90 responses so far ↓

• 1 Melissa // Sep 22, 2008 at 7:35 pm

  My son is now 15 months old. We have a good bed time routine established including story time, bath and bottle in a low light quiet bedroom. He is in bed by 7.30 and usually only takes a few minutes to go to sleep. He is able to put himself to sleep. He has one long afternoon nap, 1.5 - 3 hours in the afternoon. Sometimes I hear him wake during the night, cry out and then he goes back to sleep by himself. He has always been an early riser, some time between 5.30 - 6.00 however recently he has been waking 2- 3 times a week sometime between 4 - 5 am. We have tried ignoring him for a few minutes (10 - 15 minutes), in the hope he will go back to sleep but he doesn’t give up and we end up getting him out of the cot and into bed with us and giving him a bottle. Sometimes he goes back to sleep, other times he is tried until nap time. How do we get him to sleep in a bit later? Why is he waking so early? Is he able to go back to sleep when it is so close to his ‘get up’ time?

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• 2 Andrew Wells // Sep 23, 2008 at 9:17 am

  We are finding it very difficult to break the cycle of our 9 month old girl needing a breast feed for comfort in the middle of the night.

  Some nights when she wakes crying at various times and the crying escalates, she gets to a point where even picking her up for a cuddle will not settle her enough to go back into the cot.

  Obviously we are yet to teach her how to settle herself, but stepping away from the need for a feed (or a comfort suckle) in the middle of the night would be a good start.

  As the Dad, I get up and attend to her crying at night and the breaks in my sleep are simply awful…especially if I”m getting up for our little girl at 4am, then waking up to get ready for work at 6am.

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• 3 Rita Mills // Sep 23, 2008 at 9:24 am

  My daughter, April, is almost 18 months old and is a horrible sleeper. Always has been. Just when I think she has started sleeping through the night, she starts waking up again. She goes to bed between 8:30 & 9:00pm and wakes up at around 4am. Sometimes she’s raring to go, sometimes I can get her back to sleep until around 6:00am. This is the best she has slept since since we did the “Ferber” process to get her to sleep. She was waking up every night at 3am. We got her to skip that but now she’s back to waking up, now at 4am.

  Day time isn’t great either. She has started to skip her morning nap and now she only sleeps for about an hour all day long. She spends her whole day running around, I can’t understand why she doesn’t sleep well. How can I get her to sleep through the night?? Day time I can handle, it’s the nights that are killing me, especially since I’m back to work.

  Please help!

  Thanks!
  Rita

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• 4 Dawn Holnick // Sep 23, 2008 at 9:29 am

  I have a 10 month old baby boy who wakes up every 1 - 2 hours from his sleep in his crib screaming, and needs to be soothed back to sleep by being fed or rocked. Since he shares a room with his older sister, i could not do the ferber method and allow him to cry it out, even if i wanted to. Any advice?

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• 5 Laena Foster // Sep 23, 2008 at 9:30 am

  My son just turned 1 and he still won’t go to sleep by himself. I breastfeed and he always falls asleep in my lap. Then I try to sneak him into his crib, but he always wakes up in the middle of the night. Sometimes 3-4 times. A great night is when he only wakes up once. When he does I take him back to the recliner and nurse and rock him back to sleep. Most the time I’m so tired I fall asleep sitting up in the chair and stay like that all night. This has been going on for way to long, I am exausted and feed up! Please help!

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• 6 Beth Gaddy // Sep 23, 2008 at 9:45 am

  You suggested a bed time of 7:30 or 8:00 for a 3 year old so that they can sleep 11-12 hours. Do you suggest the same for a 5 month old or is there a better time to put them to bed? And what is the best way to get an infant to put himself to sleep initially, if he will sometimes put himself back to sleep when he wakes during the night.

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• 7 Siobhan // Sep 23, 2008 at 9:45 am

  Harriet is great sleeper, only she is a great sleeper in my bed. We decided to co sleep early on and have really enjoyed it, but now I’m left wondering how and when do we make the transit into her own room?
  Thanks

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• 8 Olivia // Sep 23, 2008 at 9:46 am

  Dana,

  My 6 month old daughter Teagan is, thanks to you, finally sleeping through the night and is able to soothe herself to sleep in her own bed. We got there through a good nightly routine. Our issue now is that we cannot get her to nap. She fights and screams and will do this for 15 to twenty minutes. We go in about every 5 to 10 minutes to talk to her or offer her a pacifier, but it almost seems to make her more angry. What can we do to get her to sleep during the day in her crib?

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• 9 sarah roe // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:06 am

  i have a problem that when i leave my daughter to scream to sleep or leave the room when she is not fully settled she will within minutes scream until she is sick. this has happened more than once so i end up feeding her until she is almost asleep and then put her to bed. she doesnt actually fall asleep on the breast but she does wake in the night more than once - she is just a year. we have tried bottles etc but breast feeding is the only way she will settle.

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• 10 Sue Wolfe // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:11 am

  My grandson, Kelan goes to sleep fine but then wakes up and won’t go to sleep again unless his parents put him in bed with someone. How do they break this habit? He screams if they just put him back in the crib.

  Sue

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• 11 Victoria // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:11 am

  My son is 15months and seems to still require 2 naps each day, usually between 45mins-1 hr each. Most of his friends of similar age have already dropped down to one nap/day and I am wondering if I need to help my son to do the same? Two naps currently works well for us, and I know how tired he will be trying to stretch him to just a lunchtime sleep. He sleeps 12-13 hrs overnight from 7pm, irrespective of when he wakes from his afternoon nap. Many thanks

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• 12 joan // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:18 am

  Alexander is turning 1 in 2 days. He refuses to sleep in his crib. He goes to sleep around 9:30 or 10 and will sleep until (depending on the day) 6:45-8:00 a.m.
  I have a bedtime routine everynight and I have tried to place him in his crib when he is tired but not asleep. He just refuses to go to sleep in it. What do I do? He ends up sleeping with me meaning mommy and daddy have absolutely no alone time.

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• 13 Amanda // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:34 am

  my little guy Tijse is 14 months old and he will not fall asleep on his own and he wakes up several times through the night, so I end up letting him sleep in bed wit me, I am still breastfeeding, but hoping to stop, I just cant get him to sleep any other way. Im a single mom so having his father put him to bed or get up in the night with him is not an option. I want my bed back for myself , please help!

