Hi all,
I just registered for this forum tonight. So I'm new here. I'm hoping someone will have some helpful tips or advice on how to get a toddler to sleep in his bed.
I have a little boy who is now 21 months. At 7 months I did a sleep training thing with him where I'd just put him to sleep awake in his crib and let him cry so he's learn how to go to sleep on his own. It only took about a week before he was sleeping great. Since then it was so easy to put him down at night. I'd just do the same routine every night (i.e. "nigh nigh, give daddy a kiss nigh nigh, give mommy a kiss nigh nigh, here's your blanket and your doggy, mommy tucks you in, nigh nigh love you) and he's just lay there and after I left he'd be asleep in less than 5 min. usually. It was so nice. Then in January, we moved to a new state. We moved to be closer to my family and my parents flew to our new location with him and he slept in the porta crib there for a couple nights. My husband and I drove and were there a few days later. Then we got his crib all set up once the moving truck got there and we put him in his new room. But he was sick and it was a new room and so he ended up waking up several times and just wanting to be with us so we let him sleep in our bed.
But the next night we put him back in his room and he did just fine. But somehow after that he'd keep waking up during the night and I guess I just got out of the practice of letting him cry himself back to sleep. So I'd end up picking him up and either rocking him back to sleep or bringing him to bed with us. Then about 3 weeks ago he started refusing to sleep in his crib. So then I tried letting him cry it out again but he'd just scream and scream for longer than he did before. He'd fall asleep for a little bit but w/in a half hour he was up again crying for another 45 min. or longer. Finally I just wanted to get some sleep so I took him to bed with us. Then every night after that was a battle to get him to sleep in his crib. So we gave in and just let him sleep with us. That was probably where we went wrong. So then I built him a twin size bed frame that was low to the ground so he could get in and out. And we talked a lot about his new bed, trying to get him excited about it. I finished the bed over the weekend and he loves it. He doesn't have a problem sleeping in it, but he won't let me just put him down and leave him. He wants me to lay down next to him until he falls asleep. But then if he wakes up during the night I do the same thing. Lay down next to him til he falls asleep. At first I didn't mind, but now it takes quite a while before he goes to sleep. And that's my "me" time.
Anyways, sorry this post is so long. I just wanted to explain a little about my son's sleeping habits. But what are some things I can do to help him feel comfortable to go to sleep without me having to lay down next to him and stay there until he goes to sleep? I tried putting on some quiet music cuz he likes that. I also let him take one book with him to bed but I told him he has to lay down on his pillow to read it. Then he has his blanket and his doggy with him. But he keeps saying "mommy lay down on the pillow." I managed to leave him all by himself last night and I thought he'd go to sleep cuz he didn't cry when I left and he seemed ok. But then about 5 min. later he came running out of his room crying and saying "mommy lay down". Do I just close the door completely and let him cry himself to sleep? It just somehow seems more cruel now. But maybe I'm just being a pushover.
Any tips and advice on what to do would be much appreciated. Thanks.
