DD (2.5) won't go to sleep or stay asleep.

[Rolf]

For getting her to sleep we have tried gentle bath, cuddles, story etc etc. She freaks out, climbs out of her cot and comes downstairs. I've tried returning her to her bed - no eye contact, no attention, but she just keeps going. I'm 22 weeks pregnant so beginning to find carrying her upstairs is difficult.

I've tried sitting next to her and it worked for a while but now she stays awake and screams if I leave.

I've tried sitting down outside her room so I can return her to bed asap - no success.

We've put a stairgate at her door. She stands at it screaming before eventually collapsing into an exhausted but very light sleep and wakes up very frequently to do more screaming. Sometimes she breaks the gate down.

When she does eventually go to sleep, she wakes up sometime in the night and if I don't bring her into my bed she screams for hours (last time she started at midnight and the last time I looked at my watch was 5am). So I give in and bring her in with me. DH goes to DS2's bed and after a while DS2 comes in with me.

I'm exhausted. I need the evening to myself and I need to have everyone sleeping in the right bed.

Any ideas?

?

pleeeease

Last attempt. She's still awake.

Poor you! Would like to offer help, but we haven't hit the 'two's' stage (yet!). Hopefully, though, someone will come along with pearls of wisdom for you....

hi just read this and this is the same as what we are going throught at mo and im beginning to pull my hair out!! My dd is 2 and im 20 weeks pregnant and she used to be a great sleeper but she started climbing out her cot so we put her in a toddler bed, the first few weeks were great but now she wont go to bed just keeps screaming at the gate at her door, we try sitting next to her and the same just screams if we leave, the passes out at her gate but wakes every half hour screaming, last night was the worse she went down eventually at 10 then woke at 11.30 and that was her till 5am so i came downstairs with her as hubbie dont like her in our bed so she dont get used to it and we both had half hour on the sofa but im so tired!!! if you get this sorted please let me know thanks xxxx

my Lo is now justy 3. Again slept thru at 8 weeks, was always in bed and asleep at 6.30pm latest but since hitting 2 and a half and a bout of chicken pox and starting pre-school, he changed overnight. When he was ill he would wake in night and for the first time in his life we put him in with us as he was really ill. Since November last year he hasnt slept a full night in his bed!. He starts off (I have to sit till he falls to sleep) again never, ever done this before always used to fall to sleep in his own. He wakes anywhere from 10pm or around 4am, he wont go back down and insists he comes in bed with me (Hubby goes in spare room) but he goes straight off to sleep until around 7.30am. I hate the fact that we do this but it is the easier way to all go back to sleep, IVe beat myself up for months over this. I know I have to be strict and say no and battle it out but I just dont have the engery also to do this

I understand how you are feeling. Our wee one is 2 and a half. She has never slept well. Used to go down well but would always wake up during the night and be up early in the morning (from 4.30ish). After a couple of bouts of illness, wouldn't go to sleep without someone staying with her and it could take up to 9pm. The worst was 10pm!
It was finally too much, so at Christmas holidays, did the tough bit. Put her down, said good night and left the room. We stayed outside the room the first week or so, putting her back down when she got up, without talking to her. The first night she was up forty times in an hour, but it got better every night. Have the odd bad night, but normally she's down before 8pm. When she gets up during the night, we do the same thing. Again, the first night was awful, but it got better. She normally comes in to our bed between 5 and 5.30, but I can live with that. It took perseverence and the screaming and shouting was bad, but it's been worth it. Hope that helps.

I've only just noticed these replies (after sulking at going ignored!). Thank you very much. Last night was awful - she was in our bed all night but woke up frequently to kick and scream.

Cathteach -that's interesting that your DD was up so much the first night. I had thought DD was beyond help but I guess I haven't been persistent enough. I'll have to sit in her room with her until she goes to sleep as it's getting too much for me to keep climbing over the stair gate, and it's hard to put back if I take it off.

Last night was so bad that even if tonight is awful too, it will be worth it if I can break the pattern.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Hi. We had a bad night last night too, she went ot sleep ok, i just left her in her room playing then she put herself in bed and slept till 2 but was then awake with me going in every 20 mins till 5pm, eventually i couldnt stay awake so left her and she cried for 40mins then went to sleep bout 7 till 0 this morning, i know some dont agree but i knew her cry was nothing to worry about as more of a wimper. My hubbie up there now trying to get her to sleep!!!
x

Oh thank goodness im not the only one.. i have a 15 month old and she has been an okay sleeper but the last few weeks things have just gotten worse and worse. She only sleeps for about 1 1/2 or 2 hrs during the day and goes to sleep at 8 and then she starts waking up again at about 11pm, last night she cried and screamed and then stopped! She then wanted to draw Its gottens so bad i have to sleep in her room, with her in the cot and me on a mattress. She must wake up about 15 times a night. I am exhausted and i miss cuddling my husband...
Please give me some advice!!

I wish i had some advice for you but im needing some myself, im debating sleeping in with my little one now as last nighta again she woke at 1 and was awake screaming till 5 this morning, she then went back to sleep for half an hour so i put her in my bed when my hubbie went to work and we both slept till 10!!! Really dont know what to do and im so tired......

Don't know if there are any definite answers. My friend cut daytime sleep to 30 minutes when her little one stopped sleeping well. That didn't work for us as daytime sleeps are quite unpredictable anyway.

Not talking seems to make the difference with us. She tries to ask lots of questions, but if we don't talk at all she loses interest. Even when she's screaming we try not to react (difficult I know).

Still give in sometimes and sit in the room until she falls asleep.

I didn't think the torture of lack of sleep would ever end but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel now. x

Don't know if there are any definite answers. My friend cut daytime sleep to 30 minutes when her little one stopped sleeping well. That didn't work for us as daytime sleeps are quite unpredictable anyway.

Not talking seems to make the difference with us. She tries to ask lots of questions, but if we don't talk at all she loses interest. Even when she's screaming we try not to react (difficult I know).

Still give in sometimes and sit in the room until she falls asleep.

I didn't think the torture of lack of sleep would ever end but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel now. x

The last few nights she's been much better going to bed but still just as bad about getting up in the night and invariably ends up in our bed. I know that I need to just bite the bullet and continue returning her to her own bed but I'm too tired to do it and DH refuses to have anything to do with it.

Did you say that she was in a cot?. I had awful sleep issues with my ds who is now 3. The second I put him into a proper big boys bed at 2 they all resolved. I wish I had put him into a proper bed so much sooner, looking back I think he hated being boxed in. Let her choose a new big girl duvet cover and really get her involved and make a big deal of it. Good luck x

Yes, she is in a cot although we leave the sides down so she can get in and out easily (if they are up she still climbs out, but not so safely). We have a small bed but it is in storage and for various reasons the only person who can pick it up is DH, and he won't be able to for at least a month, probably longer. We are about to have a whole lot of building work done on our house ( and new baby coming in June) and then we will be in better order and have more space but at the moment we are in chaos with nowhere to move anyone.

Sorry, I know I'm moaning but I'm so tired and so sick of dealing with this. Because she is tired she is very whiney and, frankly, not much of a pleasure to be around right now.