Fighting tireness

[bbvv]

My son is 1 and recently it has been hard putting him to sleep. Sometimes he is very tired and he fights his tireness. He rolls around in his cot and a lot of times he headbutts into the mattress - looking like an ostrich sticking its head in a hole - don't know any other words to describe it. It goes on for over half an hour and if it stretches to an hour we give up and take him downstairs to the lounge again. Is there any method in getting him to sleep quickly. We don't want to end up with him still being awake at 11pm which has been happening alot.

 

[Poppy]

Hi there!

I hate to say it, but by taking him downstairs, you may be making the situation worse! Obviously I dont know exactly what it has been like, but from what you have decribed, if it were me, I would most likely leave the room and let him get on with it!! : You can buy some good cot bumper sets that go all round the bed (so he will not harm himself). If he knows he gets attention from his behaviour at night he will continue to do it, and it will probably get worse. If you leave him, it will probably take a few nights and then you will have a baby that you can put down and walk out of the room (after kisses and cuddles and goodnights etc ofc) confident that he will fall to sleep on his own.

:grouphug:

Hope this helps a little, good luck :flower:

 

[joannek]

i agree that if you bring him out of his bedroom, you're stimulating him not to sleep.

i agree with lollipop. if you don't wanna leave him alone to cry or "ferberize" him, then you can camp out on the floor in his rm. switch off all the lights, and you lie down on the floor. if he gets up & want to talk to you, just speak in monotone "it's time to sleep" without looking at him or moving. i used to do that w/ my daughter, she'd toss & turn & look around (altho it's pitch black in her room), i'd say "close your eyes & go to sleep" in monotone. after 2 or 3 nights, she knows there's no way she's getting out of that crib, so she goes to sleep.

 

[bbvv]

Thanks both. I'm one of those that don't like leaving my baby to cry alone as he has done it before, choked and threw up his milk because of crying too hard. It was scary so we don't want to put him through that again. I shall try your technique joannek first and if it fails I will try Lolipop's method.

 

[lii]

So stemming from this section - any advice on what to do after that? This is what I do with my child now - is that I accompany her to bed and lie on the floor next to her. She'll do the ostrich thing, roll around, sit up and talk to her or me and then eventually drift off to sleep by herself.

Next step - how to do without me in the room?

Any suggestions?

Greatly appreciated,
Lisa

 

[Poppy]

Ah yes, to be honest, we never ever left daughter to 'cry it out'. We always had a 10 minute rule in our house - we would let her cry for 10 mins and then go into her after that. But like Joannek, we did not turn the lights on, we gave no eye contact and we did not speak much - only in monotones so she would understand that this is night time not play time.

I am definitely not an advocate of crying till choking - could not bare the thought!!

:grouphug:

 

[MickeyMom]

I'm a big fan of Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution", it has several tips on how to handle almost all kinds of sleep issues.

Fighting tiredness means baby/toddler is sleepy but have issues that need to be dealt with (and mostly they are kept awake by adrenaline or second wind as they call it), bringing him/her to to lounge will just worsen the problem.

Suggest you give a hug, a story, then lie on the cot beside her, turn off lights until she falls asleep. Everyday, try to move away from her/him a bit until it is established that you are there to put them to bed, then you go.

Hope this helps

 

[joannek]

the experts say once she starts falling asleep soon, just move an inch closer to the dorr eah night. i havent yet mastered that, cos my daughter wants me to be there next to her when she falls asleep. she knows we leave after she's sleeping. and it only takes her like 5 mins to fall asleep. so that's not a problem for me. i have to stay in her room to turn on the vaporiser, make sure the air-con is at right temperture, and change the bedtime CD to a one that assists sleep anyway. and then i kiss her good night in her sleep & ask the angels to protect her & leave the room. she seems to like the idea of me staying in her room until she falls asleep & she knows I leave afterwards.

 

[joannek]

one more thing, she also knows that once she cries out for us, we'll be there within seconds, so that helps her feel secure, i guess.

 

[MickeyMom]

my experience with my son is, when by the time he falls asleep i am still by his side, then in the middle of the night, he will look for me as he fell asleep knowing i am there. but when he is still sleepy/conscious, then he knows i've moved out and will not look for me. i've read that this is true for most kids too.