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• 14 kim // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:37 am

  hunter is 9 mo old and still waking up he goes to brd around 8;ooand wakes up 2 times a nite i tried just giving him is binkey but it only works for a while then hes up again………ANY HELP

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• 15 lisa // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:45 am

  Hi
  My son Niall is 21 months & is a terrible sleeper. He has never slept in a cot as he would just wake up & scream as soon as I tried to put him down & so he sleeps in my bed. He won’t go to sleep unless I am in bed with him & usually wants breast milk to settle. He usually wakes through the night for a feed but for the past few weeks he has woken up very distressed & screaming & even breast feeding won’t settle him.
  I’m just stuck as to what to do as I have let this go on so long I just don’t know where to begin. Please help!

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• 16 Chantelle Marriott // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:47 am

  Hello
  my little boy is 15 months old and just wont sleep at night. i have tried everything to make him sleep but nothing seems to work and im out of ideas now, i have tried putting him in bed with me just so i can get some sleep but that doesnt even work. Ive tried just giving him water at night, putting him to bed later,giving him a warm bath,less sleep during the day!!!!
  Please help x

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• 17 Emma // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:54 am

  My little boy is 6 months now and goes to bed about 7pm. He is still waking in the night for feeds sometime twice a night he drinks 4-5oz each time. He is on solids now in the day so i think he should be going longer during the night i have tried to leave him but he doesnt go back to sleep till he has had a feed.

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• 18 Lauren // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:58 am

  summer is a month old and refuses to sleep on her back. i am constantly getting up because she is crying and crying because she doesnt want to be on her back. then as soon as i pick her up and lay her on me, she instantly goes back to sleep. I tried once laying her on her stomach and constantly checking on her and she slept for almost 2 hours. im horrified of the whole SIDS idea but i dont know how else to get her to sleep longer than 30 minutes! how do i get her to sleep on her back and not her stomach??

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• 19 Brittany Mallory // Sep 23, 2008 at 11:06 am

  My son Pierson in almost 1 year old and he goes to bed just fine.(Meaning I put him in the crib while he is awake and he falls asleep on his own). But he wakes up in the middle of the night and can not get back to sleep on his own. I either have to nurse him or rock him to calm him down, then I wake him back up right before I put him back in the crib. How can I get him to sleep all night through?

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• 20 Crystal Fowler // Sep 23, 2008 at 11:15 am

  My daughter just turned four months, and she started sleeping through the night at eight weeks but in the last month she has started waking up again in the middle of the night. I put her to bed between eight and eight thirty without a soother. We have always had a good bedtime routine (bath,jammies,low light) so I don’t understand why she’s waking up. When she wakes up it’s around 3 and we give her a bottle and she goes back to sleep. What do we need to do differently?

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• 21 Cheryl // Sep 23, 2008 at 11:20 am

  Hi Dana,

  I need your help! My daughter is 18 months old and has always been a challenging sleeper. I don’t know how many times we’ve had to retrain her. Anything from teeth to traveling to staying up 30 min later will throw her off for a week or more and she’ll go from happily falling asleep to fighting it & screaming again. She has always gone to bed at a reasonable hour and is on a great schedule now that she only takes one nap. She sleeps about 11-12 at night and takes about a 2 hour nap during the day. She may nap a little longer if she slept a little less at night. She sleeps 7:30-7(if she wakes up at six we leave her until 6:30) at night and goes down for her nap a little before noon. The problem now is she still wakes up at least once, usually twice, and sometimes even three times a night despite always falling asleep initially alone in her crib and going back to sleep on her own. We always give her a chance to settle on her own but if we wait too long thats escalated into her waking up more. We’ve let her cry a long time at night but it doesn’t change anything even if she falls back to sleep. When we go in to settle her, we only give her water, try not to pick her up if possible and she always falls back on her own once we’ve settled her. Help!! We are desperate. 18 months is too long to go without a full nights sleep. How can we help her sleep through the night(she’s done it about 6 times).

  Thanks so much,

  Cheryl

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• 22 Megan McCalmont // Sep 23, 2008 at 11:22 am

  My son Cole who is 20months old has begun waking at 6:15 am! Now that I am back to work full-time he does need to get up earlier but he is waking on his own at 5:45am! There is no way that I’m getting up so I just let him wait until 6:45. Is that wrong of me ? Any idea why his internal time-clock is set for such an early hour? Thanks! Megan

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• 23 Leslie // Sep 23, 2008 at 11:47 am

  Our son is 27 months old and is falling asleep very good on his own, however somewhere between 4 and 5 am he gets up to get a sippy cup, before he is able to fall back to sleep again. This is getting very tiring getting up each night to get him a drink. I was wondering what we could do to get him to fall back asleep again on his own.

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• 24 jessie // Sep 23, 2008 at 12:09 pm

  My 9 month old takes good naps, goes to bed by 8 pm, but still wakes up a couple of times every night, ususally around 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. We do not pick him up, but we have resorted to giving him a bottle in bed to soothe himself back to sleep at the 3 a.m. waking, this works about half of the time and the rest of the time he cries for an hour or more. How can we get him past the 3 a.m. waking/bottle? we have tried letting him cry it out and soothing him with a pacifier every 5-10 minutes and we have tried patting his back and helping him get back to sleep, nothing has worked. HELP!

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• 25 Emily // Sep 23, 2008 at 12:13 pm

  Ok so my son is 21 months old and we have a few issues. First he is still not sleeping through the night waking at least once and i have to either rock him or sleep on the couch with him. He also wants milk when he wakes up and i don’t like that at all. I don’t think he needs milk it is just a comfort thing but he wakes more when i try to fight him. We have a good bedtime routine with bath, story and so on but i have rocked him since he was a baby and so i still do that because he is asleep a lot faster when i do. We live in a one bedroom apartment his bed is on a different side of a wall but his father works really early and goes to bed really early so i can’t let him just cry it out. Finally, we just found out we are pregnant again and i really don’t think that i will survive waking up with two children through out the night. I need some help or advice- thanks

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• 26 tammy holcomb // Sep 23, 2008 at 12:21 pm

  I have been waiting on sleep suggestions for a toddler, as I have done it all wrong up until now. Thank you for your advice on a 3 yr old, as that is my daughters age, and it’s good to know I am not the only mother having that same 2nd wind sleep problem. I will try your suggestions, endure the crying, and try to get her into a new routine. Thank you.

