Sleep Forum
This is a group for all parents who have questions or concerns about sleep. Newborn waking up too many times at night? Toddler STILL not sleeping in her own bed? Not sure if you should give him another bottle before bedtime? Come and ask the experienced moms at the Sleep Forum.
432 Members
Club type:
Common Interest
Leader:
pattireis00
Created:
Aug 18, 2007
Location:
Camarillo, CA
Talk
Trying a new sleep tactic
I think I've posted before that my daughter is still learning how to "self-soothe" and thus still, at 2 1/2 and counting, wakes up several times a night. Ugh. But lately she's been learning how to put herself to sleep with less and less help from me, so I'm trying something new to get her to stay in her bed all night without waking her up. I went to the store today and let her pick out some bright-colored poster board and some new stickers. Like most toddlers, she loves stickers! I told her we were going to start a project. I then made a chart and told her she could have a sticker for every night she stays in bed without waking up mommy and daddy, and that when she has 20 stickers she can have a special prize. Tonight is the first night we're trying this, so wish me luck! If anyone has tried similar schemes, I'd love to hear your story and especially whether it was a success. I'll post occasional updates in this group.
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25 Comments
I'm starting to feel like I'm talking to myself here, but I'm hoping that if I keep posting people will eventually start posting in this group!
We had some progress with this plan last night, and I'm feeling encouraged that it's going to work. I had been saying to my daughter that, if she woke up, she should stay in bed and not come to the door to call for us. I probably said "you just try to go back to sleep" too, but I'm not sure. Well, she got the part about staying in bed right! As a little background, this is a girl who, as soon as she could pull herself to standing as a baby, would stand up in her crib the second she woke up. And when she started sleeping in her toddler bed, she'd immediately get up and come to the door. (We put a gate on her room for this very reason.)
So last night she actually stayed in her bed when she woke up, which is a pretty significant breakthrough. She still called for me, and after awhile when it became apparent she wasn't going back to sleep until she saw me, I did go in and help her get settled back down. Put she got to put a sticker on her poster anyway, because I believe she followed directions to the best of her ability. I told her that she did a great job, and reiterated that she should try to get back to sleep on her own. I even showed her how to pull up the covers if she's cold, since I think that was why she woke up in the first place. (She knows how to pull up the covers, but I think it doesn't occur to her to do this in the middle of the night.)
1 sticker down, 19 to go!
Patti
SAHM in SF Bay Area
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...
Hi Patti - you're not alone out here
I think it might be bit of summer vacation and moms not having a lot of time to on the computer?
Anyway, congratulations, it sounds like your daughter is learning to get herself back to sleep! It really is a great skill for them to have - and VERY helpful for mom to get a good nights' sleep.
Speaking of vacation, we just got back from a short trip up to the mountains and had a very unusual experience. My 2 year old, who you all know now has been an amazing sleeper, woke up in the middle of the night and would not go back to sleep. She cried and screamed all night long! We had to actually get her out of the room, put her in the car and drive around for about an hour (that was at 3AM).
She's never done anything like this before. She was completely inconsolable and just wouldn't go back to sleep. Needless to say, no one got any sleep- so much for a vacation
The next day she was pretty much back to herself, although very tired. When she woke up from her naps, she would cry and it was very tough to get her to stop. Finally she slept great in her own bed!
Anyone have this happen? I'm thinking it could be a combination of a strange place, staying up late 2 nights in a row and maybe the altitude? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!
Hi Yogamom! I hope it didn't sound like I was feeling sorry for myself. I really just want this group to get hopping. I've noticed a lot of groups have started and then sort of died out, and I figure if I keep yapping eventually others will join in.
So thanks for joining in! And thanks for the encouraging words. I feel like we've already made a lot of progress undoing our early mistakes with the sleep thing.
