Alright, its about the big boy bed.
Bedtime with Jackson: Perfect! He has gone to be every night in his big boy bed with zero problems. I think it is because we still have our bedtime routine and the room in dark and he is ready for bed.
Nap time: Another story...
The first two days it was good. We went in and put all the toys away, shut the blinds and curtains, and layed him in bed. (which is still the routine) He would play for a little while, but then layed in his bed and took a nap. (In fact, I think he has taken a nap in the bed 3 times so far)
But now we are struggling because all he wants to do is get up and play. He has spent a few days of playing in there for 1.5 to 2 hours by himself (which is good because it still gives him some quite time and me some "me time"... but I know he needs a nap. No nap=grouchy/whiny afternoons and evenings)
So this is what I tried a couple of days: I would let him play for maybe 20-30 mins before I would go in. I would then go in, tell him it is nap time and lay him back in. Give him 10 mins or so and go in again. (Oh side note: he had almost always pooped during this time and needed a diaper change. In fact most days I go in and discover that he has already taken off the diaper and poop was somewhere to be found in the room.... so I changed his diaper and put him back to bed) Tell him I am going to put him in the baby crib if he doesn't go to sleep. Give him another 10-20 mins and try it again.
The results: It worked ONCE! Two other times I have resulted back to the crib (which is not a good habit) and the other times he just hasn't gotten a nap.
Okay now on to the advice.... PLEASE?!?!
4 comments:
Oh man...so, this was pretty similar to what happened with Sadie. We actually had to take the toys out of her room, then shut the door, let her cry a little, then she would fall asleep. She also pooped during that time. :) I wouldnt be afraid to resort to the crib, if it is that important that he gets a nap. We had to do that with Sadie, and eventually, she wanted the bed more, and she finally switched over. But it is a process! That was the hardest part besides potty training that we had with Sadie. And then the twins came and...yikes. Jer and I just got to the point that we needed her to sleep at night (thats when she had a hard time)so we would use the crib if needed. We prayed a lot about it...A LOT. To find something that would work. Sorry if that doesnt help- I don't wanna tell you what to do, but maybe that will help a little.
I do better talking, if you wanna call and talk about it!
Oh, this is such a hard thing! With Easton, we just clear anything out of his room- or you could lock it in the closet- that could be a distraction (or that he can destroy if he gets bored) and leave him in his room until he falls asleep. At first he would bang on the door and cry to come out and I would go in once and say, "it's nap time and you need to go to sleep". Then after that.... he just did his thing until he fell asleep. Now he rarely has crying episodes, more just like he needs his wind down time and eventually falls asleep - but still happens A LOT on the floor! I think ultimately you just have to do what works for you and gets you whatever time you need :) Good luck!!
First off let me say that you are doing an awesome job getting him used to his big boy bed before baby number 2. I just didn't have the energy to tackle that until now. So I am in kind of in the same boat.
Kate has done great at night too other than falling out 3 of the 4 nights! But today at nap time I put her in there with our little routine and when I checked on her she was out of the bed. I told her she had one chance to try again or it was in the crib for her. She was out again and I put her in the crib. She protested for a few minutes and was asleep.
I wouldn't be worried about having to resort to the crib, pretty soon he'll figure out that nap time means sleeping in the big boy bed.
Kate's room is pitch black and I don't like her up wandering around because it is so dark, plus I don't keep toys in there so I don't let her play until she falls asleep. But I am kinda strict!
Good luck!
I had the same problem with Kendon. He did great for a couple of days but after that he just wanted to come out of his room. I also resorted to the crib. I figured it just takes time and to take it one step at a time. He does awesome going to sleep at night in his big boy bed, and for naps he is starting to ask to sleep in his big boy bed instead of his crib. I think it just takes time getting used to and for them to realize that they would rather be in their bed. I do not have any toys in Kendon's room and so he never plays in there. I think that helped with the process a lot because he knows that his room is for sleeping.
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