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2 year old won't sleep, at my wits end

  • 04-03-2018 11:24pm
    #1
    lifeandtimes
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,021 ✭✭✭


    Ok so need advice.

    My partner and I have 4 children between us, her from a previous relationship and us with 2.

    We recently welcomed the second but are and have always had major issues with the next youngest going asleep who is going on 2.

    She won't sleep or go down for a nap unless one of us lie down with her until she's asleep but it's not the most difficult issue at the moment, she will just not sleep, she won't nod off until 10:30 or sometimes after.

    Seven tried everything, lullaby milk, waking her up early, earlier naps, no naps, running the legs off her etc but nothing is working, what makes it worse is even when she does fall asleep she's up at 6 trying to get into our bed and with the new born it's just not possible for there's a fight to try and get her back into bed which just wakes up the house .

    We are at our wits end, sleep deprived as it is with the new born but with this added burdon it's driving us demented.

    Any tips how to get a child to sleep?


Comments

  • #2
    shesty
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,914 Mod ✭✭✭✭shesty


    How old is the newborn?
    You probably know this but their sleep goes haywire at 2, I found.Throw in a newborn, and her life has been turned upside down.
    I'd divide between you and the partner and accept for a few weeks that one of you will always be doing her bedtime.Get her a good routine in place and tell her.So say start tomorrow (for eg), and say once or twice in the day 'tonight at bedtime we are going to do xyz" and stick to it.Rigidly.Include a wind down time for half an hour or an hour beforehand, with no screens etc.Under the circumstances maybe keep lying down with her for a week or two, then if you want to, transfer to sitting in a chair beside her for a bit, then outside the door.Slowly.But tell her during the day that is what you are going to do tonight and that she is to stay in her bed and go to sleep and you will stay right there til she does.Maybe stick with the nap, she probably still needs it, just make sure it's not after say 3pm (I'm assuming bedtime round 7 or so??)
    The 6am thing, my eldest is like that.We have a groclock.We did have a babygate on her door-more to make sure she wouldn't go wandering into the bathroom in the middle of the night and start opening bottles and presses!.We started by setting groclock for 6 (she was a 5:30am waker), and she had to stay in her bed til then, we stretched by 15 mins or so every few weeks.Her sleep stretched but even still-she's 3.5 now and I heard her at 06:30 this morning even though I know she was wiped out completely last night after a busy day yesterday.I find with her the tireder she is the earlier she wakes, so had to always make sure of plenty of naps and LOADS of fresh air etc.
    You may have to accept a 6am wake up call for now, and get the bedtime thing working and it might stretch then.It's lousy-I had a 21 mth gap between my two and the hell of being awake and doing a 4am feed and knowing no.1.would be awake by 5:30/6 was just awful.Again, you may have to divide and manage it - one of you gets up with her and then goes back to bed a bit later.It's the only way, get her out of the room and down the stairs quickly so she doesn't wake everyone.Whatever gets you through the next couple of weeks/months.


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