Author Topic: 26 mo out of crib and mom out of her wits  (Read 1477 times)

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Offline ele

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26 mo out of crib and mom out of her wits
« on: March 20, 2017, 18:53:43 pm »
my DD turned 26 months and our sleep habits got all out of control.

She started climbing out of crib and We converted the crib into a toddler bed . since then she is roaming free instead of sleeping.

At first we followed the usual routine, putting her to bed and leaving and just incorporated coming to check periodically and tell her it's nap time, time to rest a little. At first, all the closets would be open and emptied, and worse dropped down the stairs, then she plainly would not calm down for 3 hrs until it's time to get up...So we are ending up with me having to hug her in bed (despite her resistance some times) until she falls asleep. It's getting more resistance, but she would not calm by herself. It takes longer and longer to make her sleep too.

For the night it is also getting worse, she won't fall asleep for a least 1hr, walking round, jumping in bed. And we have to be around next to her otherwise she will be screaming.

It's a big change, we have had a good routine, it worked for one year (on and off with little tweaks) and she would normally fall asleep by herself.

Our routine:
wake up at 7
Nap:in bed by 1 ( we had to move from 12am a few months ago as it felt she was resisting the nap)
asleep by 2 or never if not put to sleep
bed: 8 pm, asleep by 9.

She is not ready for no nap. When she refused to nap, she was too tired at night even if we put her to bed at 7 and she was waking up screaming through the night. She was exhausted the next days too.

Is this normal at this age, does this pass? What to do? I am at the end of my wits as I have to spend hours battling while she falls asleep and I can't even get a down time a little bit.  She was not an easy napper ever, but we managed and managed to get her well rested without too much stress for everybody. I am so exhausted from this now.
She is teething, I noticed too.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2017, 18:56:05 pm by ele »

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 26 mo out of crib and mom out of her wits
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2017, 19:44:24 pm »
Hugs, that all sounds totally exhausting for you all :(  It's tough when you have to move them out of a crib from a safety perspective, it does create all sorts of extra issues!

At this age some of the problem could well be related to the 1-0 transition, my DD had certainly started it in earnest by this point (skipping naps 2-3 days out of 7) and she would also resist naps.  We had some success putting down later, I would certainly move to a 1.30pm or even 2pm put down in bed to see if it helps.  If she refuses completely I'd suggest heading out for a car trip around 3/3.30pm - my DD was not a car sleeper at all but in this awkward phase (needing nap but refusing) she would doze off at about that time, and we would let her have around 20 mins just to see us through to bedtime without meltdown.  We did have a rather earlier bedtime than you though - in bed for 7pm (asleep for 7.30pm) so you might get away with slightly longer at that hour. 

Another thing that really helped was making a massive deal out of a 'special quiet time bag'.  Basically a bag of quiet toys e.g. stickers and paper, russian dolls, picture cards, magnetic drawing board, books etc that I rotated round and she was only allowed once sitting in bed.  With that, and no pressure to sleep, she would either self-entertain for 45-60 mins (occasionally had to pop in to remind her) or even doze off once in a while if she really needed to.  It gave us both a break and removed the stress.  With DS we are going through the 1-0 at the moment, he is a bit older (2y9m) but if he isn't having anything to do with my attempts to get him to nap I just stick him on the sofa watching a DVD  :P does the job in that it at least gives us both a bit of a break!

In terms of settling at night would you consider staying with her for now and working on a gradual withdrawal to get her more comfortable settling alone again?

Oh - I just noticed she is teething too.  Molars I presume?  Do you offer pain relief? 
« Last Edit: March 20, 2017, 19:47:34 pm by jessmum46 »

Offline ele

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Re: 26 mo out of crib and mom out of her wits
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2017, 17:46:20 pm »
thank you very much, but we just won't be able to implement some of the advice: we don't have a car nor TV and are against any screen time.
my problem is that I am getting angrier as I am more exhausted from 7-9 shift without a break. which is not good at all.
quiet time sounded always promising, but since she has no crib the bedroom is her limit, which means emptying everything out, etc etc. It's anything but a quiet time. I also just don't think she is old enough to skip the nap, she doesn't handle it well and when I make her sleep she'll nap 2-3 hrs...

Offline Haribo2012

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Re: 26 mo out of crib and mom out of her wits
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2017, 18:47:44 pm »
Hi there, if you don't have a car could you take a little walk at 3pm instead? At this age we had to do quiet time on the sofa together reading or watching tv or go for a walk just to get 20 mins sleep just to see us through till BT.

If refusing the nap bringing BT much earlier might help, we could easily miss the sleepy window  ;)
Zoe


Offline ele

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Re: 26 mo out of crib and mom out of her wits
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2017, 01:48:16 am »
Thank you, will try!, although she has refused to nap in a stroller since 6 months, so it is a kind of high bar for us.

Offline Haribo2012

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Re: 26 mo out of crib and mom out of her wits
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2017, 12:56:07 pm »
You might just have to an EBT if she refuses x
Zoe