I know in my last post I was tickled pink by the lovies Launa was giving me, but this child is almost two and isn't even close to sleeping through the night on a regular basis! She isn't in a crib anymore, can climb out of basically everything and can open doors... so I'm looking for advice. She wakes up in the middle of the night in absolute crazy mode (screaming, scratching and flailing around). Someone just tell me that eventually this gets better (or refer me to a doctor willing to prescribe sedatives)!
FYI... the sedatives were a joke just in case anyone was getting concerned.
Fat Johnny's
My Dad took us to see this famous place in Chicago. We were lucky enough to get a picture with Fat Johnny but seriously I was feeling like the taco wagons at home maybe weren't so unsanitary.
Launa Virtue
Launa with her hair curled -- I had some assistance. Thank you Alli & Jenn!!
The Wheat Farm
This wheat farm took most of Mark's free time this summer but I was proud of him when it was done! I love Washington when all the crops are in harvest. I've had some complaints about my hairstylings for Launa. Keep in mind with my history we should be glad her hair is even in a pony tail. :)
Wrigley Field
It was fun to stand where I've seen a lot of movies filmed. The rain and the crazy man at McDonald's were a little bit of deterrant but we really wanted this picture.
Say Cheese
It's difficult to tell, but Launa is giving her best "CHEESE" for this picture
Would You Like Ketchup With That?
Launa only likes fries because she gets to dip them in ketchup. At lunch she decided she didn't need the fry and licked it straight off her face.... (see the next picture)
After
She heard one of us say "No" and then started flailing her ketchup plate around and going crazy. She's really mild mannered. :)
12 comments:
No it only gets worse. I hope she keeps it up for 15 more years. j/k you have to learn the art of blocking out the baby cry as I have become a master:) Jande might know something. We need to get together and go to dinner sometime.
Chad
We let noah cry it out. It took about a week or so for him to stop crying. It was so hard but now he just goes to bed and knows where not coming to get him. He was like a year and a half and decided one day he didn't want to be in his crib any more so we got him a bed and went from there. Also if she has to cry it out you can always use ear plugs:) good luck!
My girlfriend has turned the door knobs around so you can lock them in there rooms at night. I know she only locked them in when they first moved from Crib to a bed. Then her kids don't try to get out of there rooms and go to her bed. She has told me that it works good. Then Launa would not get out and you could get a good night of sleep. Just advice from one of my friends.
We have always used that baby gates at the door. At the point where ALexis started to climb over, we put another on top of the first one, so it was gated high enough that there was no chance of her climbing over it.... Also, I was told by our doctor when alexis hit 1 yr, if she is simply waking up and then going back to sleep (ie not waking up to eat during the night) that we should let her cry for 15 mins, then go in with as little physical contact as possible, (don't cuddle her, that's what she wants :) lay her back down and walk out. This way she knows you are still there, and haven't left her alone (which some kids have a fear of which is why they cry so much during the nights) and then wait 20 mins before going in again. He said to add 5 mins on each time we go in. I litterally took maybe 2 nights of this with alexis, and each night it wasn't very long.... Drew was much better at following the 'rules' then I was, but it worked :)
Oh Ashley you SAINT!! I can't am impressed you have put up with this for so long, 6 months for me and that is pushing it!! All the advice others gave you I AMEN that. She has to just cry it out. You may have to turn on a tv or something or a fan so you can't hear her for a few days. Of course like Valarie said go check on her occassionally but don't say much just lay her back down and leave the room. I like the turning the door knob around idea. When I am doing it I would get nervous about not being able to hear them with noise going so I actually set my alarm so I would wake up to go check on them. I really think if she just cries it out for a few days she is going to figure out that you are not coming to get her as long as their is not an underlying problem, such as sick or something. Well, good luck!! Hope you get some good sleep.
Wow, Ash...the screaming and sratching sound familiar. Hmm. I made a joke once to a healthcare person if there were sedatives I could give my child...she didn't think it was so funny.
Something we did at bedtime...#1 Establish a routine (bathtime, story/song, bed. Whatever you want). That way they know what to expect. Next we would put Eddie in his bed and close the door and let him cry for 5 min. He was only like 6 months at the time and couldn't get out of his crib, but you could just go in to her room, don't say anything (or just "goodnight"), put her back in her bed, close the door and leave, wait 10 min. and than do it over again. Repeat adding 5 minutes each time until she is asleep.
Eddie was a real stinker! It only took about 7-10 days. But there were a few nights he would cry for 1.5 hours. It was aweful, but totally worth it in the end.
As for the door...turning the knob around, getting those plastic handle covers.
Hopefully with everyones advice your figure out what works for you. Just stick with it!!!
Ok...this might sound bad...but Peyton's physical therapist told me that when she was training her babies to sleep through the night, she would give them Benedryl. I know...you talked about medicating...jokingly...but I figure, she's a doctor (sort of), and doctors have told me that I could give my kids Benedryl on trips...so it can't be that bad. Right?
This might sound very mean, but I have a friend who would wrap her son in a sheet so that he couldn't move and then they would put him between the wall and the mattress (it was just a mattress on the floor) and then let him cry till he would go to sleep. They did this for a couple weeks until he knew that they were serious when they said he was going to bed and couldn't get up. Then he would go willingly and they could use the sheet tie as a "threat" if he caused problems. Good luck with everything! I think the other ideas sound great, so maybe use this one as a last resort.
Okay, I have to weigh in on this one. When I moved Seila from the crib to the bed, I stood at her door, held it open a crack and then watched her. Everytime she tried to get out of bed, I just gave a firm "no" and put her back until she started getting back in bed by herself. She knew I was close by and soon started staying in bed. The first time, I stood at the door for maybe 30 minutes! I thought I was going to die but I was determined to last longer than her. Of course, the time intervals shortened and within 2 days, she was sleeping in her bed and all night long. I wouldn't suggest giving her drugs or wrapping her so tight that she can't move, just a little behavior therapy will do the trick. I do like the baby gates at the door thing but then they see all the action that's going on outside of their room, so might not work. But maybe.
I think the sedatives it the best idea--something much more powerful than Benadryl. Good Luck!
Oh Ashley! I wished a little of this on you, but not to this extent. She will grow out of it... by high school I'm sure.
Love ya & I'll pray for you.
Allyson
Ash, I am no expert, but if she isn't acting like she is awake she might be having night terrors. Peyton Adams used to have them really bad, he would even be looking at kevin and Jody asking them not to kill him. So he was pretty old and still doing it. From what I've heard night terrors are the inability to transition between the different levels of sleep. Also watch her when she sleeps, if she pauses for long periods of time, it may be sleep apnea. Sawyer's adnoids were so large that he couldn't hardly breath through his nose and would have to breathe through his mouth, so he would wake up onerier than anything in this world with a parched mouth and throught. I'm sure that you'll find an answer, you're pretty resourcefull!!
Post a Comment