filmgirl2911
06-23-2009, 06:47 AM
Okay, I've gone back through the sticky on this topic and *still* need some help, advice, input, wisdom (one or all would be helpful :smile). To start, I have a question on this post in the sticky:
ArmsOfLove wrote:
I announce, "Time to be asleep" and help in however I need to. It may mean holding him securely for a few nights while he tries to play, etc. I would hold him and remind him gently that "It's time to go to sleep."
How old is a child to whom you talk to about time to go to sleep and hold her securely? How does that work, specifically - as in, for how long might you hold her? Do you ever abandon the secure holding and try again in 15-20 minutes if she refuses to "give in" to sleep?
I talk to my toddlers and teach them how to realize they are tired. "I see you doing . . . and that is your body telling you you are tired." As they are going to sleep I explain, "You can't make yourself go to sleep. You need to lay still and stop your body, close your eyes, stop your mouth, breath deeply, let your body go to sleep." While I'm talking I gently touch each part of their body that I'm speaking about and/or gently stroke areas I see them holding tension (hands, forehead, arm). Sometimes my children respond to me singing to them, sometimes I have to lay quietly with them. I try different things until they settle--but not going to sleep isn't an option.
Same question - how old is the toddler to whom you are referring? How, specifically do you teach a toddler to lay still and stop her body from squirming and thrashing? How long (approximately, because I realize that *all* toddlers are different) might it take in days / weeks for a toddler to get this concept?
I watch my toddler for her tired cues, and when the are there, I begin either the nap or bedtime (and we have tried to create a consistent timeframe around these times, but they are not exact because I try to let her tell me when she is ready). But almost without fail, when we get into the bedroom and begin nursing down, she gets a second wind - she gets chatty, she gets thrashy - her feet / legs are in constant motion (which drives me *crazy*), and will roll around.
I'm at a loss. I have been where her sleep is concerned for much of her life (she is now 16 months and sleeps *no* better than when she was a newborn). She wakes up All. Night. Long. And I am as sleep deprived now as I was as a new mom (still a new mom, but she's not "new" anymore). Am I missing something?
Please. Please. How can I help her???
by the way, yes, she is teething - we give her Hyland's tablets throughout the day, she has an amber necklace, and we give her Tylenol at night. I am going to that sticky next, but am *still* at a loss about her sleep because she sleeps like this when NOT teething, too.
ArmsOfLove wrote:
I announce, "Time to be asleep" and help in however I need to. It may mean holding him securely for a few nights while he tries to play, etc. I would hold him and remind him gently that "It's time to go to sleep."
How old is a child to whom you talk to about time to go to sleep and hold her securely? How does that work, specifically - as in, for how long might you hold her? Do you ever abandon the secure holding and try again in 15-20 minutes if she refuses to "give in" to sleep?
I talk to my toddlers and teach them how to realize they are tired. "I see you doing . . . and that is your body telling you you are tired." As they are going to sleep I explain, "You can't make yourself go to sleep. You need to lay still and stop your body, close your eyes, stop your mouth, breath deeply, let your body go to sleep." While I'm talking I gently touch each part of their body that I'm speaking about and/or gently stroke areas I see them holding tension (hands, forehead, arm). Sometimes my children respond to me singing to them, sometimes I have to lay quietly with them. I try different things until they settle--but not going to sleep isn't an option.
Same question - how old is the toddler to whom you are referring? How, specifically do you teach a toddler to lay still and stop her body from squirming and thrashing? How long (approximately, because I realize that *all* toddlers are different) might it take in days / weeks for a toddler to get this concept?
I watch my toddler for her tired cues, and when the are there, I begin either the nap or bedtime (and we have tried to create a consistent timeframe around these times, but they are not exact because I try to let her tell me when she is ready). But almost without fail, when we get into the bedroom and begin nursing down, she gets a second wind - she gets chatty, she gets thrashy - her feet / legs are in constant motion (which drives me *crazy*), and will roll around.
I'm at a loss. I have been where her sleep is concerned for much of her life (she is now 16 months and sleeps *no* better than when she was a newborn). She wakes up All. Night. Long. And I am as sleep deprived now as I was as a new mom (still a new mom, but she's not "new" anymore). Am I missing something?
Please. Please. How can I help her???
by the way, yes, she is teething - we give her Hyland's tablets throughout the day, she has an amber necklace, and we give her Tylenol at night. I am going to that sticky next, but am *still* at a loss about her sleep because she sleeps like this when NOT teething, too.