going to bed way too late!

lmahoney79

I have been out of action last 3 weeks because of spine surgery so my partner has taken over. We thought things would of started to settle back into a routine by now but getting our 1 year old boy to go to sleep before midnight is getting ridiculous! I know his usual routine has been upset and is now very clingy to his Dad but these late nights aren't on. We purposely make sure he is up early enough in the morning and he doesn't nap long during the day, yet after his bedtime routine, its like he gets second wind and continues playing until about 11:30pm sometimes! Please help, how do we get him asleep sooner? Btw, putting him in cot and leaving him cry it out or control cry doesn't work either.

wmpdd3

Dose he sleep at bedtime? or does he sit there for a while then cry to get up.

If the routine is gone out of the window, my girl will fall aslepp at 7:30 but be awake again at 11 for anything up to 3 hours.

She doesnt cry, she knows she should be asleep but she is wired, so I give her in a book and a small toy. She stays playing with them until she nods off again.

I wake her up at her usually getting up time and instead of napping 12pm to 1pm she usually asks for bed at 10am, I let her sleep as long as she wants and usually after 3 days and nights of this she's back to 7:30-9am and 12pm to 1pm.

Hannibal Smith

I saw a trick on supernanny the other week that might be worth a try...when you put him to bed, you stay on the room....but you sit on the floor with your back to him and stay still. The idea was he sees you there but you're not stimulating him and he drops off. Actually with your spinal injury you might want to pick something a bit more comfortable to sit on.

lmahoney79

Once he actually falls asleep then he usually sleeps through, sometimes he may wake about 5am but then goes back when my partner goes in to calm him. But we really need him in bed a lot earlier than 11:30pm. He just doesn't want to switch off before then!

How Strange

What is your home like in the evening? Is it full of stimulation for your son? We watch the cbeebies bedtime hour and then the tv goes off and the toys have been cleared away. Then its off to bed. Sometimes our son doesn't want to go but we do the exact same thing every night.

If we have visitors in the evening he might want to stay up because he gets wound up and excited and feels like he's missing out by going to bed.

Sometimes he wakes up around 9pm and if he won't resettle we take him up to the living room, turn tv off, give him milk and start the off to bed routine again.

I'd say look at how things are around his usual bedtime. Do you have the tv on and his toys still around? Do you automatically calm down for bedtime?

Perhaps removing all distractions and stimulation may help so he feels he's not missing out on something.

Also I wouldn't cut out his day time naps or restrict them except possibly for after 4pm as sleep encourages sleep for most babies/toddlers. It's harder to wind them down if they're overtired.

If he had a good bedtime routine before the chances are he will take to it again but it means a bit of perseverance for a while.

lmahoney79

We have telly down low in living room and turn off his toys that make any noise, read him story and give him his bedtime milk drink. That's worked before. We aren't trying to cut out daytime naps, he just doesn't stay asleep for long if he does go.

Andy!!

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I saw a trick on supernanny the other week that might be worth a try...when you put him to bed, you stay on the room....but you sit on the floor with your back to him and stay still. The idea was he sees you there but you're not stimulating him and he drops off. Actually with your spinal injury you might want to pick something a bit more comfortable to sit on.

Not trying to be sarcy but that sounds frankly scary for the child, especially if the lights are off... that's some Blair Witch Project type stuff! :pac:

How Strange

I'm sure it's tough going if you're recovering from surgery but your son could be quite anxious about the recent changes to his daily routine. I'd say keep with the original routine as this will be the most reassuring and comforting thing for your son. Little ones need the stability of routine and your normal life has been hugely disrupted lately. Sorry, that's all I can suggest.

lmahoney79

Thanks for that, we are trying to keep routine as normal as before I went for surgery but hasn't worked! I know he has been totally disrupted which is why we trying to keep things as normal but tough as I can't pick him up or comfort him, his Dad doing all that now so clings to him big time

Hannibal Smith

Andy!! wrote: »

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I saw a trick on supernanny the other week that might be worth a try...when you put him to bed, you stay on the room....but you sit on the floor with your back to him and stay still. The idea was he sees you there but you're not stimulating him and he drops off. Actually with your spinal injury you might want to pick something a bit more comfortable to sit on.

Not trying to be sarcy but that sounds frankly scary for the child, especially if the lights are off... that's some Blair Witch Project type stuff! :pac:

Haha...well all the more reason for him to go to sleep so he can't see it

How Strange

lmahoney79 wrote: »

Thanks for that, we are trying to keep routine as normal as before I went for surgery but hasn't worked! I know he has been totally disrupted which is why we trying to keep things as normal but tough as I can't pick him up or comfort him, his Dad doing all that now so clings to him big time

I think you've just summed it up yourself. It's going to take time to get back to normal as a family. Keep plugging away with the routine and he will respond to it eventually. Babies are so intuitive. Hope you make a speedy recovery