can someone help before i go mad!!

[sassybabee]

hi all!
im a mum of three kiddies aged 2,5, and 7. all are not very good sleepers and never have been . althought my eldest now only wakes the once which i can cope with! the middle one i have to lay beside her at bedtime till she falls asleep. shes fine till about midnight when she wont sleep in her own bed, and ends up in mine!
the main problem i have got is my 2 year old. he wont sleep without me in his bed now. i know its my own fault, but when youve got 3 kids getting up similtantiouly you NEED SOME SLEEP!!
i really wanna start on this controlled crying plan, can someone give me some tips on how to go about it! also what time do you put your kids to bed( not too sure if mine got to bed too early!!

2yr old - 7.30
6yr old - 8pm.

Did controlled crying with DS 1 when he was very tiny and it worked immediately but I understand that it gets harder as they get older. Could you maybe try a sticker chart/reward system with the older ones first and then if that works you might feel more able to tackle the little one?

Good luck.

ds is 2y 2 m - goes to bed between about 6:45 anf 7:30 - usually nearer 7

he sleeps until 6:30 on a good day
5:30 on a bad one
from about 4am he can be very restless and noisy

there was a diary of controlled crying started by hulababy in january....have a search

i did try that with 5 year old , didnt work with her! my 2 year old dosent understand the concept of it yet.
he still has milk during the night, i know i have got to break this habit off as well. i take it i just replace with water, ...but do i do it gradually or be a "MEAN MAMA" and take it away altogether during the night!
i really want to make a start tonite. last night was ridiculous, and im soo grouchy and tired today! i havent slept in the same bed as hubby for about 3 months now, so that dosent help either!

i have had a peek at the sleep diary....very good to see! well gonna try and bath all kids at 7pm, ill take my 2 year old straight to his bedroom"for quiest time etc". bed at 7.30pm...give it a whirl!

Seem to remember someone having a similar problem on something like 'Little Angels'. The little girl had to have someone lie with her to go to sleep so what they had to do was, every night, sit further and further away from her (middle then top of bed then by the bed etc) until they were sitting outside the bedroom door and the little girl was able to go to sleep by herself. It seemed to help her night time habit of getting into bed with them too although she still did occasionally and I think they tried a star chart for that bit. I know it's not a quick fix but it worked well for them!

Re: milk - what I did with my dd was give her a new cup filled with water which she could keep in her bed - she's now 3.5 years and still does it (although I guess I can't go to bed without a glass of water either!)

thanx for that, ill try a beaker of water! i just find it hard doing this cc in the early hours of the morning, best to do it this week whilst kids are on half term, so i wont be struggling at college next week!!!

Don't feel bad, it is hard. I did cc but dd was about 7/8 months so it was probably easier. It broke my heart to hear her cry and I thought it would never stop but actually the worst crying session was on the first night and after a week or slightly longer it worked and she now sleeps between 11-13 hours a night straight through. And she hates sleeping in our bed as well .

i really hope i can crack, dont know how much more i can take of it! felt like walking out last night!
if i get a full nights sleep i can cope with anything!!
ill report back tomorrow to how night 1 went!!

welll didnt go to plan at all!! bathed him at 7pm, took him straight to his bedroom for story and milk etc, left the room. let him scream for 3mins, went in put him back to be. left for 7mins, went back in. draws pulled out all over the bedroom floor, with the clothes scattered everywhere bed covers over the floor. remade bed, put him back in , sat at side of bed for a minute then left again. left him for a further 5mins, when he started kicking the door and playing with the night light in the plug socket decided enough was enough.
took him to the loo first , placed him back in bed , he kept patting his pillow , saying " bed with me" . i was forceful and said no, if he wants me to stay in the room im going to sit by the bed, and if he didnt like it i would leave the room. couple of minutes later ...asleep!

Morning!
ok so cc didnt exactly go to plan last night...but it was a better nights sleep! ds slept from 7.45- 4am! it wouldve been perfect if the other two hadnt given me soo much grief during the night thou! i gave in at 4 am and let him in my bed as i had no energy left!!