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• 27 Rebecca // Sep 23, 2008 at 12:30 pm

  Our 7 mo-old daughter is becoming a pretty decent sleeper, but it took a lot of work! I’m breastfeeding, and our bedtime routine is a bath, nursing at around 7, story and prayers with daddy. She is down for the night between 7:30-7:45. She takes a bit to settle. She gets up at around 7 AM, naps twice during the day at 9 and 1, each for about 1.5 - 2 hours. A third nap happens if we know we will be out late or if her other naps were short. She is pretty happy most of the time NOW that she gets rest. We took a week-long “training” time…and we let her cry (checking on her at intervals). It was hard — that first week she cried THROUGH most of her “naps” but we kept reminding ourselves that we were teaching her a skill. For those who are worried that their babies will hate them after the crying: we always made a big deal about showering her with love after we got her up, and she loves us just as much! She still has rough times, esp. with teething, but for the most part, she goes down okay, and life is good around here…my husband and I actually get to spend time together in the evenings!

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• 28 Reshmi // Sep 23, 2008 at 1:31 pm

  My son is 18 months old and I am weaning him off the breast. He still wakes up 3-4 times at night and does not know how to go back to sleep by himself. My husband and I take shifts waking up so that we can pat him back to sleep. He goes to sleep around 9:30 and wakes up by 6:30 am. His naps have decreased from 2 hrs a day to 1 - 1.5 hrs. He does not demand breast milk at night but we are finding it impossible to stop the early morning feeding. He wants it when he wakes up and then he is wide awake if I refuse it to him. Earlier when we used to breastfeed he used to sleep till 7:30-8:00 am. How do I get my son to sleep longer?

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• 29 Paola // Sep 23, 2008 at 1:40 pm

  Yes, my child will be 1 year in 2 weeks and she is still waking up evrery 4/5 hrs. to breastfeed. She will not go back to sleep any other way even when she goes to sleep in her crib 1/2 hr after feeding in the evening (at sleep around 8PM). She usually doesn’t give up crying until she breastfeeds for the naps. What can I do to get her to stop needing the breastfeeding? Now she is eating more solids but she doesn’t give up her habit of feeding at night//??

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• 30 Paola // Sep 23, 2008 at 1:41 pm

  My child will be 1 year in 2 weeks and she is still waking up evrery 4/5 hrs. to breastfeed. She will not go back to sleep any other way even when she goes to sleep in her crib 1/2 hr after feeding in the evening (at sleep around 8PM). She usually doesn’t give up crying until she breastfeeds for the naps. What can I do to get her to stop needing the breastfeeding? Now she is eating more solids but she doesn’t give up her habit of feeding at night//??

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• 31 Jamie // Sep 23, 2008 at 1:48 pm

  About 2 weeks ago, we made the transition from 2 naps a day for Charlie (now 16 mths.) to one nap after lunch, and at first it seemed like our prayers were answered. He was sleeping through the night for 2 solid weeks without one awakening. Now, it seems like the cycle has been broken and he is reverting back to his old ways of waking up at 12 or 1 and staying up for 2 hours regardless of what we do(ex. let him cry it out, rock him back to sleep, reassure him). We did away with nighttime feedings a long time ago, and we don’t take him out of his room or entertain or engage him, but nothing seems to be working. Even when we rock him in the rocking chair, he seems wide awake, just looking at us. It’s like he wants to sleep, but can’t for some reason. Please help. This has gone on for way too long, and Mommy and Daddy are going to crash soon.

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• 32 sitara // Sep 23, 2008 at 2:02 pm

  my daughter is eleven months old. i have finally reached a point where i put her to bed and she stays there and eventually falls asleep. the problem is that she wakes up at 2am and wants to be feed and will not go to her bed so we have to bring her to our bed…what should i do? is she really hungry?she eats dinner at 7:30pm and then i nurse her at 9:30pm.

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• 33 Jennifer // Sep 23, 2008 at 2:12 pm

  My son is 2 1/2. He goes to sleep on his own around 9:00 each night in his bed. But, every morning between 2:30 and 3:00 he wakes up crying wanting a sip of milk and then gets in our bed. He cries as if he is scared and tells me his bed and his room is scary. Is this just a way to get into our bed, just gotten in a bad habit, or possibly he really is scared. How can I stop this cycle?

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• 34 Sally // Sep 23, 2008 at 3:20 pm

  I just purchased your book and want to get started right away. However, I will be having surgery in less than a week. Is it safe to start the same week that I will be gone for 1 -2 days? I know he will be upset and might be up crying to nurse since that is how he is put to sleep and how he gets put back to sleep after he awakens at night - sometimes as many as 5 times in one night but I would like to aleviate some of the crying that will most likely happen when I’m not there.

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• 35 Tammy // Sep 23, 2008 at 3:31 pm

  great blog entry… I’ll be sending this one to all my friends whose kids go to bed too late. Your methods work so well, we have all been having restful sleeps for 6 years. The digital clocks in the kids bedroom really works!

  Thanks!

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• 36 Noah's Mommy // Sep 23, 2008 at 3:47 pm

  Before Noah started teething (9 months) he evolved into a pretty good sleeper. He rolled over and went to sleep and would sometimes wake only once during the night. When he awoke it was fairly easy to get him back to sleep. Then he started teething and crawling and standing all at the same time. He was NEVER a good napper.

  He started daycare when he was 3 months old and he is very aware of his surroundings so as long as there is any activity at all he just wants to be a part of it. Sleep just gets in the way of that.

  His nighttime routine is first a bath & pjs, then we let his hair dry while he “plays” in his play area. By about 7 pm he is in his room being read to while he has his last bottle w/cereal. While he is in his crib, we sing to him. Then he sometimes rolls over and falls asleep and sometimes he is just restless and he gets a Baby Einstein video, he LOVES Baby Mozart. It is usually very calming for him. Sometimes he needs to have the video turned off b/c it’s keeping him awake.

  Here’s the problem. He is so obviously exhausted, but he stands or sits up. He cries b/c he is just so tired. When we put him back down he just fights to get up again. Over and over until he is completely exhausted from crying and fighting. Othertimes he falls asleep and then suddenly wakes himself up again. It’s very odd to see. His whole body just twitches and then he’s awake and crying and if we don’t intervene, standing again. This is also what he does when he wakes in the middle of the night… he stands up and then he can’t get back to sleep.

  Last night was the first night in 2+ months that he slept from 7:45pm to 6:15 am. How do we keep this going??

