Its 2:15. Want to know what I spent the last hour and a half doing? Standing in Porter’s room like a sergeant, putting him back into bed every second he got out. I lost count… but I had to have put him in bed at least 200 times.
Fun stuff. GAH!
So… my thoughts. Your thoughts. Advice. Opinions. Ideas.
Awhile back when I was nannying, . Aria was about 3 and she had a bad habit of getting out of bed and running around the second floor of the house. So, I took "Super Nanny’s" advice (or was it Nanny 911?) and sat in the doorway of her room. It took a day or so and she finally learned not to get out of bed, but I still sat in her doorway, reading a book or magazine (basically not making any eye contact with her or talking to her), so that she would stay in bed.
I put Porter in bed this afternoon and I knew he was tired. When I picked him up at my grandmas he said "Ready. Ready mama! Bye bye Oma. Hug. Kiss." and was practically dragging me out the door. I put him in bed and a minute later he opens the door. "Hi mama!"
HUH!? This was the first time he had gotten himself out of bed. Even in the mornings or after nap… he has been waiting for us to get him out of bed. So, I figure its a fluke and I put him back in bed. It happens again. And again. And again.
Finally, after about 10 minutes I decide to stand in his doorway. I start putting him back in bed every time he gets out (no eye contact or verbal contact). Well, after awhile I got ticked and yelled at him to stay in bed. I then took his bedrail thingy away because he was just playing with it trying to get "stuck" inbetween it and his bed. Then I took away all his stuffed animals and pillow, leaving only Rocky and Little Bear in bed with him. He tossed them out so I took them away.
More time passed. 50 or so more times of putting him back in bed. Its a game to him. He’s finally sobbing for "Rah-eee Lil Bear!" and he looks like he’s about to pass out. So, I give him one more chance to keep them in bed. He snugs up with them and acts ready to fall asleep but 2 minutes later he’s wide awake and jabbering. He tosses Little Bear on the floor. I leave him there and don’t let him get up and get him. He cries and cries. He then tosses Rocky on the floor. Same thing… he isn’t allowed to get him, and I leave them there so he can see that they’re so near but he can’t have them. He cries more for "Rah-ee Lil Bear" and after about 20 more minutes he falls asleep.
So… part way through all this I thought "Why the hell don’t I just take all his toys out of here and just close his door so he is locked in his room and let him fall asleep wherever." But then I really don’t want him to be in control of when he falls asleep… I mean, what if we have plans to go somewhere and he decides to play in his room or run around in his room for 2 hours and not fall asleep at a reasonable time.
But this whole "lay down!" in bed thing was such a game to him. I’m sure after a few days… or weeks… he’ll figure it out but oh my fricking god I don’t have the patience for this!
I’m so close to just putting his rail back up and leaving his bed as a crib for awhile longer. But thats really only a temporary fix. Eventually he has to move on to a bed and we’ll be facing this problem sooner or later.
So… what are your experiences with this? Anything else that worked for any of you?
nicolebarczak.com 
Oh my! Nicole I feel for you – We’ve done it both ways. Tried to stay in the room and close the toys in the closet and close the boys bedroom door. Sometimes one works and not the other…sometimes nothing works and they are in their room for an hour just screwing around and not taking a nap. I wish I had a good answer for you and I hope that someone that comments has good advice. We didn’t have the option of just putting the crib rails back up because they would just jump out 🙂 Sometimes the boys are great nappers – but one day with Nana (my mother in law who doesn’t enforce naptime) and the whole thing is shot and we have to start from scratch. EEK!
I think if he’s going to try this out as a regular game, it’s just going to take a few days of exactly how it went today. He’s figured out the “fun” now of getting your attention and trying to do what he wants to do, and now he may just want to keep testing and make sure you mean business. If he keeps up with this, and as long as you are consistent, he should get over it in a few days I’m sure. It’s just the meantime that’s no fun. Believe me, I know! But if he really has no choice but to stay in bed and go to sleep, then sooner or later he’s going to give up and do just that a lot easier.
Good luck tonight! And tomorrow. And the next day… and the next. lol! I’m right there with ya!
The boys are pretty much done with nap time and Ava so far has done ok. But bedtime is another story. I battle with Cade EVERY FREAKING NIGHT. I have tried everyting both appropriate and inappropriate and NOTHING has worked. Last night he screamed at the top of his lungs for an hour and 15 minutes. If ya find a “cure” send it my way would ya!
Stick a baby gate across his door. He’ll lose interest fast when he gets that he can’t see anyone when he’s at the doorway, you know?
Most kids go through that – probably why M is still in a crib until Dec HAHA
I feel like a bad mom when it comes to this sort of thing. Tiegan does fall asleep “whenever she feels like it” and it’s mostly because we’re either always too busy or impatient to really dedicate time to being a “bed nazi” LOL. Half the time, she doesn’t even sleep in her bed (but she does like to sit in it and read books). To be fair, she keeps pointing to the wall-facing side of the bed, saying “hole! fall down!” Even though we keep reassuring her that she won’t fall through the 2″ hole between the bed and the wall, she probably just doesn’t like seeing it there. We’ll have to stuff that hole with blankets and see how she does.
Anyway, she has one of those foam fold-out couches. She sleeps on that most of the time, in her bedroom.
There are some times when she will begin to fall asleep… I can see her eyelids sagging, but she jolts and grunts in this kind of “I can’t get comfortable” frustration. I’ve found that massaging her legs will send her instantly off into dreamland. But this does nothing when she’s in that overtired, cranky “I’m really exhausted but don’t want to miss anything” stage.
I wish I had a solid answer for you… sorry for such a long comment, LOL! Good luck!!!
i agree with heather. remain consistant and don’t let him get the best of you. i messed up with matt and was NOT consistant. his antics dragged on WAY to long. i really felt like i was losing it. i definitely would do it differently if i had another chance.
things did get better when i put him in a twin bed, but he was 2 1/2 then. he also went through a long period of getting out of bed in the middle of the night and ocming in my bed. since john was working, i would let him stay (i was too lazy to get up and put him back.) this went on way to long too. eventually he stopped. he recently has started doing it again but i put him back every time.
sorry such a long comment.
Good luck Nic, I hope it gets better soon!!
Good luck Nic! Isaac is up all hours of the night! Most times we are laying in bed & he is creeping about in the dark house-so we give a shout out to go to bed. I agree w/ Zoe that if you find any secrets to send them our way-we’ll barter up trades 🙂
Hey Nicole! I don’t have children (yet), I just wanted to say good luck…and I’m NOT looking forward to going through things like this!
The best book I ever read on this subject is Elizabeth Pantley’s “No Cry Sleep Solution”. It is hands down the best sleep advice. It helped with my daughter who is now 4 and son who is 11 months.
Kennedy was the same way (she transferred into her toddler bed when she was about 18 months). It took a few days/almost a week to get her to stop getting out, but we also did the “supernanny” approach and it worked. Some kiddos just take longer.
When I worked at the daycare…some kids would take over 1- 1 1/2 hours to fall asleep. Some it only took 2-3 minutes. All depends on the kiddos…but for the 10 years that I was there, none of them actually took more than 1 month of playing games with us.
Our kiddos just know how to push our buttons. Miss Kennedy is a wiz at that hehehehe 🙂
Best of Luck with your little sweetie! Just stick to your guns…he’ll be ok in a few days 😀
I agree…baby gates work. Although, if he’s particularly stubborn, you may find him passed out on the floor from time to time. 😉