I thought I would at least have until the baby was born before I started existing in a fog for a while again. But that's turned out not to be the case. Judah is totally putting us through it right now.
The sleep issues seem to be never ending. I've talked to my friends. Most of them are like, "No, we didn't really have any problems switching to a bed. We had to spank him a few times and then he got the picture and has stayed in bed ever since." I've heard of only two other kids that are as strong willed as Judah in this area, and in both cases their parents ended up locking their child's bedroom door from the outside and letting the kid cry for hours until they're exhausted and fall asleep on the floor. This sounds totally cruel, I know, but I also know that to some kids (Judah) there is simply nothing else that makes sense. Rewards don't matter, punishment doesn't matter, the loss of privileges doesn't matter, pain doesn't matter. The only thing that seems to matter to him is total separation from us. Any attention at all, even us standing silently in the doorway and pointing to the bed until he climbs back in, is enough to make him get up for more. So I'm almost at the door locking point.
That being said, he's improved a lot from the nights he was getting up 65 times in a row. He usually goes down now pretty easily for Nathan, only getting up three or four times, but he won't really do it for me. Naptimes are a battle when Nathan's not home. But the real kicker is the morning wake-up time. For whatever reason, since he's moved to a bed, Judah is up at 5:15 every morning without fail. And won't go back to sleep. Before, when he was in the crib, his normal time was between 7:30 and 8. Then for a little bit after the great move it was about 6:30 or 6:45 and I complained and whined. And now I'd give years off my life to have him sleep until 6:30. 5:15 is a hideous time to be awake. And then there was last night, when he woke up at 3:50 and never went back to sleep at all.
Do you know what it does to a parent's mind to start the day, against your will, before 4 am? I spent the day fighting a series of nervous breakdowns. There's a reason prisoners of war are sometimes tortured with sleep deprivation. It will totally break you.
And now Judah has croup. Croup. Seriously. I thought that went out with the 1800s. At least now I know why he was up so early this morning. He's got a high fever and a barking cough and a sore throat, poor little guy. It's truly pathetic. He actually consented to sit still on my lap for like ten minutes this afternoon. He was so worn out. Tonight when we put him to bed he was literally begging for sleep. For the first time in weeks, maybe months, we put him down, left the room, and haven't heard from him since. I'm hoping this sickness is a blessing in disguise that will re-set his sleeping habits, back to something a little more acceptable to everyone.
So, anyone out there have any suggestions? Did your kids do this? Know any kids that did? Is there any hope that I'll stop being perpetually tired in the next five years?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
If I remember correctly, Judah was climbing out of the crib? So my solution probably wouldn't work for you. We put a gate up on Connor's door when we moved him to a bed. To this day (almost 2 yrs. later), we still have to do this most of the time to keep him in the room. He still falls asleep on the floor 98% of the time.
Once again, I feel your pain though. Kids are enough to drive you literally insane!
Oh Kristy...I sooooo feel your pain! Ryan did this when he learned to get out of his crib. It was awful. But he stopped doing it when we got him a bed. I honestly don't think it was the bed that got him to stop, I think he just grew out of it.
Maybe try telling Judah that he can get out of bed as much as he wants but that he is not allowed to come out of his room unless it's an emergency. If he does come out of his room then have a time out chair set up somewhere away from you and Nathan. Maybe just allowing him some control of when he can get in and out of bed will help the situation. Best of luck!
croup, huh? Tyler had that when he was about 6 months old and he sounded like a seal. It's not a fun sickness.
Sorry about the bed thing. I didn't have too much of a problem with Mikayla but I'm not looking forward to Tyler's transition.
Post a Comment