How to get my 18 month to sleep?

Question

He was doing fine in his own bed, then he got sick for two weeks and a few times I would put him in bed with me, just to console him and help him through the night, Now all he wants to do is sleep in me bed, at nap and at night. I tryed the crying thing and he will stand there for hours crying.Never going to sleep i just cant do that.

Answer 1

Ha, I did the exact same thing with my 16 month old. I had to finally make her cry herself to sleep. It's basically like re-training them all over again...Can you blame them though? They could cry and then get to sleep with you (all warm and cuddly) or they could sleep in their lonely little bed all night...It's tough but you just need to let your son cry himself to sleep for a couple nights and he will back into his old habits in no time. Good luck!

Answer 2

Statistically night waking increases at 18 months and stops completely around 24 months so this could be a normal developmental stage. Try sitting beside his bed/crib and reading while he falls asleep or even camping out on his floor for few nights. Or if that doesn't work move his bed/crib into your room.

The key really is to slowly get him used to sleeping alone and feeling safe and comfortable enough to get him back to sleep. The more you force it now the more likely it is to cause problems later on.

I think if you listen to your heart it will tell you what is right for you. Just remember baby steps are better than screaming battles that you can only loose.

Answer 3

Hi. I have a 22 month old and we put a CD player in his room early in his life with a Baby Einstein Lullaby CD that we put on repeat, so it plays all 17 songs over and over. A consistant routine at this age really helps, especially at bedtime. I would really try the music though-no words just classical music.
I would suggest a low wattage night light also if you don't have one. You can start to rock him in the room and then you sit next to his crib for a few minutes and talk to him and then you could sit in the chair across the room and he knows he will be okay and then they told me to move the chair further from the crib and closer to the door. Eventually he will go to sleep and when he wakes up crying will only need a back rub and your voice to soothe him back to sleep. This also works, before we did the music, he had us trained to give him a bottle in the middle of the night. I quit that and just went in to rock him and did the above steps. He learned that since he was not going to eat, it was not really worth getting up and now he sleeps 10 to 12 hours a night.

Answer 4

Well, you have an intelligent little guy. He has LEARNED that he likes to sleep in your bed. Now he has to LEARN that it's not an option.
They're amazing aren't they? They can cry and cry for hours on end and then suddenly stop just as soon as you pick them up. That's the hard part; listening to them cry. But, just as he learned that he could sleep in your bed, by you letting him and then reinforcing that everynight but allowing himagain and again, he can also learn that he cannot sleep in your bed, by you talking to him, acknowledging his feelings, 'I know you're upset...' and reinforcing, 'but you have to sleep in your own bed at night-night time' , and sticking it out. Remeber, he has the advantage, because he doesn't have a job and therefore, has all the time in the world to scream bloody-murder into the night. But, it's an investment in future night's sleep... He's going to have to transistion back sometime.

Answer 5

That was your first mistake. Never ever put your child in your bed to got to bed. If you have to lay or sit next to them in their bed then leave once they have settle. Never ever put the child in your bed at any age. You are going to have to re train him to his bed. Just keep telling him no he has to sleep in he own bed. Just because he is 18 months doesn't mean he doesn't understand what you are saying. If you stick to it he will stay in his bed eventually. I would also suggest maybe trying some music and/or some type of projector that he can watch until he fall a asleep. I really hope this helps you. Good luck to you

Answer 6

This is a tough one...

There was an old episode of "mad about you" that was such a great instructional video on how to train your baby to go to sleep...

Anyways... the same technique works...

Basically you go in... and talk to them... calm them down in decreasing incriments... first time 5 minutes... leave.... 8 minutes... 10 minutes... 15 minutes...

The key is to calm them down... and let them know they need to sleep in their bed... this is a tough one...

This has worked for me with both of my kids... if they come out of their room pick them up and put them back in... as soon as they come out do it again...

let them know that you WILL out last them... with my 7 year old... when she was 22 months old...we did it for 25 minutes then she threw a big tantrum pounding the floor and we never had an issue again...

My little one... well... never really pushed the issue that hard... after 3 or 4 times she would give up...

Answer 7

try changing the blankets and pillows of your bed to his.