Bedtime Blow Ups!

I'm recommending Jay Gordon all over the place today. He really is a good resource if you are not a cry-it-out parent. I'm not, and guess what, both my kids developed into great sleepers.

http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html

He talks a lot about the family bed. I didn't have a family bed - my kids slept in their crib from day 1. But, he methods still worked for me.

There's not much information here.

For example, if you're trying to put her to bed at 7pm chances are that's too early. Kids do not need that much sleep.

If you're still allowing her 2 naps, she isn't sleepy if she's going down too early, kids don't need that much sleep.

If you have her down to 1 nap and she's going to bed at 9pm then she might be hungry, she might need to settle down an hour earlier. If our little guy is really active in the evenings he is horrible to get down. It's like giving him a shot of speed. So we do TV and quieter activities the hour or two before bedtime. When we got him a mini trampoline to see if it would help his sensory issues, OMG, it was like we shot him up. He could jump on that for 5 minutes after dinner and he was bouncing like a pinball for hours and hours.

So I suggest you limit her sleep during the day, make sure her bedtime is what her body needs and not just what "you" want, and help her be calmer at bedtime by making her evening less active.

I went through the same thing with my son. He was our first, and I had never heard of the Ferber Method, so we made a lot of mistakes concerning bed time. He was a champion sleeper once he was asleep (all night long...) but getting him to sleep initially was a nightmare for me. He was walking at 10 1/2 months and climbing out of his crib by his 1st birthday. So the crib (and any means of confining him) was gone... leaving me to stay with him (similar to what you seem to be describing) until he was asleep---and then try to creep out without waking him up (not always successful).

What seemed to turn a switch with him/us, was deciding that the crib mattress on the floor was for the birds, and getting him a twin sized bed. We pushed it up against the wall in the corner and put a fold-down bedrail on the exposed side, so he wouldn't accidentally roll out during the night. For safety. The only side of the bed without a wall/rail was the foot of the bed, waaaaaaay at the other end from where he laid his precious little head.
Interestingly enough, having that side rail seemed to keep him in his bed, so after the stories and bedtime routine, I could tuck him in, give kisses and walk away.

Maybe that is something to consider for your daughter.

Thank you for the suggestions so far. My little miss takes one nap a day, averaging 2 hours and she does usually sleep through the night. My battle is getting her to go to sleep at night. The nap time isn't usually a battle although it has been a few times. She has been trained that I will be there for her to fall asleep. I know she can learn to self soothe, it's just how do I transition to that?

Updated

Thank you for the suggestions so far. My little miss takes one nap a day, averaging 2 hours and she does usually sleep through the night. My battle is getting her to go to sleep at night. The nap time isn't usually a battle although it has been a few times. She has been trained that I will be there for her to fall asleep. I know she can learn to self soothe, it's just how do I transition to that?

Updated

Thank you for the suggestions so far. My little miss takes one nap a day, averaging 2 hours and she does usually sleep through the night. My battle is getting her to go to sleep at night. The nap time isn't usually a battle although it has been a few times. She has been trained that I will be there for her to fall asleep. I know she can learn to self soothe, it's just how do I transition to that?

I had the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weissbluth. He is a pediatrician that specializes in children and sleep patterns. It has a lot of practical suggestions. I loved it!