19 month old not sleeping in crib--HELP!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2004
19 month old not sleeping in crib--HELP!
7
Thu, 05-06-2004 - 7:27pm
Over night my 19 month old son began to hate his crib...he won't sleep in there for naps or bedtime. I thought it was b/c he was sick, but now he's over the cold he had. When I approach his room w/ him he screams and carries on. I put him in the crib and he will cry and whimper the entire time I leave him in there. At first I'd check on him in 10 mins, then 20....but now, after talking to some women, I put him in there w/ books and toys (which he promptly throws out) and don't come back for an hour. Last night he cried all night....hard at first but turned to a whimper/whine. When he's up he walks around like a zombie and whines non-stop (no doubt from being overly tired)...but ONLY w/ me!! When at grandma's he's fine. He'll nap in the car, on the couch, in my bed....but not in his crib. He went from a perfectly well-behaved happy child to a whining, pouty, dare I say bratty kid. I don't know what happened and of course I'm to blame in "someone's" eyes. :(

Help! I'm very frustrated and am doubting my mothering skills. I don't want to start a bad habit by having him sleep w/ me, but that's the only way either of us can get sleep.

Thanks ladies! :)

Avatar for lisacolette
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2003
Fri, 05-07-2004 - 7:35am
Sounds to me like your little guy's hitting the "terrible twos" a little early. He may want a big bed now. Can you invest in a toddler bed that uses the crib mattress? Try looking at your local resale shops if you can't afford a new one. Make sure your child's room is child proofed thoroughly with electrical outlet caps, drawers child locked, furniture attached to the wall to prevent it from crashing down on him, etc. You can put your son to bed in his "big boy" bed, put a gate on the door and safely put him to sleep. Remember too to put a towel or something over the top of the door so he can't close his door.

It worked for my 4 year old when he was about the same age. I think he fell out once, but he quickly learned how to stay in bed. He loved the freedom to move around his room and I kept my sanity.

Good luck!

Lisa

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Fri, 05-07-2004 - 10:14am
Hi there! In anticipation of our 6th child, we put our 18month old daughter (last year early fall) in her own big bed, with a guard to prevent falling. As the previous poster said, we also put a gate up in the door at night to prevent her from roaming the house. She took to that big bed like you wouldn't believe! Sounds to me as if your son is ready to move up in the world. I personally wouldn't advise purchasing a toddler bed, unless of course you can't afford a regular one. Little kiddos can just as easily get in and out of a twin sized bed, as they can a toddler one. Since you'll have to buy a bigger bed eventually, economically it's usually better to buy it at the offset. I wouldn't worry too much if he gets out of bed to cruise around his room a bit. He'll get the idea, and get back into his bed all by himself! Good luck to you!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Fri, 05-07-2004 - 11:03am
toddler beds are great, my dds were in theirs til they were almost 4... we also did the gate across the door ( dont tell a fireman that you did that.omg.... i got bitched out on a chat one night,,,,, yelling at me that you should close the door when kids sleep and if there is a gate, they cant get out.blah blah blah, when in all reality, the chances of the child roaming out of the house or in the house somewhere they dont belong is higher then a fire) to keep my girls from being able to fully close their door and not be able to get out, i took the internal mechanism out of the knob.. knob is still on the door, but it doesnt latch..works great also, for during nap time, i do close the door to prevent noise from waking them, but i can also open to peak without making noise with the knob..... good luck.......
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2004
Thu, 05-13-2004 - 11:25am
Thank you everyone for your suggestions!! Hearing that this is normal makes it easier to handle.

He is now sleeping at night, but still won't take naps.....could this be a whole new problem???? Could he be growing out of naps already?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-27-2004
Thu, 05-13-2004 - 12:32pm
Hi there,

You are going to go through stage after stage of different sleep patterns. My son just turned 3 last month. He was always a good lil sleeper since he was 3 weeks. He would sleep through the night. He took 2 naps a day each 2 hours just about. But then he hit a stage where he didnt like his crib either and he was about 19 months. We bought a safe plastic toddler bed from Wal-mart for only $40.oo. Not too bad. He loved it. But a few months ago he hated sleeping in his bed. I would come out in the living room at night and find him asleep on the couch or on the floor in the corner of his room. So we got him a big boy twin bed. It is real low to the floor too. Though he has never had any problems falling out of bed,always better to be safe. He sleeps good now at night. He stopped taking naps when he turned about the same age as yours. I would make him lay down and he would never fall asleep so I stopped trying to force him to nap. I think every kid is diff. some kids need alot of sleep and some dont. So now he will sometimes fall asleep on his own on the couch and I will move him to his room,but that is rare now. I'm sure my son will go through a 100 more different stages with his sleep...lol. So like the others I think it is time to change beds. And if he doesnt seem to want a nap anymore then dont force it. If he is tired he will let you know now. Well good luck.

~Sheri

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2004
Thu, 05-13-2004 - 8:35pm
Thanks so much Sheri!!

Sounds like my little guy is right on schedule.....just when us moms get our groove our kids go and change on us!!
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anonymous user
Fri, 05-14-2004 - 2:09am
What if you put him to sleep in your arms or bed and when he falls asleep put him in his crib. Will he still wake up?

I'm from Central America and we have many old-fashioned ways with rearing kids. I had that same problem with my daughter who is now 16. I had to take my shirt I had on all day, sweaty as is, and when she falls asleep, I put it beside her so she could smell me.

I don't think you have bad mothering skills. The baby is probably just going through some changes right now that he himself don't understand. Maybe if you can afford it, perhaps buy him a regular bed? I know he's just a baby but, have you asked him what's wrong. Why he don't want to sleep in the crib? Maybe he's just scared. What if you leave the light on?

Have you ever heard of gripe water?http://www.britshoppe.com/wogrwa.html It's very good for the baby's stomach. They could drink it up till their 5 yr or even older. Soothes their tummy in the night and help them sleep. Very good for colicky babies. Maybe your son has a new tooth coming out? I know this probably sounds weird to some of the readers. But at times with babies you have to question even the most weird things.

Keep me updated on how it's going.