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• 37 Jennifer // Sep 23, 2008 at 4:09 pm

  My daughter is 2 1/2 and still doesn’t sleep through the night. We have a bedtime routine and I have to sit in the room until she falls asleep otherwise I spend the next hour putting her back in her room. She goes to bed between 7:30 and 8. She shares a room with her 6 year old brother so I can’t just let her cry which doesn’t work anyway. She then wakes up several times a night and I either have to go put her back to bed and wait for her to fall asleep or let her sleep in our bed. I am exhausted. please help

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• 38 Teagan // Sep 23, 2008 at 4:15 pm

  My Daughter Lillian does not sleep through the night. It has always been this way. She is now a year old and I am still nursing, but hoping to stop, But sometimes that is the only way to sooth her and put her back in her crib. This happens once or twice a night. We have let her cry it out but it has never worked… she will go for 2 hours (plus if we let her) non stop crying. I have a 3 year old so after 3-5 nights trying this… its just crazy for all of us- I finally say I would rather nurse her and put her back to bed (that take 20 min.) then ALL of us be up from her crying so long.
  (I’ve tried nightlights, bottle in the bed, even having her sleep in her sisters room-thinking that is we is scared when we wakes up that if she sees her sister it would help… nothing has helped)

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• 39 rachel // Sep 23, 2008 at 4:30 pm

  I am feeding Ella once during the night. She is 3 and a half months old. She is asleep by 7:30pm and I don’t feed her again until at least 3 am. She has gone until 5:15 am before so I am confident she can go without nursing until 3am but sometimes she wakes at 2 or 2:30. Should i let her cry until 3 or until she re-settles and wakes again?or just feed her then? I don’t want her getting up earlier and earlier each night but I also don’t want to be teaching her to keep crying until I nurse her. What do you suggest?
  Thanx

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• 40 Kara // Sep 23, 2008 at 5:40 pm

  My son is almost 5 months old and he has only slept through the night once. He has turned into a great day sleeper, going down in his crib awake and falling asleep for at least an hour, usually longer. He has three solid naps a day and if he wakes early he usually cries for a few minutes and then goes back to sleep. Night time is a different story. I usually feed him and put him down around 8 pm. Sometimes he cries a little but goes off to sleep. Then he has started to wake up more than once a night, usually twice, feed for a little and go back to sleep. Last night it was three times! On your assessment you said that he hasn’t learned to fall asleep on his own but he does it all day long and sometimes to go to bed initially as well. So my question is why is he waking during the night when his day sleep is great and the two are supposed to be connected?

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• 41 sa kamat // Sep 23, 2008 at 6:21 pm

  hi

  my 27 month old , has always had sleep problems , she finds it a waste of time and now has developed an association with drink milk from her sipper to fall asleep .

  we r expecting our second baby in nov midweek and would like to move my daughter into a new room and get rid of the sipper as well . she does not like being left to cry and gets rid of her afternoon nap just by talking to her self . can u help .

  i am sure she will be rid of her afternoon nap by the time she is 3 but at the moment she gets very tired if does not nap for at least an hr . but settling her for afteroon is getting very difficult . she has a bedtime routine in the evening so settling her then is ok but the sipper association is causing her to wake up atleast 3 times in the night , when we settle her with water .

  thanks
  sa

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• 42 Olivia & Jessica // Sep 23, 2008 at 7:26 pm

  My beautiful twin girls just turned one. Jessica is a good sleeper. I put them both down around 6:30 and Jessica can sleep til 5:30 or later if Olivia does not wake her up. They share a room. No matter what time I put Olivia down 6:30, 7:30, or 8:00 she wakes up at 4:30 am. Sometimes before but she will put herself back to sleep. It has been a struggle to get this far and we have only done so by purchasing your Sleep Report. This works because we backed out 8:30 - 9:00 pm time to 6:30. We were waiting until we put the older twins (yes another set of girls) down at 8:15 pm. At least now, we get time with the big girls and a bit of a break before bedtime. What can I do to help Olivia get past 4:30 am? We have tried letting her cry it out, but since she can stand, that won’t work. She does fight sleep during the day too. But we let her cry a bit and she gives in.

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• 43 Ashleigh // Sep 23, 2008 at 7:36 pm

  My son is 10 1/2 months old. Why will he sleep 11 - 12 hours a night sometimes and other night sleeps 8 - 10 and wakes through the night? He has a bedtime routine.

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• 44 Samantha // Sep 23, 2008 at 8:14 pm

  My daughter Samantha is now 10 months and her sleep routine is getting worse by day, she is teething for sure but even when she was not teething she had this bad routine.She takes two small naps in the day and earl evening of maximum 45 minutes . She sleeps at 11p.m sometimes 12 and sometimes after midnight.Even then she wakes up several times at night, I bring her in my bed because I am exhausted still she is not comfortable, she wakes up almost every hour, she is not really hungry, she takes breast feed and formula both. Sometimes I feel maybe I am not giving her proper solids although it is the same as other kids in her age group. Her sleep has taken a toll on me and I feel I just cannot do anything to make it better.

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• 45 alexandra // Sep 23, 2008 at 8:22 pm

  i have a 9 mo son who is a terrible sleeper. he goes to bed at 7pm-8pm with a great struggle, i have to force him and rock him for about 1hour then when he finally sleeps i put him in his cot… then he wakes every half hour to 1 hour, this happens all nite, im so exhausted that i put him in bed with me coz i can no longer get up to soothe him. sometimes not even patting dummy or rocking will get him back to sleep. when he is in bed with me he still wakes but it is easier to control him as he is next to me. i have tried letting him cry it out several times but he either vomits and then im changing sheets at 2am or he is fully awake. he wakes up crying or just awake ready to play. it seems he is just too restless when he is sleeping and will not keep still. no matter what he wants to sleep on his stomach. he will then be up at 5am. he naps ok during the day 3 1 hour naps sometimes 1 nap is 4 2-3hours. i dont know what to do anymore, my poor husband has to sleep in the next room so he can go to work rested, im a stay at home mum, but im no use coz im too exhausted for anything.. we have discussed that this will be our only child as it is too hard and emotionally straining.. PLEASE HELP!!

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• 46 Simone // Sep 23, 2008 at 8:43 pm

  Hi Dana just wondering how would l get my 7mth old daughter to stop her fedds in the night , shes usually asleep by 7 -7 ;30 & wakes up around 10:30ish to be soothed back to sleep then wakes up about midnight & l feed her but then she will also wake up 2 or 3 times after that & will not go back to sleep untill l feed her again how do l reduce it to 1 or none at all.

