First bed - teething problems

[Thomcat]

So new bed set up Sunday niht, very tired little girl that asleep as she hit the pillow. Monday - full day at school, hit the pillow and sparko. Tonight, not so tired. Very happy to be in her new big girls bed but a few minutes later she's calling us from the top of the stairs! Took her straight back to bed, settled her, 20 minutes later, same again. This happened one more time and I think she has now gone off to sllep for good.

Did you get the same thing and how many nights / weeks / months did it go on for?

From what I've seen on Supernanny and others they suggest you keep putting them back to bed even if it takes 200 times. Its supposed to get easier! Good luck

hmmmm, and she bum shuffled in and was trying to climb into bed with us a 6am this morning.

Thomcat - we've got a stairgate on dd/ds's bedroom door. I hated the idea that ds could get up and be wandering round the house while we were asleep. Could that be a solution for you?

In very similar situation here at the moment - this is dd's first night in her first bed ... Could be a long night...

Which bed did you go for in the end BTW?

We got one from Ikea int eh end.
We shut all the doors upstairs except our bedroom door and there's a starigarte at top of stairs. If she gets out of bed she gets out oif bed, not much we can do about it really but I'd rather her come into me and wake me then be sitting with her face pressed up against a stair gate!

I think this is pretty normal. Dd got up several times a night for the first few nights in her new bed. We kept putting her back and telling her she should stay put and try and get back to sleep. It took a few days but she did get the message. Now if she needs us in the night (occasional nightmares for instance) she sits in her bed and yells until we go to her. Hmm, perhaps we overdid it .

Well she's still awake. I've been home 20 minutes and she's been up at the top of the stairs twice in that time, D said he'd been up and down all night. She's obviously shattered. The last time I took her back to bed and lay with her and sung a lull-a-bye and stroked her forehead. Her little eyes were so heavy. I didn't want to stay until she was actually asleep as she might start to need / expect someone there for her to drop off. Think that might be her gone for the night now, until the 6am 'alllloooo mummieeeee'!

I had a nightmare dd from aged 6mths, my fault as i cuddled/fed to sleep, which then spiralled out of control as i never had energy/patience/willpower to get her to learn to go to sleep alone.
Getting a big girls bed was a blessing in disguise as she hated her cot anyway, but still she'd scream and get out of bed the minute we left the room. I took the gentle approach of reading stories, then staying in the doorway until she fell asleep (which took a long time some nights!).
On a couple of occasions when i was at the end of my tether i warned her i would leave the room and shut the door if she didn't stay in bed, then carried out the threat. I held the door shut for a couple of mins (she sobbed, head banged etc)then i went in calmed her down and told her to stay in her bed otherwise i'd shut the door.
Now she has become an angel! She knows i'll shut the door so stays in her bed. Occasionally she gets up on the nights she is not so tired, i put her straight to bed and say i'll shut the door if she gets up so she stays there.

This sounds really harsh in writing. I promise i have not traumatised her by this, just she has realised there is nothing to gain by getting out of bed!
HTH

that's the thing isn't it, showing that there is nothing to be gained by getting out of bed, which is why I think the lullaby and head stroking were maybe not such a good idea. Still no harm done, and I'll just keepo putting her straight back to bed and asking her to stay there.

Aaaah no, if you're a softy like me lullabys and head stroking are ok

Now i have dd in a trusted routine, i am aware the nights she is less tired and finding it hard to sleep, so i will give her a QUICK (and i think thats the key) cuddle or song and then leave the room again so she's still awake.

This hasn't backfired on me so far, she doesn't get up again after the one song, and she doesn't get out of bed very often. I think its appropriate comfort when necessary.

Theres a fine line between a child feeling comfortable, and a child developing a fear of bedtime (which i've been v conscious of with the door shutting.)

Soundsgood and sensible advice to me. We'll see how we go tonight

Tc we had this with dd1 who was taught ( silly me) to get off her bed when I was heavily pregnant - saved me lifting her.... she then took every opportunity to come out of bed when she wanted to. THe last worrying straw was when she woke me up at 5 am one morning tapping me on the leg... gave me a fright. We were worried she would get wherever in the house - luckily it is mainly on one level and the stairs going down to the rumpus room already has a stair gate.

We bought another stair gate and put it across her door. Sometimes she stands and moans about going to bed.... we just ignore her and she eventually falls asleep on the floor. We then lift her into bed when we go to bed. Her bed is a bit too high for her to climb back in - must get her a little step to help with that. We don't go into her numerous times... just ignore her calling out etc. Lately she is going off to sleep much quicker - but it can depend on the day.

The stairgate also means we can hear her if she calls out in the night or is upset/disturbed... no need for door shutting.

She now knows bed time/nap time the gate goes up - often during the day once she is dead asleep I will take the gate down so she can come and find me when she is awake - will also do that of a morning if she sleeps in and I am up.

My SIL once strapped my nephew to his bed to stop his nocturnal wanderings
Don't think Supernanny recomends this!