Pleas Help, my 18 month old won't sleep in crib & won't sleep thru night...any good advice?

Question

HELP!!! My 18 month old absolutely hates his crib. We beleive he has a fear of it because for the past 2 months, he screams and screams until he vomits everytime we put him in there. There is no crying it out with this child....trust me we have tried. So, my husband and I have been taking turns sleeping on the sofa with him. On top of that, he doesn't sleep thru the night. he is up between 1:30-2:30am everyn night. We are going out of our minds. HELP!!!!! Thanks

Answer 1

I recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth

Answer 2

I agree with the trying a toddler bed. He's still a little too young and he may get up at night, but if you usually left his door open, then you could just put up a baby gate to keep him in and make sure he can't get into anything bad in his room if he were alone in there. He may feel imprisioned in his crib. I commend you for trying the cry it out, and I can only imagine how you felt when he started vomiting he cried so hard. My daughter has never done that, but she has come close. You're right for not doing that anymore. Being on the couch is better than him being in your bed. If the toddler bed doesn't work, try getting an air mattress and put it in HIS room and one of you sleep in there with him. You need to find out what is causing this. Is it his room in the dark? Is it just his crib, etc. Do you have a nightlight in his room? That may help too. Think along these lines for a new idea and I hope you can get that boy in bed!

Answer 3

Does he not have naps in the crib? if so, maybe he's sleeping too long durring the day? Maybe there is some thing in the room itself that seems scary for him... like a picture on the wall, or a certain stuffed toy? or maybe even the curtains are in a way that appears to be scary from his point of view. ?? Has something happened to him that may have made him afraid? You said that for 2 months... so was he sleeping fine before? maybe try to think what is new in the room or maybe he had a bad tumble in his room 2 months ago... other than that I am out of suggestions?? Hope you all gets more sleep soon.... good luck

Answer 4

Don't ever take the sleeping pills route!!

1. They will damage your liver big time and you can get into serious health problems.

2. You will get hooked up on them and you won't be able to have a normal life any more if you don't take your pills everyday.

The sleeping pills industry is damaging our health by capitalizing on our ignorance, and by distracting people from effective and natural ways to deal with this problem. I had been taking prescription sleep medications [Ambien] for over 5 years. It stopped working and I simply took more. Still did not work. Nights were very difficult - medication put me to sleep but I would wake up after 2–3 hours with a strong sympathetic response (fast pulse, pounding heartbeat, wide awake alert). It was a very difficult cycle to break. I was really in bad shape due to lack of sleep.

After years of struggling I was able to cure my insomnia naturally and pretty fast. I followed the Sleep Tracks sleep optimization program, here is their official web -site if you want to take a look: http://www.insomniacure.net

Ohhh..and Good Luck!

Answer 5

Lot's of good advice here. If he's not sleeping in his crib anyway, get rid of it, get a full size bed, it's more comfortable to sleep in with him. Get him used to sleeping in it lay down with him at night, then when he falls asleep leave. A gate at the door is a good idea to keep him safe. Reduce the time each night you're laying with him and hope that he loves his bed. Good luck!

Answer 6

It sounds like he needs extra comforting at night. Their is nothing wrong with co-sleeping and their are safe ways to do so. It may help to do this. If my son was vomiting before bed on a nightly basis we would co-sleep with him. Some babies need and want space as they get older while many need to be close to their parents. If you are not comfortable with putting him in bed with you, why not put his crib or even a toddler bed (if he hates his crib) in your room for awhile until he is going to bed without vomiting. You can slowly move the bed further and further away until it is back in his room.

He may sleep all night once he begins to feel secure again.

Other things that may help him sleep better at night: make sure he has plenty of activity during the day and make sure his little belly is full before you put him down at night.

Have you tried rocking or snuggling with him right before bed and letting him get to the point where he almost falls asleep in your arms and then transition him to the crib?

I hope this helps you. Good luck with you and your son.

Answer 7

Have you tried transitioning him to a "big boy bed" since he has decided he hates his crib?

Our son is 18 months and he sleeps in a twin bed that is right down on the floor, with a bed-rail on the sides to keep him from rolling out and a safety gate in his doorway to prevent any midnight wandering :)

It took us about a week to transition him out of his crib. The first night we spent two hours putting him back to bed every 3 minutes or so lol...by the fourth night he only needed to be put back in bed once.

I would recommend choosing a place for your son to sleep and sticking to it no matter what. If he cries, go in and rub his back for a minute or so, give him a kiss, tell him goodnight and leave again. If he keeps crying, repeat! Even if it means a few sleepless nights for mommy and daddy, in the long run it will be worth it!!

Also- make sure you have a firm bedtime routine in place! We do 7:30 bath, brush teeth, comb hair, lotion up, diaper, PJ's, bedtime story, bedtime song, 8:00 lights out. It really seems to help our son "mentally prepare" for bed :)

Good luck!

Answer 8

My 18 Month Old Wont Sleep

Answer 9

wow, this is a tough one. its gonna take some meds and alcohol for the parents along with saintly patience but we have a 12 month old we called damien until we ferberized him at about 8 months old. the home and everyone in it got no sleep. we had to get him conditioned quickly before we lost our minds, it seems you have reached this peak. baby is got alot of power since he knows you guys will eventually give in it is going to take dedication. try setting a routine which everyone can adhere to religiously. we did the following: 730-830pm bath time, massage time ,soothing music time last bottle or sippy cup, reading time, anything that will unwind. next 830 place him in the crib(yes it will require major crying,dont give in whatever you do) leave the room, we checked on him in five min. intervals, we made sure he did not poop from the crying, nothing was bothering him in the crib, hushing shooching is ok nightie night, is too, keep the talking to a minimum, wait five minutes do it again. he will eventually get the picture if you are consistent. changing his bedding to something he really likes. it will take you guys about 4-6 days of pure unadulterated hell before you see the magical results, and they will come you just have to tough it out for real!!!. you have to give him a set structure so that he can follow it, speak to your pediatrician and see if this is something that would be good for your son. you can also look it up online the ferber method. maybe you can paint the crib another color, or get a co sleeper if he is terrified of the crib, that can also be creating stress on him. good luck and god bless

Answer 10

If you want to put your baby to sleep in 20 seconds you must get the "Instant Baby Sleep" MP3 sound track. Here is their official web-site: http://www.instantbabysleep.net

The sound track gently produces energy over the full human hearing spectrum with an embedded pulse that gently eases the brain to the Alpha state well known for drowsiness and sleep induction.