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• 47 Sleeping! // Sep 23, 2008 at 8:51 pm

  Can you discuss familial delayed sleep phase syndrome and how it applies to very young children (toddler and preschooler).

  We have a 20 month old, a 4y/o, 6y/o, and 8y/o who have always had late bedtimes and wake times, and by honoring THEIR circadian rhythms (and not just a set “7pm” bedtime) we all sleep better.

  mom of 4, night-shift nurse by choice because I recognize my FDSPS and adjust our lives accordingly

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• 48 Samantha // Sep 23, 2008 at 9:31 pm

  Hi Dana(0:
  I’ve got a sweet little 18 month old girl with a good bedtime routine and sleep schedule, but my husband and I are expecting another baby in December, and are a little nervous about meeting the demands of our new child, and trying to keep up with any night time insecurities that may arise in our first child. We’d love some suggestions on how to keep her a well rested little girl, and make a good nightime transition into having two children. Anything would be great. Thanks! -=Samantha=-

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• 49 Tina Williams // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:35 pm

  Should my 3 1/2 year old be taking naps. He will sleep 10 hours at night. He gets crabby and/or tired about 4:30-5:00pm but it’s too late for a nap then. What should I do?

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• 50 Andrea Stout // Sep 23, 2008 at 10:53 pm

  My son & daughter Awatere & Tinana-Tuia, twins. 12 Weeks old. For their daytime nap, after 12pm, they go down fine, but wake within 30mins - 1 hr, I have to lie with them & roll from 1 to the other, feeding up to 3 times each, until they settle again this can take another 2 hrs. very frustrating when you want them to have a good nap, Im determined not to get them up, until they have a another sleep. But I am getting more and more frustrated with having to lay there feeding! What can I do? Thanx Rea.

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• 51 Mercedes // Sep 24, 2008 at 12:46 am

  HI Dana
  My son Jake is 6 months old. He naps fairly well during the day, on a pretty routine schedule (we are out a lot, so it can be a bit erratic, however, he usually has an afternoon nap at the same time as my 2 1/2 year old, which is great). We have been putting him to sleep at night at 7:30, and for the last week or so, he will NOT sleep for more than two hours. He wakes, is very upset and crying and needs to be either nursed or cuddled back to sleep. This goes on all night- by 11:00, when I go to bed, I am so tired that I just bring him into our bed, and feed him “on demand”… sometimes it seems he is waking every HOUR??! Occasionally he will wake in the middle of the night, and just be awake- he doesn’t want the feed, he won’t go back to sleep, he is just fussy and awake. I don’t want him to “cry it out”, but I need to sleep and don’t know what to do. I want to break him of the feeding all night habit, whether he sleeps all night in his crib (which is in our room) or he sleeps in the bed. I am unsure though, when I should give him his last feed. What can I realistically expect of him? (He is a very healthy boy, large and strong). I would love your help and suggestions.
  thanks so much
  Mercedes

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• 52 Melanie Desurmont // Sep 24, 2008 at 2:17 am

  hello
  My son who is 13 months old is now sleeping very well through the night, and has done so for a while by himself. But he has always been an early riser, and I cannot get him to sleep past 6.15am. I take him to bed for a breast feed still before he goes down for his bottle as a way to stay lying a little longer. By letting him cry in the morning and refusing to pick him up before 6.30 for a while he went from waking around 5.30- 6 o’clock to a little later but never passed 6.20. I also now put him down later (7.30 instead 0f 7pm) to see if that helps. Am I expecting too much of him? I would just be so much happier if he could one day sleep till 7!
  He has a nap in morning ( 30ms to 50 mins) and aft ( 1 hour). I tried to cut his morning sleep to about 30 mins for a week or so but that made no change. Thank you!

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• 53 David // Sep 24, 2008 at 5:17 am

  Hey, my son David is 11 months. He sleeps very well from 9 pm to 12 pm. After 12 pm, he cannot leave his soother. When the soother falls down from his mouth, he starts crying and waiting for us to feed it again. Therefore we have to wake up every one hour after 12 pm. What can I do to let him from soother during sleeping and we don’t want him cry?

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• 54 estelle // Sep 24, 2008 at 6:04 am

  hi my baby has 3 good naps in the day,i bath him about 7.30 or near to when his feed is due and then feed him. he has cuddles and then is put to bed awake but sleepy with his music he usually goes straight to sleep but then wakes at 2 then nearly every hour i keep the room dimley alight when i feed him and dont talk or play to much i really dont know what else to do he is 4 months now and is having a small amount of solids can you help

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• 55 Susan // Sep 24, 2008 at 8:21 am

  I have an 11 month old boy who is still waking usually only once for a feed between 2-4am after a last night time feed at 10-11. Should I really be trying to help him sleep through the night or is it ok for me to feed him while he still seems to want it?

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• 56 Julie // Sep 24, 2008 at 8:38 am

  Hello,
  We are having our second child and when I put my 14 month old daughter to bed now, I give her a bottle, rock with her in the chair for 5 minutes and then when she is really groggy I put her in the crib. Do you have any suggestions on how we can change this routine as she will be in a new bed and not have a rocking chair in her room when the baby arrives. I would love to be able to put her to bed awake, but don’t see that happening. Any suggestions would be great!!!!! Thx, Julie

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• 57 Jill // Sep 24, 2008 at 10:28 am

  Hi…..My little eight month old boy is going to bed at 7 p.m. every night after bath and playtime. He goes to sleep with little difficulty but lately he wakes often and doesn’t fall back to sleep until he gets 4-6 onzes of formula. He wakes around 11 and again at 3 unsettled. He moans and groans which ends up crying until he drinks milk. I have tried giving him water or juice but that only settles him for 10-15 minutes, he then wakes again.