I'm not surprised your daughter had a night like this on vacation. Was she on her regular sleep schedule? The reason I ask is she could have been overtired. Even if she was getting her regular naps and everything, she might not have been sleeping as well because of being in a strange place and the lack of sleep finally caught up to her. She also could have been overstimulated too if you were doing a lot of sightseeing or there was a flurry of other activity beyond her normal routine. What you described has happened to my daughter twice, and the first time was after a Christmas party at my DH's uncle's house, where she played very hard, there were sparkly lights and loud music, and everyone was playing and talking to her. The other time was when she had skipped a couple of naps and was generally exhausted.
The altitude could have been hurting her ears too? I'm not sure how high you were and if anyone else's ears were hurting, but it's a possibility. Anyway, I'm glad she got back to normal once she got home. I wouldn't worry too much. It sounds like she bounced back quickly. She may have had night terrors (similar to nightmares, but they happen during a different sleep phase and the children don't remember in the morning), which I believe are fairly common despite what the books say (I've known several parents whose children went through this at least once). I wouldn't worry unless it were to start happening regularly, or more than a few times in a short span.
Patti
SAHM in SF Bay Area
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...
Thank you! I really do think it had to do with not getting enough sleep and the excitement of the days as well.
She was actually up late the night before (at a party where she was running around and having a great time). Then we kept her up again that night where she was once again running around (overtired) with her friend. They had a blast, but paid for it the rest of the night
I agree with you about the group (and didn't think at all you were complaining). Sometimes it does take a strong leader, but this group was a great idea and I'd like to see it stay active as well!
Thanks again.
You Are Not Alone!
I know when I tried to start a group, it didn't get off the ground right away (and it still sits!) I wanted to get a group together that meets at the park or somewhere else. I think I'm going to meet my first mom in a few weeks! So, hang in there-I just think we're all pretty busy right now! Talk to you later,
Anita Burnham
www.anitaburnham.com
Anita Burnham
www.anitaburnham.com
Thanks Anita! I know, everyone is busy. Good for you for sticking with your group. I keep posting around to see if there's anyone in my area, or in the area where I'm moving, but I don't there are too many yet. So I thought I'd try a "topical" group instead of a geographic group! Thanks for the support ladies!
Yogamom: you're welcome! Hopefully you are feeling better about that bad stretch and your daughter is sleeping well.
Patti
SAHM in SF Bay Area
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...
So how is it going?
Thanks for checking in Lena! Unfortunately, we seem to have stalled in our progress, although she did stay in bed for 8 solid hours last night (ahh).If she'd stayed in bed for just another half hour or so she would have made daylight. (The rule is she has to stay in bed until the sun comes up.)I think if we keep reminding her, especially when she wakes us up, it will sink in. I think she understands what we're telling her but she forgets when she wakes up and it just needs to become a habit. I'll keep the updates coming!
Patti
SAHM in SF Bay Area
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...
You know, I read something on ParentHacks.com about setting an alarm clock and having the child stay in bed until it goes off. There were several types the article researched. One that I liked was a bunny clock that opened its eyes when it was time to get up. I thought that would be best for us because it doesn't make a sound, your child just looks at it to see when it's time to get up. But I'm going out in the next couple of weeks to get on that either plays an ipod or a cd-we have classical music that we could put on it instead of an annoying beep. The trick is, to set it earlier for the first week, then to keep bumping up the time until you have it set on the time you would like her to wake up. When I actually get around to doing this, I'll let you know how it works.
Anita Burnham
www.anitaburnham.com
Anita Burnham
www.anitaburnham.com
That would be great, Anita. Thanks! We actually have a CD alarm clock in her room already, but I never would have thought to actually set it for her. LOL! We use it mainly to play music. Definitely let us know how it works. I may try it either if we don't have luck anytime soon with the "sunshine" routine, or if we get to that point and then want her to stay in bed even longer. (Right now I still enjoy our cuddle time in the early morning but I think she might do even better if she doesn't come in with us at all. I don't want to be greedy.
)
Patti
SAHM in SF Bay Area
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...