We took Grant to the Aquatic Center last night for our family activity. I forgot how COLD it is!! It brought back memories of swimming lessons where my lips would turn blue and I would shiver my way through the half hour or so of learning how to breathe under water, uhh...wait, that's not right, how to breathe while attempting to swim. Oh whatever. Needless to say, Grant did not last much over 20 minutes. He was wide-eyed and mute the whole time. However, it was fun to do something as a little family, and at least it was $2 night!
And now I'm going to expose my lack of parenting skills here. Grant uses a binky during naps and nighttime and sometimes in the car if he's screaming, etc. When he was younger, he would wake up a few times a night and all I'd have to do is put the binky back in his mouth and he'd fall asleep. Well that's continued up til now, and I'm going crazy. He still wakes up 2-3 times per night. Shouldn't a 19-month-old be able to sleep through the night? It's not like he's awake for very long, but he won't go back to sleep unless I come in and put the binky in his mouth. I realize I've trained him to do this, but how do I stop? Do I need to take away his binky? Advise please.
11 comments:
I'm no expert by any means, but we had kind of the same problem recently. Avrie has slept through the night since she was about 7 months old but a few weeks ago she started waking up 2 or 3 times a night. At first I thought she might be teething or be going through a growth spurt and be hungry so I would make her a bottle and she would drink it and go right back to sleep. After about 5 days of this I was sick of it! By the advice of my sister-in-law, I just started letting her cry. The first night was pretty miserable. She cried for like an hour in the middle of the night. The next night she cried again but it wasn't nearly as long. The next few nights I heard her fuss but she did't cry too hard. And ever since then, she's sleeping great again. I felt horrible the first night but it was worth a few nights of long crying to get her sleeping all night again!
Hey, are you busy next week? I was thinking of doing a little craft with a few girls and maybe order take out for lunch... let me know if you want to and we'll plan it. I definitely need some girl time soon! :)
First off, you should always go with what YOU think is right. So if this doesn't sound right to you, go with your gut.
I'm going to second Lindsey that if you let him cry, he'll learn to put himself back to sleep. If that's too miserable for you, you could try going into his room, but not touching him and just comforting him verbally, and slowly back off from there to just standing in the doorway, then the hallway, and finally none at all.
The key here is that he's developed a habit and he needs help breaking it so both of you can get a good night's sleep. He'll continue the habit as long as he gains something by it (enjoying mom time), but as soon as it's no longer fun, the habit will fade.
Sounds like you had a fun family night. Good luck with the binky thing... I have no advice for you sorry. All I can say is that I don't know any kid over 10 who still sucks a binky!
I agree with crying...I was a woos and didn't do it until child #3 and it works so effectively. Give him enough love and immediate response during the day and then you don't have to be paranoid about emotional withdrawal during the night. One or two bad nights but it will never be a problem again. Hello ear plugs! As far as the binky goes, I'm a woos. Lizzie will be 2 next week and she still has one. I'm slow on that.
Good Luck!
Kristine,
Like everyone else has said, I'm all for letting them cry. It's dang hard!!! But it works. My doctor always says, "You're bigger and stronger than her." So basically, you can win. :)
I took Elsie's binkie away at 2. She would scream and scream at bedtime and naps wanting the binkie, but she got over it.
We're in the process of taking away Hallee's binkie (she's 14 months). I knew she liked it but thought she wasn't much attached, so I figured it would be easier now. Nope...she cried going to bed. We are in the end stages now and she has started to learn how to calm and soothe herself in bed without it.
Who knows what's right?! Not me, for sure. Just thought I'd share what I've done and you can take from it what you want.
Hey Kristine!
Everything I learn I get from other people or from books & one of my favorite books happens to be called: Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. It's awesome for different answers for all different ages when it comes to sleeping kids. I have it if you want to borrow it, but I would strongly advise investing in buying a copy so you can refer back to it when he's onto his next sleeping stage of life.
By the way, how was your decoration shopping today?
That's too bad to hear the water is cold at the pool. We were just saying we should take the kids sometime. They are kinda wimpy though, so I don't know now!
I was going to add my advice, but it sounds like you've already got some great advice! Probably the hard way (taking it away completely and letting him cry for a few days) is the best way in the end. It's just not fun for a few days! And I know about mess-making little boys!
Sorry no kids so I have not tips for the binky but it looks like you got a lot of great ones from others, I hope they helped. Well I hope all is going well and I wish we would have been able to get together before I left but hopeful when I came back to visit we can.
I love swimming... too bad it was so cold. You should go to Green Canyon...a hot spring! Brooklyn's doctor told us to start letting her cry it out at night. He said to buy some ear plugs and just let her cry herself back to sleep. It is really hard... it is so sad to hear her crying but lately she has been doing better and hasn't been waking up in the night to cry. Good Luck though!
We're weaning Brooklyn from the binky right now. She's had it in her crib, as well, but it's time to be done. I'm sure you've heard about cutting the tip of it, and then cutting a little more each day or so until there is nothing left. That's what we're doing. She still sucks on it, but before too long it will be a little stub, and she will realize she doesn't need it anymore. I like this approach because it's gradual, but it gets the job done.
Post a Comment