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Nearly 3yo delaying sleep

3 replies

ImpatientMamma · 09/12/2014 20:10

Hi, hope you can help. Nearly 3yo (Feb) used to have his last book and go straight to sleep at about 7.30. Now he lays there screaming until I go in and he tells me he needs a wee and a poo. So, with him only just being toilet trained (about 2 months dry), we take him. He just faffs about and screams if we take him off the potty.... Which I've just done after half an hour and he's in bed crying. Clearly it's a delay tactic. Any ideas what I can do to stop it please? I'm due with ds2 on Thursday.... WHY NOW!?

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rhetorician · 09/12/2014 20:30

sorry to hear - we have more or less same scenario (different delaying tactics, no imminent birth) - after being a good sleeper able to drop off on her own we now have endless strategies to keep us there (more stories etc etc), and then when we do leave, howling, screaming, crying, usually until one of us gives in and sits with her. Its not helped by the fact that she shares a room with DD1 - neither of them are getting enough sleep, given that they have to be up at 7 for school/nursery etc. I'm assuming it's developmental, possibly worsened in your case by imminent arrival. No help really, I know. but sympathies

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LaPetiteCoccinelle · 09/12/2014 20:36

Try showing him a timer for the potty? Say he can have max 10mins then to bed.

Then you'll probably just have to sit out the screaming.

My 3 year old goes through phases of delaying tactics so our bedroom routine gets longer and longer. However the extra story/song/looking at the stars rarely lasts longer than a few weeks. Im so tired that I usually give in. Id rather he goes to sleep 15-30mins late happy than screaming and crying but it is not easy at all.

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ImpatientMamma · 09/12/2014 20:47

Thank you for the replies. Still screaming, he's going to be exhausted tomorrow. I've been back up, he insisted he needed the potty again, so I brought the potty into his room, didn't talk to him, didn't turn the light on... Gave him 5 minutes, nothing, so back to bed. I think I've got to persevere. Tomorrow, I'm going to put him in the potty after his books but before sleep so I can't tell him 'no, youve just been' that might work... He does the 'one more book' thing too, but we tell him no, pop him to bed and that used to be the end of that. Sigh