Operation "New Sleep Method" Aborted!!
Let me start by saying that day three went really well. It gave me hope for a new way of sleeping. Eleanor did better at falling asleep in her crib during her naps with me standing over the crib until she fell asleep. Last night she went to bed after nursing right away. She woke up 2 hours later around 9:30pm, then again at 10:30 pm and again at around 11:45pm. I tended to her as usual the first two times, nursed her back to sleep and left her in her crib but the third time, I let her cry it out. I know it's harsh but I needed to stop this pattern. She cried and cried but then she fell asleep and woke up 5 hours later, she broke her own record!! I was ecstatic. I woke up not realizing that I even slept solid for 5 hours straight and just laid in bed mesmerized. But of course not for long. She woke up around 5:20 am and I happily picked her up and nursed her as she requested.
Ok, that was day three. It gave me a lot of hope for tonight, alot of hope. But it all came to a screeching halt when Eleanor decided to hook her foot over the crib rail and climb out. She did it as I was going to pick her up and I didn't want to make a big deal about it because I didn't want her to realize what she just did. Then she did the same thing during her late afternoon nap with A-man but he picked her up and took her out. The third time was not so lucky. She was behaving really badly during dinner so I gave her time out in her crib and walked out the door and "THUMP". She had gone overboard! Thank God she's ok and didn't hurt herself.
I just tried to put her to sleep again by nursing but she kept waking up as soon as I tried to put her into her crib. It's like she's just realizing that I'm going to leave her alone in her bed and she was going to fight me all the way. After a few attempts of trying to put her into her crib (after she fell asleep in my arms) I just gave up and put her in her crib awake and tried to pat her to sleep but it didn't work this time. She just started screaming and crying so I just sat back in the rocking chair and let her scream at me. As soon as I sat down in the chair, she started to climb out of the crib and all of a sudden she's heading straight for the floor. Literally heading, with her head!! I grabbed her and saved her from fall in time but now what?
I am fucked. I can never leave her in the crib alone.
I guess we're going to go shopping for a toddler bed tomorrow. So much for my fancy dancy crib.
In case you were curious, she's asleep on the floor of her room. I'll have to rearrange some furniture and bolt things to the wall tomorrow. She's 16 months old, is this normal or do I have a future gymnast in my hands?
Day Three and part of Day Four
Saturday, November 15, 2008 | at 7:23 PM |
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5 comments:
My baby Lucy figured out how to climb out of her crib at 17 months. She was going through huge separation anxiety because she started daycare. We converted her crib into a semi toddler bed--ie. took one side down. And then we bought a single mattress to put on the floor beside her bed and now I sleep with her (with no nightfeedings). We had done the crying it out business at 5 months but it didn't work anymore as soon as she figured out how to climb out of the crib. But she will fall asleep if I lie on the mattress on the floor. And she will still get up a couple of times during the night. But I just go up and sleep with her for the night then. Good luck.
haha, that's how noah came to sleep in a futon on the floor. it's a really nice thick futon, mind you. but i am in a pickle trying to figure out when and how to transition him to a bed.
like anonymous, i used to sleep with him. so actually we had two futons pushed up together. i'd lie down next to him until he fell asleep, then i'd get up and leave to sleep in my own bed. sometimes he'd sleep the whole night alone, sometimes he'd come and get me. that's when the large sleeping space came in handy because i'd just flop down next to him and continue sleeping while he fell back to sleep too. he's 3 and the frequency of me having to go in and sleep with him in the middle of the night is much less frequent, but i'd say that i still do about once or twice a week. it's totally not a big deal and i'm sure there will come a day soon when he won't need me at all and i'll totally miss sleeping next to him.
It's normal. I went through the same thing and feel your pain. Have you tried to wean her completely?
Although my daughter was never a climber, other mom friends solved this issue by getting a crib tent. It's cheap (Babies R Us has them), easy to install, and most kids love the idea of "camping" under it. You might want to consider it before transitioning to a bed (and potentially losing any nap time you may have!). Good luck!
NJ has yet to climb out of his crib. One thing you might want to try is to put her in a sleep sack- it's esp nice for the colder weather. That will prevent her from getting her leg up there.
But then if she is climbing out, maybe that's her way of saying that she's ready for a big girl bed...
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