Am I the Only One: Sleep Issues

I feel refreshed and renewed from all my cyber back pats from last week's edition of Am I the Only One? Apparently, my daughter is going to have long lucious hair and the poopy diaper thing is just a phase (hooray for phases - more hoorays for SHORT ONES!). So, this week, we have another victim mother in need of some support. Let's give her what she needs people.

Am I the only one who has a two-year-old who doesn't go to sleep regularly in her own bed?  She was doing this whole routine brush teeth, get jammies on, read-a-book (Goodnight Moon 10 times), cuddle for a minute, kisses and goodnight thing up until December.  It has been downhill on a slick pair of skis ever since then.  I have two other children who didn't suffer this stubborn resistance to bedtime.  I try to get back into the "routine" but it is damn hard.  It is just easier, for me to lay down with her (in my bed) for 20 minutes after I've put her brothers to bed and then move her when she's fallen asleep.  I just want this to end, want her to grow out of it.  She's a stubborn, outspoken and bossy toddler and we really don't like these parts of her personality right now (especially at bedtime).  So, help me out!  Please, am I the only one?

Signed,

Carrie, mother of cranky won't-go-to-bed toddler

I'm not a betting woman, Carrie, but I have a feeling, you are not alone. Comment away people. And don't be shy. We don't bite. Yet.

If you have an "Am I the Only One?," send it to me and I'll check it out. Make sure to put your website/blog link.

Comments

[carrie]

Thank you for the thoughtful advice, cross your fingers for me!!

[Nancy]

My older daughter had issues going to sleep on her own. What I ended up doing some nights (and this might not work for everyone) is crashing on the floor with her and sleeping there as needed, then either moving her to her crib/bed or letting her sleep on the floor. We were fortunate with her in that she will not leave her room even to come into ours. Since we moved her to a new bedroom (when she was about 2 1/2) we haven't had as many problems with that.

[Nikki]

Oh thank God, I'm not alone! My 2 year old son went from falling asleep alone and sleeping through the night to needing to lay with me on the couch to go to sleep and now waking up at 2 in the morning! What gives? I miss sleep. It's good to know I'm not the only one battling these kind of issues.

[Mel]

I am inflexible about bedtime after baby is about a year old, although I tend to co-sleep before then. I just won't bend on bedtime issues for my sanity's sake.

[samantha]

No you are not alone! My 9 year old step-daughter still does not sleep alone. To me it is RIDICULOUS, but hey she doesn't sleep with me. She has bunkbeds and her mom sleeps on the bottom bunk and she sleeps up top. When she spends the night at our house she sleeps on the pullout sofa in the den with her daddy. I say start back with the bedtime routine unless you want your 9 year old still sleeping with you.

[Iffy]

Don't worry, it's easy to understand why moms do what is the easy and quick. Sometimes you just don't want to deal with the hassle at the end of a night.

My almost two daughter was sleeping fine. We had finally gotten her to fall asleep by herself and was able to sleep through the night. But then something happened and for the past two-three months she wants someone in her room while she goes to sleep and then wakes up two times a night wanting her blanket back on her. I'm hoping this phase won't last long and soon I can finally get a full night sleep again.

[mothergoosemouse]

"Downhill on a slick pair of skis" - may I borrow that one? Classic.

Oy. Without writing a book here, I will tell you that Tacy slept wonderfully in her own bed until we moved here. Various strategies have been employed to keep her little booty tucked snugly in her bed (including bribery), and it's still a crapshoot every single night of the week.

You are not alone.

[Dawn]

Um. My 8 year old still doesn't sleep through the night in her own bed.

I woke this morning with her squarely lying on my back. Asleep. My arm was completely dead.

And I say - C'est la vie.

[laura]

Okay. My nearly-two year-old is fine with falling asleep by herself in her crib, but she doesn't stay that way for more than 3-5 hours at a time. Still. Kristen, I'll have to try the yelling approach - I'm getting tired of hauling my ass out of bed.

[Kristen]

My daughter has definitely had a shift in her sleep patterns, however, we've mastered (I say this lightly while crossing my fingers and toes) the art of just yelling to her when she wakes up that she's okay and we're here and she goes back to sleep w/o us having to go in there.

It wasn't pretty before then.