2.5 yrs kid refuses to fall asleep alone
Our kid has had a pretty easy and effective sleep routine. We put pyjamas on, brushed teeth, put her in her crib, and she put her head down and fell asleep. In my opinion, it started eroding some months ago when we decided to say goodbye to pacifiers. The first couple of weeks after no pacifier were long, unhappy, fighting times. Then things got a bit better - there was no fighting but definitely more delaying. A week ago she suddenly turned the brief game of delays into a full strike. She started to scream hysterically when we tried to leave the room to let her fall asleep (as we have done for 2 years). After two nights we gave in and started to stay with her until she fell asleep. In the past few days, her bedtime (from starting to get PJs on to actually asleep) has dragged on from 1 hour to now 1.5 hours. The majority of this time she is in bed, lying down, making noises and fidgeting and not sleeping. Her fall asleep time has dragged out from 8.30 ish to nearly ten pm.
Has anyone else faced such a radical regression and refusal in bedtime behavior?
She doesn't seem afraid, and has no problem with the dark. It's hard to know what if anything she fears, other than falling asleep alone. This week she switched nannies for the first time ever, so it is possible there are other sources of stress for her that are affecting her sleep. Has this happened to others? In that case - how do we comfort her now when she needs it but regain a healthy sleep routine soon after? Spending an hour and a half putting her to bed is not an option in our household, and we're a little bit afraid that this is becoming her new routine. :(
2 Answers
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It was a phase, at least for now.
Negotiation, "you're a big girl" and can do this, and some short screaming sessions followed by more negotiation have brought general bedtime procedures to a more tolerable under 1 hour, and allowed us to return to the more comfortable "night night and close the door". Last night she stayed up in the dark with a book in her lap, because she wanted to read more, and that was both a new thing and totally fine with us. Things got quiet quickly.
No doubt this is not the last time we clash heads over this, but it's resolved for now. We even felt bold enough to go tent camping for one night which was more successful sleepwise than we had feared. Good luck everyone! don't give up!
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Glad to hear that things resolved themselves! I was going to say that our son had a bedtime strike a few months ago(he's 27 mo old right now). It lasted for a week or two -- throughout, we kept at the same routine we always used. He protested and cried, sometimes up to an hour, but as I said, we kept at it. We wondered half way through whether or not he still needed his sleep, and we questioned all our techniques, but he settled down on his own and returned to his schedule. No flare ups since.
I expect there to be another one in the near future! At least, that's how it's been for us every few months.
