We're having some sleep issues at our house this week. I've been spoiled I guess with a child that usually goes to sleep easily and takes naps easily (give or take a few odd occasions). Well we took away the pacifier last week and it didn't seem to be that big of a deal and she forget about it after a couple of days. This week though Ellie has mastered getting out of her crib. I'm not even worried about her climbing out because she can do it under 5 seconds and is pretty safe about it. (The advantages of having a climbing child). But after repeated attempts to put her back in her crib - I moved the mattress to the floor. Unfortunately this then means that I have to shut the door and listen to her cry and pound on the door for a while before she gives up and goes to sleep. I snapped this picture last night after she had given up and fallen asleep. 
The problem with this sleep arrangement is that she then wakes up in the middle of the night pounding and crying at her door to get out. I don't think she is quite ready for the toddler bed conversion that we have already but Rob isn't so sure about the tent crib idea. So any other ideas out there? I need my sleep and so does Ellie!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Battle of the Sleep
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14 comments:
Just use some good ol' fashioned Duct Tape. :) We've used it on all of our kids and it seems to work. The disadvantage is that you have to scrub the glue off your kid every morning.
I would use the crib tent - it's breathable and it's safe for your kiddo. It's kind of like a screened in crib. Rob will see your way after a couple of nights with Ellie tucked safely in her bed sound asleep.
crib tent. grace was our climbing monkey, and it was literally the only thing that worked. and we tried several alternatives before giving up and forking over the 69.99 at babies r us. it made all the difference in the world. i highly recommend it. and i am totally impressed that she can already do this! sophie likes to climb, but i don't think she's tall enough or has enough leverage yet to get out of her crib. and maybe the idea will never occur to her. that's what i'm hoping on, anyway...
good luck!
Tell her there are monsters under her bed and they come out when it's dark. That used to keep me in my bed for hours...hahaha
oh sad for you!
you could also try a SleepSack - it's like a sleeping bag with armholes... and chase can't really climb around too well in it, but he has also never climbed out of his crib. the tent sounds like a GREAT idea! good luck.
I feel your pain! Rebekah started climbing out early too (at 20 months though, not 18). I was too cheap to buy the crib tent (and we knew we would need the crib for the next baby), so we tried the mattress on the floor. The first two weeks were pretty lame (we had to hold the door too), but after constantly talking about staying on her "big girl bed" things got better and we haven't had a problem since. If you're going to do it this way, I would say take down the crib and really talk up the big girl bed. Nap was the worst for us and I always found her in creative places to sleep, but she really got the hang of it after about two weeks. Good luck in the decision making process!
Every child, I think goes through this at some point. We had the boys start out by sleeping on the floor with the mattress. We would tell them that they needed to stay there and if they needed us they could come and get us. Well there were nights when they would fall asleep in my arms rather then on there own but once there were asleep I would go and lay them on there beds.
In my opinion I wouldn’t close the door after she has fallen asleep. She needs to know she’s not in trouble and that it’s o.k. to come and get mom if she needs you. If she comes to get you in the middle of the night just do your best to get her to fall back to sleep on her big girl bed (or your arms). =) Don’t make the mistake that we did by letting Tyler sleep with us when he would come to us in the middle of the night.
Good Luck!
All I can say is I'm glad it's you and not me :) I'm dreading that day... Jace hasn't even tried climbing yet - thankfully! But I'm already dreading when he has to move to his "big boy bed" so the baby can have his crib. It's already a discussion between Zach & I as I think the baby should sleep in our room a LONG time so that I can keep Jace contained! I guess if he starts being a monkey like Ellie that'll make up our mind!
Ahhh! I am so sorry Lachelle! This is a tough one! I seriously wish I had some advice... but I've got nothin!
Good luck and I'll keep thinkin for ya!
How was your trip...on a happier note!?
Oh-good luck!! This is bringing back memories!! I would find it hard to open the door to McKinley's room because she would have so many toys surrounding her and she would be sound asleep on the floor-craziness! We just missed each other in San Diego-we left last Thursday-too bad, I would have loved to see you! Any chance you might be around there in October?
Oh man... I just had a glimpse of what I might be in for in a few months :) I wish I had some advice to give... hmm... I like the duct tape idea. Just kiddin! She looks so cute on her little mattress!!
looks like you have every side possible-Just remember "they said and it came to pass, not it came to stay"
Oh boy... you do have your hands full. Victoria (almost 3) still loves her crib (hence the reason she isn't in a toddler bed) and she still hasn't figured out how to climb out of it. Crew is going to be an entire different story. I have no advice, I am just sympathizing on the no sleep.
I am SO with you, if you look deep enough on my blog I basically posted the same post. Except that I chose to put her in a big girl bed... which is fine but I so would recommend the crib tent before I moved her into a big girl bed now. They are kind of pricey, but I would pay anything for the extra sleep! But when Avery started sleeping on her big bed, I just toddler-proofed her room, and we shut the door (locked) at night with a monitor of course so she doesn't wander the house without me knowing. It's sad when they cry at the door, like you said, but still. We've all adjusted and it's not too bad!
By the way, it's SO fun to see you and your adorable family!!
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