Daughter's sleeping problem

Hi All,

I have a 2 year old daughter who refuses to sleep on bed.. When she was around 1 year she would wake up every 2 hours and I have to put a pillow in my legs, put her on my legs and rock. Now she is used to it, and if i put her in bed she starts crying .. Iam unable to sleep and now that she is grownand iam having severe leg pain and backache.. I know its my mistake but I want her to sleep well . When she was 1 year old it was ok, but now i feel she has to sleep in her own bed.

Any suggestions ?? Anyone going through similar problems ???

Hi Priya,

Typed my problem and when I opened IL. A similar one here ..

My DD is now 15 months. She is crying more or less for every 30 - 45 mins in the night. She starts crying, then I put her in my lap and console her. She stops crying and goes to sleep again. Till 1 or 2 P.M in the night she does like this. Only for the past 3 days she is like that. I am worried.

I feel it is getting tough for me being a working mother. It is just 3 days. Priya, an year.. OMG I cant even imagine.

Let us hear from other ILites..

Hi Priya,
I used a cradle for my LO when she was a baby. She was so soothed by the constant rocking that she refused to sleep without rocking. She would want to be rocked for hours together sometimes. Me and DH used to take turns rocking her in the night. My aunt who is a doc gave me a wonderful suggestion. Consider an example, we are used to sleeping comfortably on a bed and will definitely take a while to adjust to sleeping on a mat. Similarly the LO will take time to get out of a comfort zone. What I started doing is rocking her on a rocking chair but putting her in her crib before she was fully asleep. First night, I didn't sleep at all. The next night, same. After about a week, she started sleeping on her own after being rocked for a while. Then I just reduced the rocking time gradually and introduced a bed time routine(bath in the tub and then a story book - Good night Moon). After than I put her to bed and pat her for a while. It took me a good one month, but she started sleeping in her crib after that.
Similarly, you can try by first putting her on the pillow and patting her and putting her on the same pillow but on the bed before she is fully asleep. You'll not be able to sleep for a week but then she will get used to being on the bed.

Sowmya,
Since your LO has been doing it only for a few days, she may be having some genuine discomfort. Is she having some cold/ear infection or something? Even if the kid has a heavy stomach and is gassy, they may fuss in the night. If you feed her right before bed time, try moving the feed up a bit. If it continues, it may be better to consult her pediatrician!

HTH,
Laks