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• 58 DANA // Sep 24, 2008 at 11:57 am

  My 2 year old will start out sleeping in her toddler bed, but usually only if I stay with her until she falls asleep. She also feels the need to hold onto Mommy’s ear for awhile for comfort until she is sleepy enough to let go and fall asleep. In addition she still uses a pacifier for comfort when going to sleep and it falls out while she is asleep and she feels the need to have it anytime she wakes up during the night without it. When she does sleep in her toddler bed she may “wake up” an hour or 2 after she has fallen asleep - usually confused, crying, talking in her sleep as if she has had a bad dream because she is not fully awake. She may even sleep walk anywhere from 1 to 3 hours after falling asleep walking out to the kitchen or living room as if looking for mom or dad. I only say this because her state of consciousness is such that you are able to settle her down and she usually falls back to sleep fairly quickly, that and I (her mother) was a sleep walker and one to talk in my sleep. I think she may also have a little fear of the dark - we have nightlights and a lamp in the hallway by her room that is left on at night while she sleeps. She has only slept through the night in her room maybe 5 times total. Otherwise, if she sleeps in mom & dad’s room she will sleep through the night. Being a working mother and getting up 2-3 times a night I finally started bringing her into my room so we could all get some sleep. I at least have gotten her to sleep in a bed at the foot of our bed, but I want her to be able to settle herself to sleep knowing we are there if she has a bad dream or whatever the case may be. I also want her to be well rested so her health, well-being and ability to learn are not affected. I know we’ve let this go on too long. I breastfed her until she was 18 months old, so whether she was weaned too abruptly or she was put in a toddler bed too early, I don’t know. We’ve considered putting her in a regular twin bed and wondered if that would help. Once she could move around in her crib she did not want to be in it. Any help would be appreciated. I just want our daughter to be secure and able to self soothe and think of her sleeping time as a pleasant experience.

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• 59 marlene stene // Sep 24, 2008 at 12:44 pm

  Jordan is now just about 11 months old and until now has been a great sleeper. Just in the
  past week he has decided hat he doesn’t want to go to bed at 8pm he would rather 10pm. This is not ok by me. Is it that he is still napping 2 times a day? Should I eliminate 1 nap and if so which do you recommend.

  Marlene

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• 60 Tabetha // Sep 24, 2008 at 2:45 pm

  I have a 6 month old that goes to sleep on her own at night but sleeps very restless the whole time.. She usually wakes up between 5-6 hours after going to bed, only way to settle her back down to then go back to sleep on her own is to give her a bottle.. I put her back to bed after that bottle still awake and it usally take between 1/2 hr - 1 hr for her to go back to sleep. She then wakes up around 5 or so. Which is still to early to get up. We try to ignore her and hope she will go back to sleep until 6:30 or so. This sometimes works but others we are awake for the day. She only has three 1/2 hr naps a day, so she should be good and tired come night time but she doesn’t seem to be.. Is there any suggestions.

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• 61 Stephanie // Sep 24, 2008 at 4:26 pm

  I have a 2 year old daughter that never slept in a crib in her life because I thought that is would be easy if I put her in bed with me while breast feeding, turns out that it didn’t make is easy in the long run because she is still sleeping with me and she is yet to sleep through the night is there anyway that I can get her out of my bed and get her sleeping through the nigh?

  Thanks
  Stephanie

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• 62 Debra Gold // Sep 24, 2008 at 5:08 pm

  Hi Dana
  I was wondering if Holly’s sleeping is as could be expected for a 7 month old. She wakes at about 4am in the morning when my husband leaves for work. She does wake up chatting, then falls asleep after about 10min. Then she wakes at about 6am. I pick her up and she eats musli (for six month old plus) and 240ml formula. She plays for about one and a half hours and gets tired, so I put her to bed. She falls asleep after about 10min, sleeps for about 2hours. Wakes up and eats a home cooked vege mix and 120ml formula. Stays up for another one and a half hours, has 60ml formula with tired signs and goes to bed for about 2 or 3 hours. She is happy when she wakes, I then feed her more pureed vege mix and fruit mix. With about 120ml formula. She’s awake for about 2hours, shows signs of tiredness and put her to bed. She usually goes to bed before 5pm, sometimes she falls asleep at 3.45pm…..Then does not wake till 4am…. She goes to bed awake with a dummy, she wakes up happy chatting and laughing….I don’t find a problem with using the dummy, it settles her when she goes to bed….Wakes up happy and not needing it, till she goes to bed…..Debra

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• 63 LaLa // Sep 24, 2008 at 8:40 pm

  My question is, how can I help my 6 month old son Lj sleep through the night. His night routine has consisted of reading, bath, prayers, feed, lay down drowsy somewhat awake since 4 months of age. He’s still nursing and awaking every hour or two and a half hours! His nap schedule varies… He takes two naps and will only sleep for 20-40 minutes or sometimes 1 hour 1/2. Help!!

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• 64 Barbara // Sep 24, 2008 at 10:39 pm

  My daughter is 15 months old and stiil wakes up 2-3 times a night for a bottle. Also, she goes to bed around 11-midnight and wakes up around seven. She also gets really exhausted during the day. Her naps usually consist of 2-4 hours long. Please help me to get her off the bottle and sleeping better all together. Please!!!

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• 65 Libby Bennett // Sep 25, 2008 at 7:36 am

  Hi Dana,
  Zoe is 7 months old and is generally a great sleeper. During the day she naps for a total of about 4 hours and at night she is put to bed awake at 6pm and puts herself to sleep and sleeps through until 7am. As a newborn she did not particularly care where she slept but of late I am having some difficulty getting her to sleep in strange places. At first I thought that she was not comfortable in her portacot but I have put her to bed in the portacot in her room at home and she slept right through no problems. When we are out she will fall asleep when we put her to bed, but then wakes crying after an hour or two and is very difficult to settle her back to sleep (if at all). Any helpful tips or is it just a matter of persisting and sticking to the methods we used at home to get her to sleep well in the first place.
  Cheers
  Libby Bennett.
  Woodside, South Australia

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• 66 Trinh Thai // Sep 25, 2008 at 11:24 am

  Hi, I tried putting Ethan into bed while he’s still awake. It doesn’t work for me. I have tried white noise, combining with rubbing his chest and talking softly to him. He just cries no matter what. Also, I can’t do this at night as by the time he’s done nursing, I change him and burp him, he has already fallen asleep. It’s not possible for me to put him into the crib while he’s still awake then. Please help. Thanks.

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• 67 Heather // Sep 25, 2008 at 2:16 pm

  I have a 12 month old girl who wont go to sleep on her own and wont go back to sleep at night without help or being in our bed. She wakes up and if we hold her and get her back to sleep and in her bed, she only sleeps a very short time and is up again. If we put her in our bed she sleeps mostly all night but moves around a lot. How do we get her to sleep all night in her own crib and to go to sleep all by herself?

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• 68 laura // Sep 25, 2008 at 5:07 pm

  our 4 month old goes to bed now around 8pm every night, waking twice. the first time he wakes is around 11pm and i give him the rest of his last 5 ounce bottle as he only takes 2 ounce before bed, the next is around 4am and i give him a 2 ounce bottle. he then wakes around 7am. during the day he naps nearly every two hours for about half an hour but he cries uncontrollaby till he falls asleep!! how can i get him to fall asleep during the day without crying?

