Bed time battle

[rocking baby]

my son is 14th mths..for a long while i had been able to get him to sleep in his crib and he would sleep through the nite...lately it seems now that he is more of a struggle to put to bed and wakes up every 1 to 2 hours during the nite..and wont go back to sleep unless i hold him..and make sure he's knocked out to put him back in his crib and even then he wakes up really early to start his day...he only takes one nap, which is @ noon then he's up till bout 9...i'm physically exhausted...any advice...we have changed our routine a bit..we now go to a nite service at church so he's not in bed till maybe like 10 if that..could the schedule changing be a part of it?

A friend of mine had a similiar problem, except she had twins!! Her ped recommended that she try putting them to bed earlier. Sounded weird to me, but it worked for them. Schedule changes to little ones can be BIG disturbances to their worlds.

[love2bmom]

My son is the world's worst sleeper. He is up at the crack of dawn, plays hard all day and will not crash to bed until at least 10. We have done it all, spank, take away privledges, I have even been told to put a lock on his bedroom door just so I can get some down time. I haven't gone that far yet. If your DS is still in his crib & you don't feel like he would try to get out, I would let him cry in his crib for a while. When my DS was that age I had to let him in his crib for 15-30 minutes until he would finally cry himself to sleep. Let me tell you - it is VERY HARD, especially if he is your first. But try it. He needs to realize that he is not in control. Believe it or not they have a sinful nature just like adults and will see how far they can take mom and dad.. My 3month old DD already is starting to test her boundaries. Try to put him into bed a little earlier. Just work on it, change bedtime, let him cry within moderation. If there is physically nothing wrong with him, you have to teach him where the lines are to drawn. I feel your pain, honestly and with prayer and patience you and your hubby will see this through.

[ThreeRedheads]

Ok, here is my advice..take it or leave it...we used Babywise/Growing Kids God's Way..method. Honestly, our children have ALWAYS been good sleepers.
One of the things they suggest, is that your child could be totally overstimulated and then will not sleep. Regardless of what children do, whether sleep or not..they NEED it. Our dd who is now 5 just gave up naps recently. Our son still takes one 2 hour nap a day. They both go to bed at 7:30 and sleep until 7am.
My suggestion would be to get him on a sleep schedule. Have him down for a regular nap every day. Even if he doesn't sleep..you should tell him this is nap time. He actually should still be taking 2 naps a day. At least my kids did at that age. He should have a bedtime and then you don't get him up after that. The suggestions are that you let him cry, you can check on him, reassuring him that he is ok, but do not pick him up.
I followed what Babywise said originally because the book talked about getting your kids to sleep through the night and I NEEDED my sleep to be a good mommy.
Just a suggestion. It worked for me. It may take some work at first, but if you hang in there you can have an awesome sleeper.
Let me know if you need any more info about the book.
Hope it was helpful

[justmeNmine]

He should have a bedtime and then you don't get him up after that. The suggestions are that you let him cry, you can check on him, reassuring him that he is ok, but do not pick him up.
I totally agree with this concept; if you find your little one won't go back to sleep unless you pick him up, he has been taught that if he carries on long enough, he will be picked up and put back to sleep; I started teaching both my babies at a very young age to self-soothe; ocassionally my six month old will drop her pacifier and I will go in there to give it back to her- as little as she is, when she flips herself over to coo and smile at me when it is well past bedtime, I tell her no, no, go sleepy, and flip her back & leave the room. It can be VERY difficult to teach your child that after bedtime, you will not entertain them again until morning-

[ThreeRedheads]

Andrea,
I agree with you. It can be hard to do! There were many times I wanted to just go and pick my children up, but if I waited it out...it was not that long that they cried AND they were better for it!!