Menudo Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Here it is 3:45 AM on Saturday night, and I'm up with my son for the 2nd time tonight.......... He is a phenomenal kid, we are very lucky. He rarely fusses or cries. He will play by himself, watch his movies, and is a really happy boy and a blast to be around. However, this kid HATES sleep. We've tried everything that has been suggested, and he just doesn't want to sleep. Sometimes he will go as far as to slap himself (lightly) to keep himself awake. It is odd. So, though I've probably tried a lot of them, any suggestions or things that work for you guys and gals ? By the way, I'm not used to being up this late on the Huddle................. 119 guests, 10 members, 2 anonymous members Menudo, jackshi17, TitansFan, CaP'N GRuNGe, bushwacked, montster, SheikYerbuti, Egret, Shotgun Messiahs, budlitebrad Show detailed by: Last Click, Member Name So, I think Bill Leavy is the best official in football. Discuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I felt your pain. Does he nap in the afternoon? Maybe wear him out by chasing him around for an hour or so before bed. And give me the official with the big arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Put some Jack in his bottle right before bed. I had one like that. There was nothing that we could figure out for her. She just wanted to be awake all the time. She just sort of grew out of it. I am thinking it was around three but I don't remember for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyPaws Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 A little Benadryl once a week. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I wish I could help you but I am the absolute worst person in the world to give advice in this category. We were doing OK for a little while but are back to our ridiculous ways. My kids own us in this dept. They may as well have me in a skirt and pigtails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 (edited) He may need an adjustment to his eating schedule. Edited January 27, 2008 by irish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I have a friend who has a similar problem with her son. He's three, still wouldn't sleep, and would get up after everyone was asleep and wander the house. She reversed his door knob and locks him in his room for the night. He gets up and moves about his room, she (and her husband) no longer fight with him or have big power struggles, and she knows he's safe. He goes to sleep when he goes to sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 She reversed his door knob and locks him in his room for the night. He gets up and moves about his room, she (and her husband) no longer fight with him or have big power struggles, and she knows he's safe. He goes to sleep when he goes to sleep. There it is. And trust me... you will lose in any power struggle. 'Sides... sleep is overrated. When the little one gets tired he will sleep and do it on his own schedule. Doesn't sound like he is a hassle anyway.... seems pretty quiet and happy to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 My son is three. He hasn't napped for me since he was one. We drove him around to get him to fall asleep. He got to the point where it just wasn't happening. He doesn't want to nap at home. He doesn't want to "miss anything" at home. He'll still nap occasionally at home with mommy, but never for me. I know night-time sleeping is different. Keep in mind that your son is only this age once. Enjoy this age as much as possible. With that in mind, it might seem better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Menudos kid is only 1 so I know I would have a very tough time sleeping when I knew my 1 year old was awake. Honestly I wouldnt do it with a 3 year old either. I am not passing judgement just offering my personal opinion .As "accident proof" you might think a house is letting a 3 year old roam while the parents are asleep seems a little risky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menudo Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 My son is three. He hasn't napped for me since he was one. We drove him around to get him to fall asleep. He got to the point where it just wasn't happening. He doesn't want to nap at home. He doesn't want to "miss anything" at home. He'll still nap occasionally at home with mommy, but never for me. I know night-time sleeping is different. Keep in mind that your son is only this age once. Enjoy this age as much as possible. With that in mind, it might seem better. We've noticed that too. He sleeps much better at either of the Grandma's house, but, wants to be awake as much as possible when he is at home. Also, don't take my initial message wrong, we are enjoying every minute of this, however, I'd still like to see him get into a more "normal" sleeping mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Menudo, jackshi17, TitansFan, CaP'N GRuNGe, bushwacked, montster, SheikYerbuti, Egret, Shotgun Messiahs, budlitebradShow detailed by: Last Click, Member Name Welcome to the wonderful world of insomnia, my friend! Yours is forced on you, so it's a little different. I don't have kids, but I have 2 cats who love to walk over my face at all hours of the night, and I'm a light sleeper when I'm sleeping at all. And one of them likes to get under the covers. He gets under the covers by pawing at my face until I lift them up for him. Lucky for him, I find it cute. I have no choice, since when I lock him out of the room he HOWLS. So, I think Bill Leavy is the best official in football. Discuss. Ed "Hercules" Hochuli. . .end of discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menudo Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 Menudos kid is only 1 so I know I would have a very tough time sleeping when I knew my 1 year old was awake. Honestly I wouldnt do it with a 3 year old either. I am not passing judgement just offering my personal opinion .As "accident proof" you might think a house is letting a 3 year old roam while the parents are asleep seems a little risky Yep. Maybe it is just paranoia, but, the wife and I can't sleep if we know he is awake. We basically take shifts staying up with him, when he pulls one of his "late nights", "middle of the nights", or, the dreaded "all-nighter" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Yep. Maybe it is just paranoia, but, the wife and I can't sleep if we know he is awake. We basically take shifts staying up with him, when he pulls one of his "late nights", "middle of the nights", or, the dreaded "all-nighter" well, given this, I think you should get used to having nites where you don't sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 What's your bedtime routine like? What have you tried that hasn't worked til now? There's no use offering advice for things you've tried that failed. My