Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Help!!
For the last month Rebekah has been waking up around 2 a.m., gathering her sleeping things (blanket, doll, and book), and coming into our room. Then she trys to climb into our bed on Michael's side. Occasionally she has succeeded and she then sleeps for an hour or so in our bed until Michael realizes what's really going on and puts her back in her own bed. But for the most part we try to put her right back into her bed. There have been three times now where she will NOT go back to sleep but continues a vicious cycle of coming in and getting put back about every 20 min. for two hours. This wouldn't be a problem if the two of us weren't trying to sleep and enforce rules at the same time. I have no idea what else to do. I'm tired and grumpy in the morning due to lack of sleep and poor Michael still has to go to work. Any suggestions?
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10 comments:
I don't know what to tell you here. We let our kids sleep with us.
The same thing happened last night to us with our oldest. We just let her fall asleep and then put her in her bed later.
I wake up most mornings with Henry in between me and Chad. Chad gets up earlier and then it's just me and Henry but when we are in the same bed he can sleep to about 8am. So, I guess it depends on what is important to you. Sleep or rules. Maybe you can have both.
we just turn their locks around..lock them in and then you don't have to worry about them wandering around the house in the middle of the night or even leaving when you are dead asleep--which totally freaks me out. It might sound bad but it really works and you only have to do it for awhile and then they know that if they get out of bed it gets locked but if they stay in bed it will stay open. It is safer at this stage and it really teaches them to sleep in their room. Good luck!
We did the same thing with our locks turned around. It is hard the first couple of nights, but like a baby crying themselves to sleep. They eventually learn you mean business and they stay in bed. :) Tough love! - It helps everyone be happier and well rested. Good luck!
We put them on our floor. It's kind of a middle ground that lets mom and dad still sleep. Our doors don't lock, and our kids get themselves up to go to the bathroom. Also, try giving her a blessing and asking for help in her prayers at night before she goes to sleep. That works for us. Good luck!
I like the floor idea. My friend does that, she has a blanket out with pillows so if her daughter gets scared she comes in and is comforted. Other than that, I don't know. Ethan is in the same boat and I CAN'T sleep with babies in the middle! Good luck!
We let the kids come in and sleep on the floor too. It works nicely for us. Sometimes we wake up in the morning and find them on the floor next to us asleep. It works out nicely. Then in the morning, we let them get in bed with us and "snuggle" so they dont feel left out. On the other hand, if they do it more than 3-4 nights in a row, we give them some kind of reward in the morning for staying in bed all night.
My sleep is important and i hate to be interuppted but when my kids come in i usually just let them climb in bed with me, i see no harm in it. They eventually stop coming in and sleep in their bed when they feel comftorable with it. I don't mind bending the rules if something is waking them up at night.
Rest assured it is a phase they go thru. However, sleep is essential but so is tough love. I would certainly sit down with her and explain to her about where her bed is and establish a reward system. Give her an incentive to let her make the choice to go to her bed by herself. Lock YOUR bedroom door. Put a smiley face on your door and place a picture of her sleeping in her bed that way it will help remind her about where she should be. However you may find her at you door but she is not in your room. She will figure this out. Yes, she will cry to come in but do not say anything because you have the picture on the door. She needs to know it is bedtime so mommy and daddy are asleep. Good Luck!!!
I would just enjoy the fact that she wants to sleep in your room. One thing that one of my friends does is has the bed set up in their room permanently so that when the child comes in, they know where they are to sleep. The child lays themself down and goes to sleep on their own, knowing that mom and dad are close by. I don't know if that would create a bad habit or not... time will tell. :)
All the above comments have validity. You have probably asked yourselves, "Why has she started doing this all of a sudden?" Here are some possiblilities:
She's very emotionally in tune with the people she loves. She senses stress, fear, etc. I noticed that she even sensed when I was miffed at Papaw for something when we were at Disneyland.
She started Pre-K. She's exposed to not only germs, new kids' fears, and another adult, but also pin worms. I know...Yuck! But the fact of the matter is that kids get them, and the nasty things come out of their rectums at night, itching and waking kids up. It's easy to check for them and easy to get a Prescription to de-worm them, along with a thorough washing of all sheets, etc.
1. When the kids have been asleep about an hour, you take a flashlight and check their rectum. If they have pin worms, they will be small, about 1/4 inch, white, and wiggle slowly at the rectal opening.
2. After the kids are cleaned out (painless for them with one pill), make sure they wash their hands before eating, and take a bath every night before bed. The pin worm eggs are microscopic and get under fingernails easily and ingested.
3. Don't freak out about it. It happens. It's easier to deal with than head lice--another gift from school!
Love,
Mimi
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