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18 month old sleep solutions?

My 18 month old is wearing me out! I need some type of a solution. He sleeps in bed with dh and I, every time I have him in his pack n play (he has a crib, but he shares a room with ds1 who has night terrors) he gets sick and winds up back in our bed.

He isnt ever tired. I mean, he is, but he wont sleep. He wakes up between 7 and 8, takes a 1-2 hr nap around noon, and then is wide awake until 10pm. I am exhausted. My 3 year old goes to bed between 730-8pm and wakes up at about 7am every day. He has always been a great sleeper.

Any suggestions?

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shesliketx

Asked by shesliketx at 10:48 PM on Jan. 13, 2013 in Toddlers (1-2)

Level 10 (488 Credits)
Answers (8)
  • My 3 year old does not nap and I am also a full time student. The reason our 18 month old is in a pack n play is because he prefers that over the crib, we have padding in there to make it soft like our bed, I am going to move the crib into our room and see if it makes a big difference for him because it has been a few months since we tried it. Thank you for the help!
    shesliketx

    Comment by shesliketx (original poster) at 11:44 AM on Jan. 14, 2013

  • The cosleeping isn't so bad... been there done that and NOT cosleeping led to less sleep here. The right answer is the one that gets everyone more sleep.

    Does your three year old nap? If so, that's when you sleep.

    It also occurs to me that the more you try to make a child sleep, the less he's going to do it. Make his world conducive to sleep but let him conk out when he's ready to. I was also a non-sleeper, so was my son. Trying to impose anything less than our own personal sleep schedules was bound to fail... and did. When I was about two, my mom just let me stay up and look at my picture books. I instututed the same thing with my son. We all slept better as a result.
    gdiamante

    Answer by gdiamante at 12:48 AM on Jan. 14, 2013

  • Your problem starts with "He sleeps in bed with dh and I" and " I have him in his pack n play"... He needs to sleep in a proper bed or crib... PERIOD!! If you have to move the crib into your room do it... a pack and play is NOT comfortable for a kid his age!

    You might also have to try cutting out the nap and see if it helps. I say that b/c my DD was in a twin bed at 18 months and gave up her nap... at which point I had the first real night sleep since she was born!!
    Crafty26

    Answer by Crafty26 at 12:04 AM on Jan. 14, 2013

  • Nope this is his persoanl body clock and there is little you can do to change it. Each child is different.
    Dardenella

    Answer by Dardenella at 11:42 PM on Jan. 13, 2013

  • The pack n play is in my room. He sleeps a few hrs in it at least most nights, until he gets sick and his RAD acts up, then the only way he will sleep is with me...it also makes it easier to get to him if he needs a neb treatment. Its more of getting him to sleep at a decent time that baffles me, he is like the energizer bunny. We turn off the lights and everything as soon as our 3 year old goes to bed. He just runs around non stop. I have kept a routine, I have tried to let him CIO (he hyperventilates)...
    shesliketx

    Comment by shesliketx (original poster) at 10:59 PM on Jan. 13, 2013

  • Is there anywhere else you can have him sleep where he's alone? Or bring the crib into your room
    butterflyblue19

    Answer by butterflyblue19 at 10:56 PM on Jan. 13, 2013

  • I have tried shortening the nap, but then he is extremely grumpy all day, but then gets a second wind so to speak at night. Or I cant keep him awake. :-(
    shesliketx

    Comment by shesliketx (original poster) at 10:52 PM on Jan. 13, 2013

  • Cut out,or shorten the nap
    butterflyblue19

    Answer by butterflyblue19 at 10:50 PM on Jan. 13, 2013

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Answers / Parenting / Toddlers (1-2)

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