DS Is going to sleep through! Trying Rapid Return. See my progress .....

[FuntoLearn]

DS is 2. We started on Saturday NIght and are trying "Rapid Return".

He IS going to stay in his bed ALL night and NOT creep into ours...... WE ARE DETERMINED TO GET A FULL NIGHTS SLEEP.

Its hard work and Im getting "Mummy", "Daddy", "MotMot" (milk), "In there" (pointing at our door). Some of it is quite amusing especially when he is standing at his door and when I start to pick him up and put him back into his bed he walks to his bed and climbs back in. :)

PROGRESS SO FAR...

1oth Sept Sat Night:
Milk and bed at 7pm.
Woke at 12.30.
57 Rapid returns later at 2.30am he went to sleep.
Woke at 7am and walked into our bedroom as if nothing had happened. Morning Milk.

11th Sept Sun Night:
Milk and Bed at 7pm.
Stirred at 10pm. Didnt go into his room.
Woke at 12 and spend around 1 hour 25-30 rapid returns. Went to sleep at 1.15am.
Woke at 6am. Slept in our bed for 30 mins then milk.

12th Sept : Mon Night
Milk and Bed at 7pm.
Woke at 1am and spend around 1 hour 15 mins with rapid returns. He wanted milk so gave some water which he wasnt very impressed with. Went to sleep at 2.15am.
Woke at 7.20am. Had about 1oz of milk. Had breakfast as usual.

Ooo blimey! Good luck to you! Keep going and hope he cracks it soon! Haven't had to do this luckily. Did you consider a stair gate on his bedroom door?

Hi Tgger, Thank you :)

We do have a stair gate on his door. Previously when he would wake during the night, Dh would bring him in to bed with us. ARGHHHH !!!!

Its always closed from 7pm.
While we are doing the rapid return there is no point in closing it becuase he is back and forth to the door.

Once he goes back off to sleep we leave it open and he walks in to ours in the morning - by which time we are awake. Closing the door at 2am will probably wake him as its a bit old and creaky :) :).

Think we will see how it all goes tonight and close the gate once he goes off.

All good fun eh! :) These boys .......

You put a stair gate on his door so he can't get out? He is only two what is wrong with him wanting to sleep in the family bed?

I'm sorry I really don't understand our society's fixation with children sleeping on their own all night from such a young age.

Sorry.

Not everyone wants to share their bed with a child.

It depends how much sleep mum and dad get with a wriggly two year old between/on top of them Piggy. Why should they have to function on a few hours' sleep a night for years? How does that benefit the family?

Good luck fun my dd is 2 and has some developmental issues and doesn't sleep! I'm exhausted!
Piggly it depends on the families circumstances for example I have epilepsy so need my sleep and can't sleep with 3 of us in the bed plus if I fit at night it's dangerous. So best not to judge until you know the circumstances. Also my neighbour has a 5 yr old that is still in her bed!!

Watching with interest to see how this goes, good luck!
Is Rapid return when you go in to comfort him as soon as he cries but then leave as soon as he stops? Sorry, haven't heard of it before.

Oh yes, the other thing that worked for us when DD1 was doing something similar was a star chart for when she slept all the way through. If she sleeps all the way through, or wakes up, but goes back quickly and without fuss to her bed, then, with great ceremony the next evening at bedtime she gets a star on the chart. This is reinforced during the day with lots of positive comments about getting a star for sleeping so well.

Good luck.

Hi all,

Tuesday Night:
DS slept ALL NIGHT. YAAAAAAY
He woke at 5am and we brought him in and he was a limpet on me. He then snoozed for about 30-45 minutes then woke up for milk.
This is going well so far.
We felt as if we had had a lie-in :)
Mind you he did not have a sleep on Monday daytime so we will see what happens tonight.

Thanks all for your support. Its progress......

Marthamay: 'rapid return' ie return the child rapidly to her bed.
Rapid return is when you pick up the child and gently put back into bed. I place him on his side in a nice sleep position and gently tuck him in. Dont say anything but walk out. then keep doing it each time he gets up. Each time gently place back into bed and walk back out. No words and no eye contact. They get used to the idea EVENTUALLY! :) Thats sort of it - there are prably better descriptions :)

Bed at 7.30pm. DS woke at 2am for 5 minutes and then back to sleep.
He didnt wake until 6am.
I think we've cracked it. Will report again tomorrow.
YAY YAY YAY

:o

Well fun, still going well? I'm curious because I thought it was rapid return or a stairgate, not both. My 3 year old is waking frequently after midnight and we are totally battered. But we haven't been doing it properly (I cuddle, he gets a bit cross with her etc). So we are having a "sleep summit" tonight to try and straighten out the whole routine before bed and how to deal with the night wakings.