S/O WDYD for night wakings

[onehitwonder]

W has been waking almost nightly for the last week or so. He stands in his crib, cries for us for 1-2 minutes then lays back down. Some nights he turns on his glow worm once or twice, but then he's out.

I don't like letting him cry and not going in, but past experience is that he will not settle back down in his crib if I do that and the only way for any of us to sleep is by taking him into my bed, guest bed or couch. Then we get into that bad pattern.

What do you do when your child wakes up? Do you rush in? Count to 10? Wait a few minutes? Do you have any tricks for helping them get back to sleep in their bed (I'm not opposed to bribery)? He does get a sticker every morning that he is in bed until daylight.

[Deleted]

Well I did CIO (at 20m) so I'm obviously not opposed to crying. In this situation I would definitely just let him be. Hopefully it's just a phase but if he goes back to sleep on his own after 1-2 min of crying I wouldn't go in- unless the crying was like a nightmare or pain but this doesn't sound like the case..

[Deleted]

Oh wait I see you don't like not going in at all... Hmm I don't know then. Hopefully it passes on it's own... But I don't have advice since I would just let her be. If I were to go in D would beg me stay and I'd have to let her cry anyway, she definitely doesn't sleep in our bed (just plays)

[bigapple]

C has different cries if he's just startled briefly or actually awake. If he's just startled/dreaming, I don't go in because that would wake him fully up. If he's definitely awake, I rush in at the first peep because he'll otherwise hop out and walk to my bed, which then leads to a battle over returning to his and at least an hour of wakefulness.

[ruby412]

I think at this age, you need to just let him go if it's only a minute or 2. He may be continuing to night wake because you are essentially "rewarding" him with a visit in the MOTN. I would try a few nights of not going in (if it's really only a minute or two) and see if he learns to STTN.

[silverjm]

I listen to the type of cry too. If it's just the whiny crying I wait a bit to see if he'll go back to sleep on his own. If I can tell he's really upset and working him self up then I'll go in and try to soothe before he's completely awake. It's a fine line, because if he's too awake and I go in then he wants to get up. I try to just trust my mommy instincts.

He's been crying in his sleep lately too which is difficult to interpret. He'll sound upset, but then I get in there and he's still sound asleep whimpering and/or crying in his dreams. Fortunately a quick back rub settles him back down, but it's hard on my sleep.

[jfh]

If it's only 1-2 minutes I definitely let him go. If it goes longer than that I always go in, because sometimes he's peed through his diaper or his room is cold or he has some other legitimate need aside from missing us (which us also legitimate, but...). I hate it because it does wake him up further and it's often very hard to get him back to sleep. I usually start by opening the door and saying, it's still nighttime, lay back down, you can get up when the clock is yellow. Then I can tell from his response if he has an actual problem.

But if it's truly 1-2 minutes, I think it's better to let them fall
Back asleep.

[muppetinma]

I let him go for a minute. After that, I'll jut crack open his door, tell him that it's still nighttime and he has to go back to sleep, and leave. 95% of the time, that does the trick. Sometimes, I'll go back in and we'll snuggle for a few minutes, then I out him back in his crib.

[sunshineluv]

When Henry does this, I wait a minute to see if he really needs me, then I go in and lay him back down. I say its time to go night night, and pat him.

There are times he will cry out from a dream or just being unsettled, that he stops crying quick enough that I don't go in.

[mumegs]

I always give it a few minutes at least, she will usually just fallback asleep. If it gets worse or she's crying harder I will go in. It takes me a few min at least to even wake up and realize what's going on, then get up and go to her room etc.

[onehitwonder]

Thanks everyone. I guess I should have mentioned that he is literally jumping in his crib calling for momma/dadda. The latest is he's throwing one leg over the crib rail so I guess that has me a little nervous, too.

jfh what clock are you using and would you recommend it?

bigapple is it harder when they are in a bed? I was crib for lyfe, but now that he's considering climbing out, I may have to rethink the issue.

[katie]

In the MOTN she wakes up, walks to our room and comes into bed. I really have no choice. Well, I do but trying to get her back down and fighting at 2am is just not worth it to me. We used to have nights where she would STTN but it's been months since she has. Her last molar is coming in and I really hope when that is over some sort of miracle will happen.

[jfh]

Sept 16, 2014 7:11:17 GMT -5 onehitwonder said:

Thanks everyone. I guess I should have mentioned that he is literally jumping in his crib calling for momma/dadda. The latest is he's throwing one leg over the crib rail so I guess that has me a little nervous, too.

jfh what clock are you using and would you recommend it?

bigapple is it harder when they are in a bed? I was crib for lyfe, but now that he's considering climbing out, I may have to rethink the issue.

We use the Tot Clock. It's expensive but I love it. He's been using it about since he turned two, and he totally gets the concept. We got it because he used to wake up around 5am every day, and it helped him stay in bed later, but it also helps with the bedtime routine and with MOTN wake-ups.

[bigapple]

Sept 16, 2014 7:11:17 GMT -5 onehitwonder said:

Thanks everyone. I guess I should have mentioned that he is literally jumping in his crib calling for momma/dadda. The latest is he's throwing one leg over the crib rail so I guess that has me a little nervous, too.

jfh what clock are you using and would you recommend it?

bigapple is it harder when they are in a bed? I was crib for lyfe, but now that he's considering climbing out, I may have to rethink the issue.

It's easier for us because he hated his crib passionately and could only be in it if we put him down fully asleep.  When he woke up in it (MOTN or morning), he would be so upset that he'd get to gasping/gagging screams almost immediately.


It's the same bed (one side removed and replaced with rail), but now he likes it.  He does hop out and walk to our room, but I can usually bring him back and put him back to sleep.  It's also so much easier to cuddle him in it now.   

[raynes]

I usually wait a few minutes to see if he'll calm down on his own (or if H will wake up and deal with it, ha).

[greenkitty98]

I wait to see if P will calm on her own. If she is going to calm, it will happen within a minute or two. If she doesn't calm I go down and let her know it is still night time and we need to sleep. She gets the choice of going back to her bed or laying on the toddler cot in our room. P normally chooses the cot and will then lay down and go right back to sleep. Getting the toddler cot was our compromise with her; she can't be in our bed (because then no one sleeps), but she can be in our room.

[tennisgal]

I also give him a few minutes. Our monitor has a walkie-talkie like feature on it, where I can talk into my end and it projects from the camera in his room. So I've also been successful at talking through the monitor and telling him its still night time and to lay back down. If that doesn't work, then I'll usually go in and see what's up. Half the time, he's just rolled out of his blankets and needs to be recovered. I'll sometimes get him out and rock for a few minutes and that usually does the trick.

[jamaga2583]

I wait until it's clear that he's not going to calm down by himself. Sometimes, he whimpers and whines for a few minutes and then goes back to sleep, other times he gets himself really wound up and there's no hope of him fixing it himself. If I wait for a few minutes and he seems to be revving up, I go in. I would just let him CIO, but he shares with the baby, and two kids crying MOTN is way worse than one.

[carawestt]

I wait a few minutes to see if he'll go back to sleep. Usually he's crying out for water and if we don't come in, he wanders into our room.