Toddler sleep question/rant

EverydayJoy · #1 January 18th, 2013, 11:10 PM

Hey ladies, for those of you who have toddlers, I am going through a time of it as for the number of hours he sleeps. (He just turned 3 years old.)
Normally I would get him to sleep about 10-11 hours at night, and nap anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours during the day depending on how well he slept the night before.
That was in his crib. Less than a week ago we switched him to the converted crib with the safety rail, and so he can get out on his own. I'm getting him to more or less stay in his bed until he falls asleep, but for example last night he didn't fall asleep until 10:30, then he woke up at 6 am because of a bad dream and didn't ever go back to sleep. Then at nap time he only took a 2 hour nap! Gah! I'm getting sleep deprived and frazzled. I'm used to being able to stay up for a couple hours after him and then go to sleep and sleep till he wakes up. But at this rate I will have to sleep the exact same schedule as him to get enough sleep.
Seems like he just likes being able to get out of bed on his own so much (like a new trick) that the minute he opens his eyes he is done sleeping. I think he starts to waken a few times in the morning before he would normally get up, but with the crib rail up, he would just maybe look around and then go back to sleep. I just want him to sleep long enough for ME to get adequate rest and maybe still have some "me" time in the evening? Maybe?
I looked up the guidelines and at this age he's supposed to be getting 10 hours of sleep at night and 1 1/2 to 2 hours at naptime. Yeah that's not really happening! The other reason it sucks for me is that he still wakes a couple of times a night. There are times he sleeps all night long but generally he will wake once or twice needing me, apparently a bad dream or something because he wakes up wailing. Or he rolled out of his covers or...whatever. So if he goes to bed late and gets up early plus wakes up a couple times, I am just dead tired being pregnant.

OK sorry this was so long...any suggestions? I'm thinking of putting the baby gate up in his doorway so he can't get out of his room in the morning. But that would only buy me a minute or two before he'd wake me up saying "Mommy I wanna get out". Our rooms are right close together and I keep the doors open a bit to listen for him crying for me. Plus I'd rather he not be awake when I'm asleep, I do have his bedroom furniture anchored to the wall but I would still worry about him.

bcogoli · #2 January 19th, 2013, 04:55 AM

I had the same problem with both my kids. There are a few all natural childrens sleep aids. It has melatonin and some herbs in it, you just mix it with juice. We did this for a week with both our kids to get them back on a sleep pattern. Our pediatrition said this is very common but once you get them into a good bedtime routine their bodies will catch on.

We also started a half hour long bedtime routine. Songs, bath, book. From 630-7 every night and that also help them realize it was bed time.

I hope you can get some sleep soon.

EverydayJoy · #3 January 19th, 2013, 08:35 AM

Thanks Beth. I am using Calms for Kids which is chamomile and other herbs. I do about a 20 min bedtime routine too, we read stories every night, call Daddy to say goodnight, and then snuggle in the rocking chair for a bit.
That's good to know that it's only temporary! He did sleep a couple hours longer last night. Yay!

bcogoli · #4 January 19th, 2013, 11:01 AM

Yeah! He is getting there. Just keep it up and he will be sleeping great in no time.

melissalaw · #5 January 21st, 2013, 10:58 AM

Glad he slept a bit better. We went through the same thing when we converted Jackson's crib to his toddler bed. I had a big problem with him staying in bed. He would get up and play and then fall asleep in the floor. I would have to go in there and pick him up and put him in bed. When he gets up too early I just go into his room and tell him that he must stay in his room until we are ready to get up. He will then just play in his room, but I do shut the door and he won't open it. It will get easier. jackson slept terribly when we first put him in his toddler bed but now he is in a full size bed and goes right to bed at night. still gets up early sometimes. Good Luck. Let us know how hes doing.

EverydayJoy · #6 January 24th, 2013, 05:33 PM

Thanks Melissa!
Ethan is doing so much better now! He is sleeping through the night most nights and staying in his bed, we had to be a little more firm with him about getting out of bed and he's catching on. He's also sleeping in to his normal time in the morning so it's not a super-early morning anymore. Yay! I'm so relieved it's working, I really didn't want to be lifting him out of his crib anymore. And I was dreading putting that crib rail back up and admitting defeat. Hehe.