oldest was a bear as an infant trying to get to sleep but luckily then he'd sleep pretty well. We had his bedroom doors (weird household setup at the time) gated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlanta Cracker Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I'd try simply putting him back in the bed every time he gets up. 1st time tell him it's still bedtime and after that just do it without talking to him or giving him any attention. At that age he should still be in a crib right? If so then I would go in one time, lay him back down and tell him that it's still night time and that you'll see him in the morning. That worked pretty well for my son who is now three. If he's past the crib (I can't remember what age it was for our son, but sometime around a year and a half) I'll tell you what we did/do. When my son got to the point that he could climb out of the crib, he would wake up at night or not go to sleep at all, and jump out of the crib crying hysterically. Telling him not to jump out didn't really work so it was time to convert to a "big boy bed" which involved taking the side off. At this point he was really freaked because he didn't even have to climb to get out. We did the putting him back down thing and telling him it was bedtime and that worked for getting him to sleep after about a week. But, he'd still wake up during the night sometimes and be able to get out of bed and not know what was going on and start crying. I told my wife, too bad he can't read a clock so that he knows when it's time to get up... So here's our solution. I've told tons of people and I don't think a single person has tried it but it works for us and just maybe it will work for you. We got an outlet timer that you use to turn lights on and off and plugged the lamp in his bedroom into it. We set the timer to turn the lamp on every morning at 7:30 AM which was the time he usually woke up if it wasn't a bad night. We also set it to come on at a certain time in the afternoon after naps. Then we explained to him that he had to stay in his bed until the lamp comes on and that when the lamp comes on it's time to get up. We made sure we were right outside the door when it was time for it to come on each time for the first week or so and we'd go in saying "The lamp is on, it's time to get up!!" The first couple of nights we still had an issue or two but we'd simply go into his room put him back down and say "the lamp isn't on yet, it's not time to get up." Eventually we could just stand outside his door and ask if the lamp was on and when he said no he knew it wasn't time to get up. Once he knew in his mind that there was a definitive end to his sleep and that we hadn't forgotten about him he slept like a champ. As I said he just turned 3 and we're still using this system and even though he can open the door now by himself to get out of his room he hasn't even done it once before the lamp came on. There are obviously many other factors and variables like a good bedtime routine, etc. but this certainly has made our lives 1000 times better. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulOttCarruth Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 What are you feeding him and what time are feeding him in the evening? Does he still take a bottle right before bed? Load the kid up on food in the evening. Probably needs more in his belly to sustain him through the night. Worked for all our kids around the same age. I have three kids three or under and they sleep 10 hours plus straight every night. Maybe part of that is luck, but I think we found the right routine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlanta Cracker Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Yep. Maybe it is just paranoia, but, the wife and I can't sleep if we know he is awake. We basically take shifts staying up with him, when he pulls one of his "late nights", "middle of the nights", or, the dreaded "all-nighter" What I described will work but only if you don't spend your nights "with him." Nothing wrong with hanging outside his door to make sure he gets back to sleep but if he's getting your attention by crying in the middle of the night that's exactly what he wants and you'll have to stop that for anything to work. It will be hard but after 3-4 days everyone will be a lot happier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 When he wakes up does he cry or just get up and start babbling? If you haven't already, it's time to let him cry it out. Or babble it out. He has you trained at this point, especially if you just jump out of bed right away so see what is going on. There is nothing wrong with checking to make sure he is ok, but after that you close the door and let him go. If he starts crying, let him cry 5 minutes the fist night before you console him. The second night make it 8 minutes. The third night 10 minutes. It sucks, but it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 We used to have an extra bed in the kids' room, so if we decided to lay down with him, it was in his room, not ours. When we'd do that, we'd "play dead" so that there wasn't anything but our presence that he'd be getting from us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'canes2004 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 About once a week my son would not be able to sleep for one reason or another. He's a strong willed kid and could outlast you in any kind of sleeping trick you pulled except for one: I would load him up into his car seat and drive around for about a half hour listening to something smooth like the Eagles or Marvin Gaye. That kid would be dead asleep in about 20 min. Get him home load him up into bed and walla! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Menudo is more of a matter of getting to bed or staying asleep through the whole night ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Menudos kid is only 1 so I know I would have a very tough time sleeping when I knew my 1 year old was awake. Honestly I wouldnt do it with a 3 year old either. I am not passing judgement just offering my personal opinion .As "accident proof" you might think a house is letting a 3 year old roam while the parents are asleep seems a little risky Give your oldest a Happy Birthday today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 you are in charge of putting him to bed...your son is in charge of when he goes to sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 There it is. And trust me... you will lose in any power struggle. 'Sides... sleep is overrated. When the little one gets tired he will sleep and do it on his own schedule. Doesn't sound like he is a hassle anyway.... seems pretty quiet and happy to me. Look, Sky. We agree. And now a warm glow surrounds us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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