So, here's the thing. I missed the memo on getting kids to sleep. Ok to be perfectly honest, I read books and I watched A Baby Story on TLC, but no matter what I do- MY KIDS SUCK AT SLEEPING.
I do break the 'sleeping rules' that I have heard about. I lie in bed with Delaney after we read some books until she falls asleep. In the next few hours, we hear her scream from time to time and we go into her room to comfort her because she is having night terrors. Night terrors are so scary. The poor little girl is usually sitting up in bed, asleep, crying and screaming. NOT FUN! She usually goes back to bed right away and will sleep the rest of the night. Her newest habit, is waking up about 4 or 5:00 in the morning and getting into our bed. There are many reasons why this is not okay. First of all, I don't even know she gets up there! We have one of those temperpedic (sp) mattresses, ya know the kind where you can jump up and down on with a glass of wine on it, with no sheets, wearing a silk night gown. I don't ever feel her get up there until I almost knock her off because I am rolling over. UGH! Second, she has been peeing through her jammies, right on to Eric's side of the bed! On the upside, our sheets have washed a lot more lately!
That's just Delaney. Brody is an entirely different issue. Yes, we break the rules with him as well. He falls asleep while he is having a bottle and then we put him in his crib asleep (gasp). We have tried everything. We have tried letting him cry it out and after 2 hours, he was still crying, still awake, and I was a wreck. He wakes up at least twice a night still and has a full 8 oz bottle! I usually takes me a awhile to get him back to sleep each time. He consistently wakes up between 11:30 and 12:30 and the between 3:00-4:00. I AM SO FREAKING TIRED. I honestly have not slept through the night since BEFORE he was born. He is almost 11 months old for crying out loud. SOOOOOO.......any tips? WE are stumped!!
Feed Brody a bowl of cereal before bed. It works wonders. If his belly is full he will sleep better.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Delaney is concerned, good luck! We had the same problem with my daughter. Now she sleeps in her room 5 night a week and can sleep on an extra mattress in my room on the weekends.
Good Luck
I would say feed Brody too. Sounds like he's not getting enough during the day. Are you doing naps with the kids? Even if Delaney isn't sleeping maybe room time might help so she has some down time. Also try the cry out thing again. You just have 2 kids who want to be involved in everything. Sounds normal to me:) Hope something helps soon.
ReplyDeleteDrink. :)
ReplyDeleteWe had more trouble with this with my son, and it might have been because I nursed him longer, and he is a boy, and... Anyway, my son was never a good sleeper, but we did not let him come in with us. He still gets into patterns where he wakes up at least once a night and he is in first grade, but it isn't often.
ReplyDeleteStarting bed time rituals also helped my kids. We did the pajamas, snack (which also helps with getting them tired and filling their tummies), teeth, then we would rock and read.
My daughter would often fall asleep as I was rocking and then I would put her down, and even though my son wouldn't be sleeping, he was sleepy and soon would be out after putting him down. This will also help with your retry of the cryout stuff. I know you feel badly, but think of it as self preservation for you and helping your child comfort himself. It took only a couple days for my daughter to calm herself-almost a week with my son. From what I remember, you can go in to comfort, after about 15 minutes or so, and you don't pick them up. (I would just rub their backs)
If you are like my husband and I, I had a harder time dealing with my son crying and my husband thought me cruel when we did this to my daughter. Go figure... Good luck!
I am laugh,laugh,laughing at Ami's comment. :)
ReplyDeleteXO Mom
i like ami's advice ;)
ReplyDeleteSo, I LOVE your blog! Found it through some
ReplyDeleteother ones I was reading when I was pregnant (including the Bunch Babies!). I had that same problem with my (preemie...which made me feel even guiltier!) daughter. She's now 9 1/2 months old and sleeping through the night perfectly. (about 12 hours) I downloaded the Sleep Lady's book. It changed my life! No crying it out!! (I couldn't take that!!) And, I learned how to do nap time as well! (I downloaded the whole book instead of ordering a copy..it's a big file, but i would be happy to email it to you...and save you the $20). :)
im assuming because he's drinking 8oz he's hungry .. so maybe some cereal before bed? If you dont think he's starving, i was given the advice to give them water at this age so they learn its not worth waking up for..
ReplyDeleteas for getting him to sleep in his cot, i had the same probs. i eventually started putting kailin (1 next week) in her cot and out of sheer frustration laying on the floor with my back to her so she could still see me and know she was ok and i ignored her...if she stood up i'd leave her, if she stood up and chucked dummy i'd wait a min or so and then pop it back in and go back to the floor. she soon learnt to just lay down and go to sleep herself. When this started happening regularly i would put her in and leave the room. took about a week of letting her cry for awhile (waiting 10-15 before i went back in) but she soon learnt that she could lay herself down and go to sleep without me.
It was hard .. but is now HEAVEN!!!
You probably don't want advice from me cause my sucked at sleeping for a long time, but a few things I tried worked a little. I can't really help you with Delaney cause Ethand does the same thing STILL, yea we are totally screwed when the new baby comes! But Malia sleeps like a champ now. I still give her a late snack pretty much right before she goes to sleep. Also, instead of giving him milk, try water, he may not take it at first but when he realizes he's not getting milk he might just not want it anymore, also try cutting down how much you give him by a few ounces every couple of nights. Well that's all I got, let me know if you figure out something for Delaney so I can try it with Ethan!! Good luck =)
ReplyDeleteNicole, I feel your pain! When Conner, my oldest, was about Delaney's age he started to have night terrors. I found that if he wasn't resting enough (I know, it's ironic) then they were worse. I ended up giving him an earlier bed time. Also, the type of foods he had eaten that evening made a difference. Things with lots of sugar or food coloring seemed to set them off. BTW, your kids are beautiful and I love your blog.
ReplyDeleteI fail at the sleeping thing too. My kids are insomniacs lately... AND they sleep with the TV on... I know BIG NO NO. I don't know any other way to get them to sleep!
ReplyDeleteNight terrors sucks! Jaxon gets them and it is so sad.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the kiddos, try Ami's advice, drink drink drink!
So really I wanted to read what advice everyone gave you... had a few thoughts go through my head. TOTALLY went through the night terrors with Sugar Bear. Figured I would just call to chat, catch up etc. Then I saw my word verification. LOL- sperm. Had to post something and tell you THAT!!!!
ReplyDelete