[erinellakal]

I moved Ella, a week and half shy of being 2 years old, into her toddler bed about a month ago. She did great for about 2 weeks. Now she is getting out of bed probably 100 times before she will fall asleep. I have tried sitting next to her, sitting by the door, leaving the room and walking her back(a million times!), even rocking her until she is drowsy. It takes an hour or more for her to fall asleep.
My next thought was to limit her afternoon nap to an hour and half. Now she is napping 2to 2 and half hours in the afternoons. Her usual morning wake up is between 6:30 and 7:30. Do you think it would make it worse or better to limit her naps to make her more tired at night?
She shares a room with her sister,Erin , who is 4 and half. Erin is ready for bed by 8:30-9:00. So I really need Ella to be falling asleep around the same time, but right now i am putting her back into her bed from 9-10:00.

What can i do? I have 25 days until Kalen is born. I really want to get this fixed before he is born and then i have more to deal with at night.

Thanks
Julie

[angelic_ky]

well i'm having some issues getting Gabby to go bed now at 3 mths so i don't think i'll be much help with a 2 yr old but i went to a parenting expo yesterday and there was a "baby whisperer" there she said 1 thing you need is clear communication, basically you tell her lay down and lay her down as soon as she moves you do it again and keep doing it until she knows that when you say lay down it means lay down not get out of bed etc... i don't know if that will help, but i'm sure there's more exiperence parents that will be able to give you more advice... good luck

[lavatea]

I wish I had some advice, but all I can say is that I feel your pain. My 3 year old is still doing this when it's bedtime. She skips naps about half of the time, and let me tell you that it doesn't help. All it does is add an extra level of crankiness to the bedtime horrors. Let the girl sleep as long as she will during nap and enjoy that. It gets even worse when naptime gets as bad as bedtime.

[twinzplus3]

Bedtime issues do not fix themselves quickly. I would get out of the mindset of needing to 'fix' it before the baby arrives honestly. That is likely very unrealistic--she's two and she has a new baby on the way and you've changed her sleeping arrangements. That's a lot on the plate of a 2yo.

You can try limiting her naps and see how she does. There's no harm in it and if it doesn't work you can always go back to letting her sleep.

I would just consistently keep putting her back into bed. Just take her by the hand, tell her it's time to go to bed and put her back. Talk to her as little as possible. No fanfare, no frustration, no undue attention. Just simply letting her know that now is bedtime and that's where she's going.

We also have never told our kids they have to sleep. It's a little trick that has worked well. We cannot force them to sleep so technically. . .they don't have to. What they have to do is stay in bed, stay quiet but they are welcome to have books and quiet toys. Of course they do fall asleep bc sitting there with something calm and quiet to do makes their little droopy eyelids close. . .

[MiaCamille]

Have you ever tried putting the girls on bed at the same time? and not different hours?

[erinellakal]

They do go to bed a the same time, it just takes Ella an hour longer to fall asleep. We all go up stairs at 8:30, read books until about 8:45 then hugs kisses and lights out.
Today and tomorrow i am going to try limiting her naps and see if it makes a difference. If it doesn't, then I will move onto something else.
She also woke up last night at 2:30 and didn't fall back to sleep until 4am. I did the same things, sat by her bed, tried just shutting the door but i had to keep putting her back in her room. Finally at 3:45 i layed down her her floor(not comfy when you're big and pregnant) but she then layed down and fell asleep.
I was thinking maybe she just wants to be close to us, she is only 2 after all. If things don't work out before Kal is born i am thinking of just putting her toddler bed in our room so I am not getting up seperately for kal and her..........
i feel kinda desperate for sleep right now

[VinniesMommy]

Vinnie started to do that soon after we put him in his bed too... He would get up and start playing, or try to wake his brother and get him to play. We got a video monitor ((a bit pricey, ours was about $100, but TOTALLY worth it)) and aimed it on him. The second we would see him sit up, we'd go it, tell him it was bedtime and to close his eyes. Took a couple tries a night, and probably about 2 weeks until it stopped completely. HTH

[Melly101]

What worked for our three kids was similar to another post...you don't have to sleep, but 'you have to keep your head on the pillow'.

We brushed teeth, read stories, potty break, and sent them to bed. Bob and I would mill around a bit, asking..."Are your heads on the pillow?....we will come give hugs and kisses when your head in on the pillow".

They would begin to get sleepy just waiting for us to come give kisses and hugs!

Hope this helps!

Melonie

[ASheppa0821]

My suggestion is that since you've changed her bedding arrangements, she has to reform her routine all over again. So, pick something and stick to it. If you're going to shorten her naps, do so and remain consistent, so that she sees that there is normalcy, even though her bed is different. Also, does she have something from her crib that she can sleep with (teddy bear, blanket, etc.)? Maybe something from the old might help her with the new.

No matter what, routine always works. My little one is only 7 1/2 months, but I've done my share of caring for children, and that's always been what worked for me.

[jatheul]

Sounds like you have already gotten some great advice. I do the same thing about telling my kids they don't have to sleep for naps; in fact, I say let's lay down for quiet time - I don't even use the phrase nap time anymore. It works great for mine. But every child is a unique individual and what works for some doesn't for others. I would advise not to move the bed into your room. I understand your desperation and the need for sleep but I think you will just give yourself more problems later on, especially with another one on the way. What I found with my oldest daughter when she was going through this was consistency and firm boundaries is what worked. Whenever she got out of her bed, she went back in. Even if it meant all night - my husband had to help with this one too. If I let her come into my room or stayed with her I noticed that she became confused and then didn't know what to expect and would become more upset the next night and it made it harder and harder...I hope that makes sense. Children thrive on routine. Anyway, good luck to you...