven't done it in a very long time.

This Sunday she'll have to sleep in it at someone else's house and then in July she'll need to stay in it for 3 full days in two different places as we'll be at a wedding and then we are traveling to Tennessee in October for 5 days. 

I tried to put her in it this morning for her short nap and the second I left lots of crying occurred.  She had her loveys and pacis but she wanted out. I gave her a minute to see if it was just a short lived thing but it wasn't so I went in.  I left one more time and then same thing happened.  Then I went in there with her and she of course stopped crying and smiled.  I laid her down and sat next to the play pen, then I laid down on the floor with my head turned away from her.  I laid there for a good 20 minutes and she didn't lay down once. She just played with her pacis.  I then laid her down and said it's time to go to bed but she kept flipping up and signing 'all done'....meaning she wanted out.  I gave it a full 30 minutes and then moved her to her crib...layed her down, said night night and left and not a peep. 

The thing with Grace is that when we are in her room it makes it worse. We have never been able to be in her room while she's be going down to sleep  She just wants to play or just lay or sit there and not go to sleep.  We hinder her by being in there but when we leave she screams and cries (while in the play pen that is). 

We also can't rock her or feed her to calm her as she has never been rocked or fed to sleep and won't sit still in our arms.....huge wiggle worm.

How do we get her use to sleeping in her play pen especially with out being about to use any back up AP as it doesn't work on her?  She also won't sleep in her stroller or out anywhere so it makes things rough on us and confined during nap time.

Thank you.
Melissa

[Sharondp]

Hi Melissa
I guess Grace is associating her play pen with playing, so sleeping is gonna be tricky!
However, i have a suggestion, which you can totally ignore if you like, but have you considered one of those inflatable toddler beds blown up and placed in her playpen - the ones with a built in sleeping bag and a favourite character on them?
You could maybe try that out in the crib, then transfer to the playpen - assuming of course it's big enough to accomodate it 
I'll try & find a link....

http://www.bloomingmarvellous.co.uk/product.aspx?CategoryID=mm_travel&ProductID=81274&language=en-GB

Good luck anyway!
Sharon

[Grace's Mom]

Well, Grace never uses her play pen to play....we use it for the other baby we watch during the week.  Grace hates to be confined so when I have put her in there to play it's only last about 30 seconds to a minute and that's only been on a very rare occasion so she really doesn't associate it with anything other than not being her crib, you know.

With the blow up bed I must let you know that Grace is not one to sit or lay still except, except when she's has just passed out.  She is very spirited and literally wiggles up until the second she falls asleep and then all the way through the night, etc.  She is our little crazy monkey.   
She won't stay under anything (blankets, etc....she thinks its a toy), and won't put her head on a pillow. I do love the link you sent and wish that she would be able to use something like that. I have never seen anything like that here.  It's such a great idea.  What do you normally use it for?  For just traveling?  I may give it a try if we can find something like that here as it seems like it might make the play pen a bit comfier.  Does it fit in the play pen....it looks really long and our play pen is tiny (well, normal size...but smaller than her crib)?

[Sharondp]

Toby has one for travelling - a little friend of his got one for his birthday, and when we couldn't find Toby at his party he was snuggled up in it - almost asleep! 

I feel a bit stumped now and don't think I have any more useful suggestions! Sorry 

[Grace's Mom]

No problem.   

How sweet that he likes it that much.  Maybe, if we can find one, we can use it during play time (quiet time before bed) and get her use to snuggling with it and see if that will help for in the future...like when we go to Tennessee in October. 

So, you don't use it in the play pen?  Would it even fit?

Thank you so much!

Melissa

[Sharondp]

I'm not sure as we have the hexagonal Babyden 

Good luck with finding one!

[Grace's Mom]

Stacy...Thanks.

Yeah, Grace is a climber so maybe putting an extra few inches of padding in her play pen would not be the best idea    I can just see her running out of the room and running around.  That wouldn't be fun.

We have a really soft crib sheet that's nice and extra cooshy so we'll be sure to bring that and our fan that we use in her room.

A few weeks back we had to stay at a hotel as our home was being treated for termites  .  Well, we used the hotels crib and it took so long to get her to sleep each time and we were planning on doing wi/wo but there were people staying next to us and across the way from us and they could hear her  so we had to sit in there with her until she feel asleep.  I hated every moment of staying in the hotel.     I felt so bad for her and I was going crazy too...thank God DH took over most of it.

I guess we'll just go with it and do whatever it takes. 

-Melissa

[TERESA-E&C's Mommy]

My Emily sounds like Grace.  She will not sleep  in the car or the stroller.  We did not take on an overnight trip until she was 9 months.  Our power was out for 3 nights.  We had no time to practice with the play pen.  She was a little off schedule as we were at grandma's and you know how that goes. LOL  Anyway, Emily was tired enough that she did sleep.  She woke up more often, but we always got her right back to sleep.  The last time we went out of town, I tried to practice sleeping in the playpen.  We did not have any luck either.  So I guess I agree with Stacy.  If they need to sleep in the playpen they will. She knows her crib is right there and wants in it. 

We do take all the lovies and night CD that she listens to while going to sleep.   I also do not wash the lovies a couple of days before we leave so that they will still smell like home.  Good Luck to you.

[nwmm]

I am watching for ideas for myself.  My lo has never slept in a pack n play/play pen at my parent's house.  Drives me crazy because she loooves visiting.  Looooves her Grandparents.  Knows the bed, sheets, and room very well.  We look around all the rooms upstairs so she knows exactly what is going on.  We all take "naps" in different rooms.  Talk about how she is not missing anything.  She just screams and screams.  We have tried all the BW methods. 

[¤ Efka ¤]

Dont really know what to recommend, we never trained PnP with DS, but while away we always use this, bringing lot sof stuff from, his regular bed , but still I rock him to sleep at the first night, it will not work for Gracie though , probbaly then lots of WIWO.

[Grace's Mom]

Thanks everyone.

We are definitely not going to mess with practicing ahead of time....not really in the mood 
We'll just deal with it when the time comes and like you said, she'll have to sleep eventually.

Melissa

[mari]

When I cared for a little boy who would sleep better laying flat than in a buggy I decided to use the travel cot.  He hated it at first but I let him play a little in there and when it was time for sleep I found that sitting next to him did the trick.  You might need to do this a little to help him overcome it, although whilst on holiday with Alex she was so whacked that she would have slept on a clothes line come bedtime so she had no problem with it.

[newmaze]

We just went through this.  Sleeps like a pro in her crib, but in the pnp, got major SA when I left the room (plus it was a friend's lakehouse).  I sat in the doorway, turned slightly away from her, and really just stood there.  All she wanted was to see me and I guess that she wasn't alone.  It took longer than home, where I just lay her down and she is off to sleep, but she eventually got used to it.  Standing there/sitting in the room worked for us....

[Grace's Mom]

Great ideas everyone.   Thank you so much.