Son Refuses to Sleep

[RallyMo]

My 2 year old has always been a good sleeper. He started sleeping through the night early and as he got older we developed a bedtime routine that he seemed to like. Now, though, I think my son is too smart for his own good.

He has figured out the routine and as soon as we start, he starts telling us, "No night, night." This has made bath time a nightmare. We've tried changing up the routine, but no luck.

There's nothing we can do to get him to go to sleep and now it is starting to affect his during the day.

[ra11en]

Maybe give him a bath earlier in the day to reduce the stress during bath time while you're battling his bed time aversion?

What time is his normal bed time? Maybe he's ready to start pushing it back by half an hour? I don't know that I would let him disrupt the routine all that much, I think I would try to stay consistent in the routine itself regardless of his actions. You're in charge, not him. But maybe he's ready to stay up a little later? I've been looking for signs from my 18mo old that she's ready to stay up till 8:00 (she has gone to bed at 7:30 for about about 14 mo now) but no luck so far. I want to spend more time with her but she's usually too tired.

The fact that he's been such a good sleeper would indicate to me that you really need to stick to your guns on the routine and the fact that when you say bedtime you mean bedtime. He's at that age where he is going to push push push, usually just to see if he can get his own way. Not sure I would let that happen too much.

Good luck, hope it works out!

[RallyMo]

Thanks. Right now his bed time is 8:00, but we start the routine at 7:30. We've tried moving the bed time back, but it didn't work. Same thing as before, just later. He woke up sleepy and was cranky all day. It is just the fact that he has to go to bed that upsets him.

Right now we are treading that fine line between letting him figure out who he is and setting the boundaries he needs.

[MommaC]

Do you have any idea WHY he doesn't want to go to bed? Is there still just so much fun stuff to do? Does he not want to be separated from you? Is there something "scary"? So hard to figure all that out with a 2-year-old...but it just seems odd that he'd go from going to bed with no problems to freaking out about it. Hm.

[ra11en]

Yeah, waking up cranky is not good at all.

Any chance he's getting his 2 year molars? My MIL and sister say they get a second set of back teeth at 2 yrs. If so, I'm dreading it. My daughter was a very easy teether, broke them all in about 4 months without a single fever or upset really. But when her back molars came it - wow, totally different story. I shiver at the thought of another set now that she's older and more able to really ratchet it up on us.

[TnjThornism]

I've struggled with my daughter when she was around that age. She refused to sleep if I'm not sleeping either. It lasted a while and good thing was that at that time I was a stay at home mom so I had all the time in the world.

At some point I wold force her to bed and bribe her and whatever worked, I tried it. Let's just say there was a million promises of a trip to Gramma's House! Came to the point where I ran out of bribes. Then there was the "Go to bed. That's that and no more deals" period.

Quite honestly I dont seem to remember how my husband did it. When I had her brother her dad took care of her, I went to bed early and she was all his. Some way some how he got her to sleep by simply saying, "Trueli, go to sleep." and she'll go, "Okay, good night Mom. I"ll see you tomorrow." and head off to get ready for bed.

If you ask me, I do believe its a phase. Find a way to work around it and....um, how many naps does he take during the day? What's his day like? That determines what you really need to do. For example, if he goes to day care, gets two naps a day; you might want to alter the timing of those naps. If he wakes up around 7-8 give him a late morning to early after nap and one again if you want around 4-5 depending on how long his naps are.

My son #1 is 2 too. I throw him in his crib whether he likes it or not and let him yelp for a little and once he realizes youre not coming he gives up and sleep. Sometime he'll talk himself to sleep. As long as you know he's fine, let him be. During the day he gets two naps, one around 11-noon depending if he wakes 730-830am and one again around 4-5pm. Some times when he takes a later nap, he only goes for once a day. by 8-9pm he's out cold once you throw him in his crib.

Does this all make sense? Sorry not thinking, simply typing.

[lovin3]

I have a two, almost three, year old. He was an amazing sleeper as an infant, but started having trouble after his first birthday. Since then, he has gone through several phases of good and poor sleeping. Here is what we've discovered and what works for us. Maybe it will give you a couple of ideas to try.

Nap Routine- Diaper change and a video. He sits in my husband's or my lap in the rocking chair with his blankets and stuffed animals. If he wants to hold a small toy, we don't fight it as long as he holds it quietly and under his blanket. Since his second birthday, he has really had a hard time settling down for nap. We tried everything, but found that this solution works for us. He'll fall asleep 90% of the time or more in our arms. We'll move him to his bed and he usually sleeps about an hour and a half. Normal time asleep- 2:00-3:30 (we'll get him up at 4 unless he's really tired so that he'll go down at normal time at night)

Nightime Routine (hubby works second shift and he shares a room with his 1 yr. old brother)- Get ready for bed (changed, teeth, etc.). He can play quietly while I nurse his brother. After brother is in bed, we sit in the same rocking chair with the same lovies for two books and prayers. We shut off the lights and head off to bed. He doesn't like a quick exit, so I spend a few minutes telling him "specials" (I love you, you're my special big boy, etc.) and talking about our plans for tomorrow. I remind him that if he stays in his bed quietly and goes to sleep like a big boy, he'll get a sticker for his chart in the morning. When he fills his chart he gets a treat (this time a trip for icecream). The positive reinforcement with the reward works great for him. He gets one "last chance" with a stern reminder about his stickers and icecream. If he wakes his brother up or gets out of bed, no sticker. I lay low until he's asleep, which can take 5 to 50 minutes. He seems to take comfort in knowing that he's not banished to his bed while everyone carries on without him. The consistancy really helps. If he gets off his normal sleep pattern, it takes him several days to catch up and get back to his happy self. He sleeps 10 hours at night, usually 9:30pm-7:30am.

Sorry this is so long, but I hope it can help shed some light. Just remember that all children are different. It might take some trial and error to figure out what works best for you and your son. Best of luck!

[Mommy22]

My 10 month old will drop as soon as he's in the crib. My 2.5 yr old doesn't want to sleep because it's too much fun to be awake. He used to go to sleep the same way- sippy cup and rocking chair. I tried the Super Nanny-put him back in the bed everytime. Yeah-he went to sleep, but woke up as ugly as he went to bed, and frankly, who wants to go to bed screaming and crying. That can't let you have a nice nights sleep-even if it's the 'thing' to do. Sometimes, I'll just let him get in our bed and he's asleep in a matter of minutes.But the new-"Do it on you own" trick is: The Storytime Theater.

It's a movie projector with only 4 buttons that the kids can operate themselves. It comes with a read along book and nightlight that controls the projector. It has a nightime setting, so it reads the story to the child and then turns off. We have 4 movies that we rotate through and he'll go to sleep everytime with it. THe movies are maybe 8 min. long...that's how tired he is. Sometimes I'll lie with him but usually, I kiss him goodnight, tuck him in, turn it on, and ta-da...he goes to sleep! It may not be what Super Nanny would do- but it works for us.

I found mine at WalMart but they don't sell it anymore- check Amazon if you're interested! If it doesn't work at bedtime, it's still fun on a rainy day- I've even taken it into the bathroom during bathtime and had movie night in the tub!