We are having a rough time getting B to fall asleep and stay asleep through the night. I don’t know why, but she has been getting out of bed a lot more this week. We try to make sure she gets enough physical activity during the day so she will actually be tired at bedtime. We’re still using the heavy blanket to help her fall asleep, but that only works if she actually stays in bed. We give her a cuddle toy or two in bed (her mood changes as to which one she wants from night to night) and sometimes a book. I find the book lets her quiet down on her own a bit and she’ll “read” it, sometimes out loud quietly until she falls asleep.
B hates to have her door closed, so as a compromise, when she gets out of bed, we put the baby gate up in the door. She’s not too thrilled with that move either. I don’t think she understands consequences. I will put her back in bed and tell her if she gets out again, the gate goes up. Then when she gets out and wanders down the hall, I put her back and put the gate up only to hear her holler, “No gate! No gate!”.
She’ll also ask for hugs again and again. If her sister gets up to use the bathroom, she’ll ask G for a hug too. “I wan’ hud!” I can go downstairs and hear her holler for me to come and hug her. Problem is one hug is never enough. I’ve tried laying with her, having her lay in my bed with me, you name it. I’m open to suggestions here.
Sometimes I find if I let her lay on my chest and I rub her back for awhile, that will help her fall asleep. She tends to overtake our bed and hubs and I are sleeping on the edges with her spread out in between us, so we try to take her back to her bed. Often that results in her rejoining us later in the night.
Lately she’s been waking up in the middle of the night and either crying in her bed or just coming right into our room and getting in our bed. I won’t go in her room if it’s just a quiet cry, but if she’s screaming or on the verge of a meltdown, I will. Sometimes she just wants her back rubbed, but other times, she’ll hold out her arms to me and when I lift her up, she points over my shoulder. She won’t use her words, but I know exactly what she wants–”Take me to your bed, mama!”.
If she comes into our bed on her own, usually she’ll just snuggle down between us or on me (never on hubs, don’t know why) and go to sleep.
As you probably have guessed, if she’s not sleeping well I’m not either. I’m running out of ideas and I’m open to suggestions. Please let me know how you deal with getting your special needs toddler (or any toddler really!) to sleep. My sanity is depending on you!
