https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 26 May 2026 12:08:43 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2265678 Tue, 18 Aug 2015 03:43:34 +0000 Pumuckl 2265678@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@noelani: sorry you are still going through this and so sorry about your loss. Just like your LO my 28m old has been going to bed at 6:30-7pm most of his life but lately had been a real pain to put down and was up by 5am (and sometimes earlier) for the day. What we did is moving bedtime later. He now falls asleep at around 8:30pm and is up for the day at 6:45am but still sleeps 1.5-2h in daycare. It did take a couple of days until we really saw an improvement though. I can't really say much about the crib situation since we're in Europe and cribs here have the possibility to remove 2-3 slats so the kids can get out of their cribs safely but still enjoy their coziness. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2265662 Tue, 18 Aug 2015 01:27:03 +0000 noelani 2265662@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Foodnerd81: We dropped the crib to the floor on Saturday but he's still able to climb out. This means he's still up at 4:30am in the morning, but put down has been easier. I'm anxious about the fact that he's climbed out of the crib the past few days but I've watched him do it and he's SOLID (the kid handles it like a gymnast!) - and he seems to really prefer having all 4 walls of the crib to thread his legs through while he's sleeping. </p> <p>@78h2o: I'm glad things have gotten a little better for you! We've also introduced a dim nightlight and have experienced some success with the "I'll come back to check on you in 2 minutes" routine. And no judgment on the melatonin! I gave DS a little bit of a liquid magnesium supplement (about a 1/4 tsp) and ordered some magnesium lotion after reading about it in another thread and I think it helped! I was so desperate and sleep deprived a few days ago (I think I was so tired that I couldn't feel my hands at one point - what's up with that????), that I was willing to try anything. The magnesium seems to be working for now and I have high hopes for the lotion once it arrives, but I would definitely consider melatonin if things take another turn for the worse. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2265025 Mon, 17 Aug 2015 11:53:42 +0000 78h2o 2265025@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@noelani: Sorry for not responding earlier. I am happy to report that J is now going to bed without too much of a struggle at 8:45-9:15. A big improvement over 10:30-11:30, though we still have a way to go. I think what is working for us is a very consistent bedtime routine (bath, potty, teeth, pjs, 2 books), really limiting tv/ipad in the evening, more quality time with us before bed, "Sleep Fairy" book and reward under the bed in the morning for going to bed nicely, the threat of door being closed and locked (we have the lock turned around. we unlock it as soon as she falls asleep), switching to a very dim night light, glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, only one stuffed animal allowed in bed (to limit playing), sometimes sitting next to her for a few minutes until she falls asleep, or saying I will come back and lay with her once I see her eyes closed (she almost always falls asleep once she closes her eyes).</p> <p>ETA: Oh, I forgot, I also gave her gummy melatonin 1 hr before bedtime 3 nights in a row. I know it is controversial, but I felt ok about it for just a few days. I asked my friend who is a doctor (though not her ped) and he felt it was safe if used sparingly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2263967 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 19:29:52 +0000 Foodnerd81 2263967@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@noelani: if you aren't in a rush to get him out of the crib I think dropping the mattresss to the floor is the way to go. We gave my LO one chance tonight then put her back in the crib and she only cried for a couple minutes and is out. I just really didn't realize that sleep was such an ongoing issue. I naively thought we would have to sleep train once, it would suck, and then she would sleep. Probably my most naive and wrong parenting thought before having a kid. </p> <p>And I'm very sorry for your loss. Dealing with both of these things at once must be really, really hard. Hope you figure something out with the bed at least. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2263949 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 19:08:38 +0000 regberadaisy 2263949@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@noelani: yup, we tried it for other behavioral things and she just wasn't interested. I got a spoil of super cheap smiley faces stickers on Amazon. I drew up a sticker chart. Every night she didn't come back out she got to pick out a sticker in the morning. Honestly I think that was more exciting than the thought of the gift. Because that was much more tangible in her mind. It helped that she was going through a sticker kick at that point! Every morning she will come in and bring me her chart (I kept it in my room) and she will ask to put a sticker in the box. The one night she did not stay in her room and the next morning she was disappointed she couldn't pick a sticker. But thankfully no tantrums over that! LOL<br /> Hang in there! Ours last for a month and it was so draining. I don't remember know but I was either pregnant or had a newborn. