I need help!!! My little Zoey is having a tough time. There are three things that have changed in the last couple weeks and it has been a real challenge!
#1, she has started having serious temper tantrums! They last a LONG time and are uncontrollable :( Anything sets them off but it's way worse when she is tired....you can imagine how bad they were the couple times in Hawaii. I think this little girl knows she is about to be 2. I can only hope they don't get worse!
#2, Zoey REfuses to sleep in her pack n play.....not sure what started this. She has NEVER had a problem sleeping in it. She sleeps in one at nanny and papas, grammy and grampas, camping, hotel room, etc. She has always pretty much just layed down and fallen asleep. Right after returning home from Hawaii (she slept in one there and slept great) she all of the sudden would not sleep in one. She FREAKED out. Not like she was scared, more like the tantrums she throws....oh boy. She also got so worked up she figured out how to get out...so I had to figure something out. We tried letting her sleep on our floor....it worked a couple times but I decided not to make that a habit. We have a bed set up for her just waiting for the right time to make the transition. I have put her in it the last few nights and she has gone to bed without a fit.....however that brings us to challenge #3!
#3, Zoey is waking up at night!!!!!!! ahhhhhhhh! It's horrible. I think this might be related to the time change from Hawaii to here. However, it is still going and it's been a week and a half. She has NEVER woken up like this EVER in her life. As a baby she woke up once to nurse and went right back to sleep. She has slept through the night since she was just a few months old. Occasionally when she is sick or something she will wake up once but go right back to sleep in her pack n play. Well, since she is now sleeping in a bed it makes things really tough because she las nothing to keep her in until she falls back asleep. We have locked her in her room but I always end up going and getting her because I hate the screaming. The worst night was Sat. night. She went to bed (I can't remember how we did that) and then woke up at like 3am.....she would NOT go back to bed....we tried everything and she was just screaming and screaming. Somehow Jane slept through all of that chaos only feet away and I am sorry to our upstairs neighbors (if you are reading this). I really couldn't help it! She was awake until like 6:30 holy cow! That was a bad night. I finally got her to lay down and sleep on a body pillow on the floor and promised to leave her door open if she didn't get up....I guess by that point she was so tired that she finally fell asleep. I'll just say that we were not on time to our 9:30 church and I really didn't mind. I had a good reason! We had about three really bad nights where she was up either for a really long time or up multiple times...last night was ok...she went to bed in her bed really well. She only woke up once where I went in and put her back in bed. BUT, how do I get her to not wake up?!? It's the worst thing ever. I am not used to waking up at 3 in the morning. I don't even remember the last time Jane woke up then.
I have come to the conclusion that things are changing in her life. She is growing up as much as I hate to admit it. She is potty trained and I think she is at that point in her life where she is starting to feel more independent. This may contribute to the tantrums (I know it's normal for two year olds) and is probably aiding her stubbornness when it comes to sleeping in a crib vs. bed. It just feels like a lot all at once. Out of everything that's gone on the one thing that makes me the most sad is her not wanting to sleep in a crib/pack n play. I don't know why but I just miss the days (literally a few days ago) when I lay her in it and she smiles and cuddles with her blanky's and that's it, she just falls asleep happy. I guess I'm sad because it's a big change in her life that happened so suddenly. :( I'll get over it. It IS cute to see her go to bed in a big girl bed and I know she's old enough. I love my baby girl. Even though she is growing up fast she is still my baby girl.
4 comments:
We are still working with Maia on staying in bed; I remember when we transitioned her to a toddler bed, it took a while for her to stay in bed. The thing the finally worked the best is when we moved Lilly into her room with her. Now, when we put her to bed, we read a book in the living room, say prayers together, then she goes to bed where we sing a song or two (usually a primary song). Since Lilly is in bed with her, she is at least quiet when she gets up. However, I'm sorry that I don't know what to do about Jane waking up at night. I'll keep thinking about it and let you know.
For tantrums, Josh likes the "get the whiners out" game. Whenever he is tantruming, I ask him if he wants to be happy/sad. If he is sad, he has to go in his room. If he wants to be happy, we find all the "whiners" on him and pick them off, kind of like bugs or something. He is happy by the time we find all the whiners and throw them out. This method does not work as well for Maia. I just leave her alone during tantrums and she eventually comes to me for me to give her hugs. THEN she is willing to talk with me to figure things out. I've told her a lot, "Use your words instead of screaming, then I can hear you and help you out." Maybe she is finally learning some of that. I'm not saying that either of these methods work all of the time but they are something I use that works. :) Good luck with your sweet girl!
Duh...I just remembered something! Josh and Maia woke up during the night with one problem when they were about 2 years old! TEETHING! There are molars in the back that two-year-olds get. It's their second set of molars. That is the only time I remember the kids waking up during the night when they were older. Try a little infant/children's acetominophen (ask your doctor how much zoey should have) or motrin. You can also try Orajel.
I can't believe I didn't think of this the first time I posted.
I love the "Whiner game" that Laura suggested.
Transitioning to a bed is always tough. Here are some things that we have tried -
We take the toys out of their room while they are figuring this out & just do our normal routine and put them to bed. They often get up and wander around their room and then fall asleep on the floor. After a few days they realize the bed is much more comfortable. As hard as it is to hear them cry the more often you give in to the crying the harder it gets. It is like starting over b/c they know you will come get them if they pitch a big enough fit. Oh - did I mention that we turn their doorknob around and lock it so they can't get out? Sounds cruel but they will just keep coming out and we always unlock it after they fall asleep.
I don't know what to tell you about the middle of the night because with upstairs neighbors that gets tricky. Dan usually handles it because they do better with him in situations like that because I give in easier. He usually goes and comforts them and then puts them back in bed. The meds for teething will probably help too.
TANTRUMS - they are tough but you can shorten their life if you don't let them get their way. We usually ignore them until they keep carrying on. Then we take them to their room and tell them we do not get what we want when we throw fits and tell them to stay in their room until they are happy. If they keep coming out you'll need to calmly walk them back to their room and remind them they can come out as soon as they are ready to be happy.
All of this was much harder with Danny than the other kids because we were learning. It took a lot of kids to figure out the system and then you have one like Hailey with a stronger personality and you have to figure it all out again. She was tough but it was mostly our fault because I gave in too much.
Good luck!!!
What, ZoYo is growing up?!? No! She is too far away to be growing up that fast!
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