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• 69 Amber // Sep 25, 2008 at 8:40 pm

  I have 2 daughters. My oldest just turned 2 and my youngest is 9mos. My oldest had terrible sleep habits until she was a little over 1 year old. She then began sleeping at between 8pm and 8:30pm. Lately she has been falling asleep between 10pm - 12am and waking in the night for 2 - 3 hours before falling back to sleep. She will then sleep in until around 9am. I try hard to wake her before 9am but it is so hard after barely getting any sleep the night before. I learned from my mistakes when it comes to bedtime so i have never had trouble with my youngest but i have tried many things and nothing seems to work with my oldest. The thing that used to make it easy for me to get my oldest to bed at a decent time was she doesnt like anyone sleeping with her so i would leave her alone and she would fall asleep. She still does not want anyone sleeping with her but me leaving her alone has caused her to get up and wander. If I could get any advice that would be great!

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• 70 Dimple // Sep 25, 2008 at 11:06 pm

  My baby boy is now 11 weeks and luckily, he’s starting to sleep 10 hrs a night (waking up once for a feed during that time). But the thing is he only sleeps after midnight. He usually takes a nap at 9pm-ish but only for a short time. So his sleep time is like 1am to 6am, and feed and then sleep until 11am. I want him to sleep earlier and wake up earlier than that. What should I do?

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• 71 Rolanda // Sep 25, 2008 at 11:36 pm

  My son Chayse is 4 months old. For the last 2 months he has been going to bed around 8-8:30 and sleeping until 6am, sometines falling back to sleep on his own without a feeding or 30min later goes back to sleep until 8am and then wants to sleep again at 9-9:30am until 11am. The last couple of nights he has fallin asleep after his bath at 7:30 during his evening feeding and then he is awake 45 min to an hour later and is wide awake or what seems to be wide awake talking and playing with his feet until 11:30pm. I have tried just laying him down, nursing him until he’s almost asleep or just laying with him in the dark but he just gets more vocal. How do I get him back to sleep or stay sleeping?

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• 72 TIZIANA // Sep 26, 2008 at 8:54 am

  Hi dana
  Jacopo is doing better than before he is now 15 months and goes to bed at 7.30 to 8pm the only troubles is that he wakes up in the night climes in my bed and starts talking to himself even if we egnore him to eventually falling at sleep in my bed cose we are exsausted and need to get up for work he has not got a bedroom so his cot in in ours any suggestions?
  Thank you for your help
  Tiziana

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• 73 Sarah // Sep 26, 2008 at 11:23 pm

  I have a 4 month old boy who usually wakes up at about 7:30 a.m and goes to sleep between 7:30p.m.-8:0p.m. He usually goes to bed with no problem and wakes up in the middle of the night between 4-5 a.m. for a feeding. My question is How can I get my son to take naps for atleast 1.5 hours during the day. I put him down at 9 and 1 and he usually crys for about 10-15 min and than falls asleep only to wake about 30-40 minutes later crying. I have tryed to just let him cry himself back to sleep but it doesn’t seem to work. I end of having to go back and get him. Sometimes I can get him to fall asleep in my arms and other times not. What do you suggest I do to get him to take long naps and not wake part way through?

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• 74 michele pizzimenti // Sep 27, 2008 at 8:22 am

  Our son Blake goes to bed regularly at 8:45 pm. For the past couple of months he has been waking up anytime between 12:00 - 3:00 am and we’ll not go back to sleep. We both work full time and it is killing us. Help!! Blake is 18 mo. old.
  Thanks

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• 75 Asma // Sep 27, 2008 at 4:13 pm

  My two year old has been having a nap once a day since he was 1 years old. As soon as he turned two he refuses to nap. I have tried the leave and reassure method when he is tired but it has not worked. I do feel he still needs a nap as when he goes in the pram or car he does fall asleep for a short time and wakes up in a tantrum because he has not had a full nap. Is there anything else I can try to get him to nap please?

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• 76 Kaylie's Momma // Sep 28, 2008 at 1:21 pm

  My daughter is going to be 2 next week. She still does not sleep though the night. She falls asleep anywhere between 9:30 - 11:30pm and usually wakes around 3 times during the night. She demands a bottle of formula and then goes right back to sleep. How can I get her to sleep though the night without needing a bottle to soothe her??? PLEASE HELP! My husband and I are EXHAUSTED!

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• 77 Charlie // Sep 28, 2008 at 8:01 pm

  My son Ryland 21 months will not go in his own crib He could be right out cold soon has I put him in his crib he wakes up and loses it ,if I put him in my bed he falls asleep within seconds. I often try putting him back in his crib when he is in my bed but he just wakes up acouple hours later anyway how do I fix this please MY love life has almost fallen apart cause of this PLEASE HELP

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• 78 Kristin // Sep 29, 2008 at 2:25 am

  My 28 month old son Xander has been going to sleep fine after his nighttime routine. We just recently started to potty train him. In the last two weeks he has been waking up several times in the middle of the night. I have been letting him cry about 7-10 minutes before I go to him. He tell me he has to “Potty”. When I get him out of the crib and take him to the bathroom, he is wide awake and just wants to play in the bathroom. He never does “potty”. I feel like he is using this as an excuse to get out of his crib but I also do not want to ignore his request to “potty”. This goes on at least 3 times a night. What should I do? How can I get him to sleep through the night like he used to?

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• 79 Denice Edwards // Sep 29, 2008 at 11:37 am

  I am feeling overwhelmed!! My 7 month old girl will not go to sleep without being nursed. She stays on the breast for a min of an hour and up to 2 or more. she will sleep in my bed cause she cries if I put her in her crib unless she is totally asleep.
  Her bedtime has been late since she was born, she really is a night owl. I take her to bed early but she will not go to sleep till after 11pm.
  I am very worried she is not getting enough sleep! PLEASE HELP!

