Getting my 20 month old to sleep?

Question

My daughter is 20 months old and fights going to bed. She sleeps w/ me and my husband or rather I lie w/ her in our bed till she falls asleep then I move her into her own room. But the challenge is getting her to sleep. She'll be drifting off to sleep, eyes closing. Then she jump up saying 'no..no.. up.. up'. And we fight all over again. Putting her to bed at night and at nap time takes sometimes an HOUR.
I've been waking her up ealier in the morning hoping that it'll make her more tired for nap time and I've woken her up at nap time earlier too in the hope that she'll fall asleep better at night time. But that doesn't seem to be working... though I've just started doing this. It's only been a couple days....
Any suggestions??

Answer 1

If you really want her to go to sleep on her own it's not going to be fun but you have to put her in her own bed and let her cry, say for 10 minutes, go in and say no, it's sleepytime, and leave. Go back in 15 minutes and repeat. It probably will only take a few times for her to get it. Don't give in to her or else she will be winning, you need to keep control of the situation.

Answer 2

It sounds like she's pretty cozy with the situation of sleeping in your bed. I agree that if you want her to sleep in her bed, you need to nip this in the bud as soon as possible! The longer you wait the more difficult this will be.

I recommend having a bedtime routine. For my son, who's 3.5 now, we've always done bathtime, then storytime with a small cracker and something to drink, then bedtime. I make sure he has a sippy cup of water by his bed if he gets thirsty in the middle of the night. He also has a special blanket and teddy bear he goes to bed with. On occasions where he doesn't fall asleep right away, I'll wait a couple minutes, then go into his room and rub his back and tell him it's time to go to sleep. Just keep doing this. There is no magic or easy answer. You've started a routine and any toddler will be resistant to changing what they're comfortable with. Just keep your chin up and remember that you're the parent. Stay strong and it will get easier. Good luck to you!

Answer 3

She needs to take all her naps and sleep through the night in her own room. Since she is in the habit of sleeping in your bed, this habit is not going to be easy to change. Start now putting her in her own bed both for naps and bedtime. She will probably cry and scream to get into bed with you and Dad, but continue this like a ritual. Let her cry, be prepared to cry with her, but do yours in a different room.. This habit needs to be broke, this way, all three of you will get more rest and sleep better. I do not like saying this, but she needs to learn now that her bed is hers and yours if yours, otherwise, longer you wait to start training her to do this, the longer it will take to make her do it. Takes time, so do not miss a day or night, keep at it, or she will see she can still do it. Good luck

Answer 4

I had a lot of struggles with my son around that time, too. Your daughter is old enough to understand (though obviously not willing to accept) that she is supposed to sleep in her own bed/crib. The deal I would make with my son was that he had to get in his crib but I would stay in the room, lights off, and we'd be quiet. Then I'd make my stays shorter and shorter until I would put him in his crib and only stay for a minute. That gradual approach worked for us. We backslid on occassion, and there were nights I just let him cry, which was pretty awful but necessary and effective.

As hard as that is to get through, it was so worth it in the long run. Good luck.

Answer 5

Not to be critical, but I think it was a mistake to let her share your bed to begin with. But now that you're past that point...

What we do with our daughter is put her in her room with soft, soothing music and a portable fan (for the humming noise), with a soft nightlite. We put her in bed, walk out of the room and just let her do whatever. Sometimes she goes straight to sleep, other days she gets out of bed and plays with some toys or books, and falls asleep on the floor. Then we check on her again about 45 minutes later and put her in bed if she fell asleep somewhere else.

Answer 6

I have heard put her to bed and walk out... Thats a hard thing to do... We have rocked our son to sleep every night since he was 7 months old. He had to have a breathing treatment every night for a few months... Now he won't go to sleep unless we rock him... So I guess we should put them to bed and let them cry it out... I just wanted to write and say I sorta know what you are going through.

Answer 7

during the day keep her busy so she gets really tired. don't let her take a long nap .so when it is time for her to go to sleep at night she will be tired.. and from experience do not let her sleep with you or your husband even if it only to get her to sleep. my son when he was a baby, slept with me, and i couldn't get him out until he was 6, i just kept picking him up and he be screaming, and i didn't care. he had to get use of his own bed.

Answer 8

First of all--don't let her sleep in your bed. You're just creating an even bigger problem when you do that and quite frankly--it's your bed, not hers!

What you need to do is to get into a routine and stick with it. Bath, jammies, bedtime story, lay down, hugs & kisses, lights out.

Lay her down and if she starts to cry then let her cry. You've obviously came to the rescue everytime she has cried in the past at bedtime and now you're in this dilemma. Lay her down and leave the room. She's 20 months old and needs to learn how to put herself to sleep.

Answer 9

Lack of sleep in children can cause serious
health problems.If parents follow some simple
techniques for making their children sleep,
it can be avoided. I found useful information
at http://nosleep.in/sleepchildren.html

Answer 10

first off your biggest mistake is letting her sleep with you.You should just put her in her baby bed and let her cry for a while.It won't hurt her.