Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Sleepless at the Smiths
I know that this title and the fact that we have a newborn would lead you to believe that our little Tucker is keeping us up at night...that would be wrong. Oh, he still wakes up a couple of times at night to eat, but usually goes back to sleep right away and overall is doing pretty good for a one month old. No, this post is about our OTHER son, our two-and-a-half-year-old, Griffin. God bless him, but he is driving us crazy at night and I need some advice from some of you who might have been through this before. Nathan puts him to bed and they already have a rather long routine- he is usually in the room with him for 20-30 minutes. Lately, though, Griffin has been staying awake and keeping us up much longer than that. He calls us back over and over, often crying, with one excuse or another (potty, drink, my cheek hurts, you name it, he has said it). It was just a few times, and then he would go to sleep, but it is getting worse. THe past couple of nights this has gone on for almost 2 hours. He will finally go to sleep, but has also woken up the last 2 nights at around 1 and kept us awake 15-30 minutes. We have tried being nice, being mean, spanking, leaving him to cry...and we are out of ideas. If any of you have gone through this before and have any ideas for me, please let me know. Between him and the baby, we are getting very little sleep.
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6 comments:
John Paul has been getting up at night the last few nights too! He came down with a runny nose yesterday and is cutting molars so I think he just doesn't feel good. Last night, he stayed in bed so maybe we are over it. I did give him Zyrtec yesterday though....
Sorry about the lack of sleep.
Hey this is Stephanie, Amber's sister. Logan has trouble going to sleep sometimes and wakes up on occasion as well. Not sure I have much advice just mainly empathy :) Sometimes we just have to get mean and say no more. It helps Logan when we tell him that we will come back and check on him in 10 minutes and leave his door open. Most of the time he is asleep when we come back. Other times it helps to switch and let me try if Billy is having trouble. I sometimes just grab him up and rock and sing to him. This is not usually a part of the bedtime routine but sometimes I think he just needs a little extra love and attention.(esp with a newborn in the house) It is hard though because you don't want to reward bad behavior. Sickness or teething also may be causing it too, which for Logan rocking seems to help. Anyways I am sorry for your lack of sleep but know that this too shall pass (at least that is what I am holding on too) :)
Okay, not sure if this will work, but this is what I've seen Supernanny do. If possible, have a special bedtime routine with mom AND dad, where he gets a lot of love and attention. Once it's time to go to bed, give as little attention as possible when he wakes up. Maybe hug and kiss the first time he gets up, then try and take him back to bed everytime after that without saying anything or giving cuddles. It may go on a while - a couple of hours. But after a few nights, he will get tired of constantly getting up, especially if it's not doing him any good. Worth a try. Our problem is that our kids come in our room in the middle of the night and sleep in our floor. Its a big family bedroom now!
You could always put him on an airplane and fly him up to Grandma and Grandpa's house... Seriously - is he still taking long naps - maye cutting back on that in the afternoon will make him too tired to stay up at night.
Gary and Melinda
I don't have advice - and I wanted to just read through what others wrote. Grandpa's idea cracks me up. I hope it gets better and you all can rest!
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