Desperate plea for help with 2.2 year old

[tortoisefairy]

Really long but please, please read I am really, really desperate and pregnant and totally lost.

So DS2 (2.2) used to sleep fine. Had good bedtime routine etc slept through no problems.

We went on holiday 3 weeks ago and he realised he could climb out the travel cot. Tried the returning tehnique for an hour and then decided best to let him sleep next to his brother against the wall. I had to pretend to sleep with him but once asleep he stayed there until 5.30am.

When we returned I thought excellent, a few nights of cc and we will be back in business. But we weren't. I have had to drop his daytime nap completely so he is absolutely exhausted and then he only (cc) screams for 20 minutes until he sleeps all night through.

Then last night because I am 8 months pregnant with ds3 my mum asked us over to hers so she could help out and do bedtime for me. Due to the heat he slept for 1/2 hour at 4pm as my dh was looking after him! Then at bedtime at 7 screamed for 1.5 hours and repeatedly climbed out of the full sized cot my mum has.

Today as he woke at 5.30am I thought right I'll give him a nap at 1.30-2pm at home as he can't get out of the cot and will not make it til bedtime as was really tired, due to late bed and early morning.

BUT HE CAN CLIMB OUT HIS COT AT HOME. I am so upset. I have 4 weeks to crack this before ds3 and severe sleep deprivation kicks in. For safety reasons I think I need to move him into a bed as I have watched how he climbs out and it is very dangerous. But how on earth am I going to make sure he stays there.

Thank you for reading this, any ideas or encouragement gratefully received. WIth DS1 now 4.5 he was just not a climber and really obedient so I never had this problem before.

Please help.

I put my DS in a bed and put a stair gate on the door.

I agree with your techniques so far though, if you crack and let him get his way you'll store up grief for later.

Chin up, it'll get better, I can only imagine how tired you are, but stay strong!

So so difficult for you. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture!

I would definitely suggest you move him to a bed. Be consistent too as nagoo has said.

When he climbs out of bed take him immediately back into his own bed. Don't speak to him, put the light on or give him any attention atall. Just put him back to bed.

Keep on doing it, every time. It will probably happen about a hundred times for the first few nights, but if you can stick with it he should realise that he is not going to get the attention he wants and will give up.

Really hope it works out for you before baby arrives. All the best.

Thanks, we have taken the side of the cot so I'm doing put back routine. He is so tired and I am so angry so come down here to chill out as I don't want to hit him and my blood is boiling...AHHHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH

Have been doing out back for 1/2 hour so far. Deep breaths.

This too shall pass ttsp ttsp ttsp............

Stair gate on the door and rapid return technique.

I had a nasty blip with ds at the start of the year and had a few 5am starts putting him back for 30 mins or so. It only took a few nights to bore him into submission. It was very hard though and I was a wreck for a few days, but it's perfectly possible.

hang in there.

Can I canvass opinion on why I can't just leave him in his room with the door closed? I did this tonight whilst I came down to type here and he fell asleep on the floor so I lifted him into bed. Why a stairgate as opposed to just shutting the door?

Thanks

Because if he's anything like my toddler he'll suss the door out in a few days and starting tearing around the landing / upstairs / downstairs etc.

Have a look at this thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/sleep/994616-TWO-HOURS-AND-FOUR-MINUTES

Took her a long time on the first night, but rapidly saw an improvement.

Stairgates are safer as they can usually open doors. Why not try putting him in a bed if he can climb out of the cot? When we put DS in his special new bed he was so delighted that he climbed in early and slept for 13 hours (yes, I appreciate we were lucky with that, but he's slept SO much better since he's been in a 'big boy bed'

hth

Thank you for that post full of inspiration....and hope!

So...obviously last night at 1am he started being sick so I was on the floor with him and then started in suspected early labour with a 'show' until 3am until I had to go to hospital. Hospital not sure if in labour said I could go home as sick child. Slept for 2 hours then DS1 starts throwing up.
Labour pains worse by 9am so back to hospital for scan and all is okay jsut want me to monitor myself.

So tonight he was tired from being ill though not being sick anymore thank god and I just lay on the floor next to his bed as I didn't want him to get upset and he was asleep in 2 minutes.

Obviously don't want to let him think that will happen every night but I will not do cc with an ill child obviously!!!

So hoping not in labour and both kids will get better and then we can crack this.

Thanks for your support again.

Just wondering how you are tortoisefairy.

I am a proud mummy whose ds2 now sleeps through the night, til 6am most of the time and goes straight to bed with no screaming. We basically have achieved this through NEVER letting him sleep during the day and laugh at tea time when his little head rolls forward as he eats dinner poor lamb...but he is getting used to it now.

So a massive thank you for the encouragement because I knew deep down that when you persevere with routine and children you do eventually win but felt like I was never going to.

Ha ha Mummy won!