My one year old doesn't sleep!?

Question

Im finding things really hard at the minute, tonight and most nights i am spending 45 mins - 1 hour laying with my one year old trying to get him to sleep, whilst he does rolly pollies and hand stands, the thing is he's reallt tired, his eyes are rolling in the back of his head but he just WILL NOT give in! arghh, when he finally does go to sleep he'll be up again at 11pm and cry until he comes into our bed, where last night he spent 2 hours grizzling and driving me mad! he rules the house, during the day, has temper tantrums and always end up getting his own way, im getting so miserable! and advice? please don't tell me to let him cry at night, ive tried this and he just seems to become terrified of his cot, and will scream for hours, which keeps me awake anyway :-(

Answer 1

I find the Baby Whisperer forum really helpful when it comes to this stuff. There are a lot of mom's on the site who've had success and can give you lots of great advice. I'd also recommend the book "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" by Tracey Hogg. It's a middle of the road type book, not too harsh, not too comfy, IYKWIM.

www.babywhisperer.com

Answer 2

Hi, I found with my kids , that it took a maximum of 2 weeks to break any bad habits they had, but you must be determined and stick to the rules you make .

A bath before bed helps and  a quiet dark room  to sleep in.

You must nt let a 1 year old rule the house .

Milk or water in his cup . (like the other person said , make sure he isnt having additives .

quite often , toddlers learn very quickly how to get around their parents , dont let him in your bed , give him a favorite toy to cuddle .

It is really hard , I went through similar with my 1st son , after a week of weening him off needing me to lye with him ,  I could just let him hold my finger and he would sleep ,

Answer 3

There could be a medical reason that he gets up soon after he finally does go to sleep.  I had problems w/my child.  She slept 8 hours starting at 8 weeks old, then at 10 mos she stopped sleeping.  It turns out she had sleep apnea and her oxygen levels dropped and she would wake herself up.  I took her to a sleep doctor and they need a sleep test, which isn't painful to determine the problem.  It did require surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids, but it worked. She sleeps now.  Also some advice, if you start the bad habit of laying with your child now, you will still be doing it when he is 7 or older to go to sleep.  Good luck.

Answer 4

Yes....how about taking him to the doctors and find out what the problem is?..Or it could be that your with him for 15 minutes and later ..he wants you? Maybe ...You know those  Baby Monitors they also could help you..You could hear whats happening , and why he is crying.

                                 Well , with my help...Hope it works.

Answer 5

he sounds overtired - does he sleep in the day? what time does he go to bed? try an earlier time?

you need to think about the future - not about the now. when he comes into your bed, you take him back without a word. you just dont say anything, and you keep doing that until he gets the message.

dont make a rod for you own back for years to come by letting him get his way.

a good mummy is a refreshed mummy!

Answer 6

take him to your doctor or health visitor, he may be hyperactive and a change in his diet might be needed i'm afraid that's the only advice i can give you if you feel you can't leave him to cry

Answer 7

Yes things are tough but if you get this under control now it will be better in the future. (Believe me I know from experience I had a 3yrold that wouldn't sleep) My ped suggested a great book Healthy sleep habits happy child What a life saver. It looks big but you really don't need to read but a section. It's not that expensive and the time and energy your spending getting him to sleep now is well worth the time to read this book. Good luck and don't mess around like I did and wait until he's 3 to get it under control. Good luck. I tried one thing from the book and that night was the last time I had trouble. Yours is a little young but what I did was put a timer on a lamp and tell her not to get up until the light comes on in the morning. I'm sure there are more age appropriate suggestions in the book for you.