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• 80 JOANNA // Sep 29, 2008 at 12:35 pm

  MY 5MONTH DAUGHTER GOES TO SLEEP LATE FOR A BABY . SHE ENDS UP SLEEPING AT 9:30 OR 11PM AND IF SHE GOES TO SLEEP BEFORE 9PM SHE WILL WAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT . I TRY SO MANY THINGS FOR HER TO GO TO BED EARLY BUT NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK. SHE’S LIKES TO BED LATE AND WHEN SHE DOES SHE WON’T WAKE P TILL 8:30AM OR 9:00
  PLEASE HELP ME

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• 81 sanober farooq // Sep 29, 2008 at 2:29 pm

  hey!!
  i got your follow up emails regarding omar farooqs sleeping habit. what i wanna tell you is i have never made his sleeping habits as i was not aware of these baby routines before and ithought that babies do whatever they wanna do… now he is 14 months and a very terrible sleeper, wakes up at night for 5 to 6 times, goes back to sleep by nursing for 20 to 40 mins, i am trying to avoid nursing him at night but i gave up after couple of battles with him, his doctor said leave him to cry and i cant do that…. your sleep program is based on routines that start from infanthood or early toddlerhood, which i never tried to made so its all about my ignorance and unawareness and its too late to make his habit even your advices are for either infants 2 mths to 9 mths or big ones like 2yr to 4 yrs. if still you think theres so ething to do with omar farooq plz let me know
  regards
  sanober farooq

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• 82 Megan // Sep 29, 2008 at 4:25 pm

  My baby is 8 1/2 months old and doesn’t sleep through the night. When she was a newborn she was a good sleeper. about 10-12 hours a night. When she hit 4 months she started waking a 2 times a night. It is gradually getting worse. She know wakes up 6-7 times. I have tried the ferber method, and she will cry for 2 hours, and that is the max I can do. I don’t think letting her cry it out is the way to go. Please help me get her to sleep.

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• 83 Lisanne // Sep 29, 2008 at 6:21 pm

  My 7 month old, Brandon is struggling with nap time. He sleeps perfectly through the night and has since he was 4 months old. He goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up at 6:30am. Naps are a different story. He used to take a long 2 hour nap from 9-11, and now he only sleeps until about 9:30. He fights the afternoon nap, and after several sessions of going in and patting his back, he will scream for over and hour. He is still quite a happy baby during the day with lots of energy, but I can’t believe that it is good for him to only have 45 min of nap time each day. We do the same routine every day. After he eats (in high chair), he gets a story and then into is crib with just his blanket. What have I done wrong, and why won’t he nap? Maybe I should just be grateful he sleeps through the night?

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• 84 Alicia // Oct 21, 2008 at 12:50 pm

  I have a question..I have a 3 1/2 year old son. It sounds pretty much like the child described in the original question. He WILL NOT go to sleep on his own. I have already tried the earlier bed time and the predicted routine each night and he still won’t. We began giving him Melatonin, a natural supplement to help him fall asleep (we discussed w/ our pediatrician first) and it definetly helped but once it “kicked in” he became very grumpy and he wouldnt sleep as late as he used to. Unfortunatley he will not nap either. He will try and get him to rest but thats few and far between. I hate giving him any kind of meds, even if it is natural, if I dont have too. He recently stopped going to bed with the melatonin. He would have it so he would get tired and grumpy but still not go to sleep fpr hours after so we had to increase the dose! Also, he unfortunatley has to share a room w/ his 18 month old brother who by some miracle actually sleeps through most of this!! Can you help us??

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• 85 Melanie // Oct 22, 2008 at 3:37 pm

  I have a 2 yr old son and am having a very similar problem as described in the blog. Last night, I tried putting him to bed at 7:30pm. He tossed and turned for nearly 2 hours before he finally fell asleep at 9:20pm. I think I’ll try putting him to bed earlier this evening. However, my question is when and how long should his nap be. Also, should I move up his wake-up time. Right now, I wake him up at 7:30am. Once he’s asleep, he stays asleep.

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• 86 Karen // Oct 25, 2008 at 4:21 pm

  I have a 21 month old son I put him in his crib at 9pm with his light on and his tv with his bottle he goes to sleep between 9-11pm everynight. I have been trying to get him to go to sleep earlier but it doesnt work and then wakes up 1-3times per night for his bottle. I also have a 6 week old daughter I am getting up for so im tired in the daytime. What can i do to break his habit?

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• 87 yany // Jun 19, 2009 at 7:29 pm

  My son will be three in a couple of months. He had always been a pretty good sleeper, sleeps alone, and sleeps all night… Lately though, he’s been waking up around 10am and then naps usually around 3pm or 4pm for two hours (cant wake him even if I really try) and won’t go back to sleep until midnight even if he is in bed by 7pm. Of course he’s not tired at that time because he’s practically just woken-up. He’s also a big crybaby now days, he cries about everything even cries to ask for something usual. Is this related? Help! I’m really frustrated, I’ve tried everything, and he has always had a good bedtime routine.

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• 88 Kimberly // Jun 30, 2009 at 11:05 am

  My daughter Natalee is almost seventeen months old and is a co-sleeper. Over the last sixth months she has been sick or teething and it was easier for me to have her sleep with me. Now I am afraid she hasn’t learned to self soothe herself. She only gets a bottle right before bed but now she wakes up at least two or three times a night crying and asking for her baba’s. I am so tired that I end up giving her a bottle just so I can get some sleep. I know this is my fault but I don’t know how to get her to sleep through the night. Please help….

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• 89 Zoe // Jul 13, 2009 at 7:50 am

  Hi there,

  My son Thomas is 8 years old. For almost a year now I have been having problems getting him to sleep. He goes to bed at 8PM, but gets up constantly and calls out for me. Most nights this is until about midnight. Then it’s very hard work to get him out of bed in the morning and I have a very grumpy child on my hands for the rest of the day. I have removed all the light bulbs from his room, except a lumie clock which he keeps on low. I’ve also bought a CD player and Audio Books for him to listen to (as he used to try and read in the dark). Nothing seems to be working.
  Thomas has to be up at 7AM to get ready for school.
  Do you have any suggestions?
  Many thanks,
  Zoe

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• 90 Jamie // Oct 15, 2009 at 12:22 am

  My 2 1/2 yr. old has always been difficult to put to sleep at night. I have to act as if I am sleeping also and even then I’ll find myself falling asleep before him. Lately he’s been going to bed close to midnight, after spending about 2 hours trying to get him to sleep. He just lays there with his eyes wide open, tosses and turns, drums with his hands, etc. We tried following your advice of putting him to sleep at 8pm, and the few times we’ve managed to somehow get him to fall asleep by this time (usually if he skips a nap), he wakes up about an hour later and acts as if it was a nap. He’s fully awake then and won’t go to bed, even by midnight!! We’ve also tried starting his routine a little earlier each night, but he still manages to just lay there until around the same time. I’m 6 months pregnant and really worried about what I’m going to do when the baby comes.

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