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2263857 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 16:43:51 +0000 noelani 2263857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: Thank you for your response! We haven't tried a reward chart yet - I've assumed one wouldn't work for us based on the severity of the struggle and where he's at developmentally, so it's really interesting that the technique hadn't worked until you tried it for sleep. That gives me hope! I think we'll try that tonight, maybe before trying the mattress-on-the-floor of the crib idea.</p> <p>I'm sorry you had a similar battle - I feel like a wimp for complaining about DS staying up until 8:00! (But he had multiple wake ups last night and was again up for the day at 4:15am today, ugh). We've been feeling like complete failures so it's been really helpful to know that these sorts of sleep battles/regressions are (unfortunately) pretty common. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2263213 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 04:45:00 +0000 regberadaisy 2263213@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm sorry the transition has been hard and sorry for your loss. </p> <p>I think this bedtime battle is actually very common for this age. Ours was really bad; we would start around730 and some nights she wouldn't sleep till almost 10!</p> <p>Some suggestions: how long is she napping? Maybe naps need to get cut short?<br /> A reward chart. It literally has never worked for my daughter until the sleep battle. Every night I told her that if she stayed in her room she will get w sticker on the morning. When she has 5 she will get a present. It took a week to get 5 stickers but it solved the problem for us! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2263181 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 23:38:55 +0000 noelani 2263181@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@78h2o: I'm sorry that you're going through such a frustratingly similar situation but thank you for responding! It really helps to know we're not alone. </p> <p>I thought about putting his crib mattress on the ground but I got it in my head that he might get his arm/leg caught in the gap and hurt himself?!? I hadn't heard of others trying that so I thought I shouldn't - but now that I know other people have done that I'm REALLY tempted to try that tomorrow night! </p> <p>I'd love to hear what else you've tried but I understand if you're too wiped out to post - we're exhausted and I'm sure you are too!</p> <p>I keep telling myself we just need to take this day by day and that some day he'll be a teenager that just wants to sleep all day... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2263165 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 23:05:25 +0000 78h2o 2263165@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>PS, I'm so sorry about your loss. If this is a bad time to make the the transition, I've heard about people dropping the crib mattress all the way to the floor to prevent climbing out. From talking to friends, there definitely seems to be a sleep regression that happens around 2.5-3, so it might not matter where he sleeps, but at least it's easier to manage in a crib. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2263164 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:59:44 +0000 78h2o 2263164@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm going through the same thing and trying everything as well. It's awful!!!! My LO was not going to bed until 10:30 or 11! (However, she sleeps until I wake her up, usually around 6:45. She would like to sleep until 8+). Anyway, I've now got her asleep by 9:45, which is a huge improvement, but still not ideal. It's a work in progress! I'm headed to bed now, but I'll try to come back tomorrow and write about what we've tried. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/advice-please-toddler-refusing-to-sleep-after-crib-transition#post-2263153 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:30:05 +0000 noelani 2263153@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are at our wit's end. DS just turned 2 1/2 and started jumping out of his crib several weeks ago so we had to transition him to a toddler bed.</p> <p>The transition has been HELL and we just don't know what to do. We've always been so intentional about protecting his sleep, and he used to STTN from 6:30p/7:30a. Now bedtime is a BATTLE and he just will not stay in bed - he's up every 2-3 minutes and we're lucky if he falls asleep by 8:00pm. To make matters worse, he generally gets out of bed at least once overnight and he is up.for.the.DAY by 4:30am most mornings.</p> <p>We feel totally defeated. We experienced a late loss a few months ago (23 weeks, TFMR), and DH and I are already really struggling. The lack of sleep and the complete lack of control over our lives is making it even harder for us to figure out a good plan for this situation.</p> <p>ANY suggestions or support would be greatly appreciated. We've tried shifting his bedtime earlier/later, a toddler lock on the doorknob (he figured out how to rip it off within minutes), walking him back to bed w/o saying anything, spending more/less time on the whole bedtime routine - literally nothing has worked. </p> <p>Thank goodness for wine! It's the only part of our evening routine that I'm looking forward to these days... :wink: </p>