My 22 Month Old Will Not Sleep in His Room! Help!

He has turned you into his security blankie and just like the bottle and the pacifier he can be weened off of you too. My son did the same thing. He started out sleeping with me due to a reflux like problem (pyloric stenosis)he had for the first seven weeks of his life. After he had surgery to correct the problem we played havoc trying to get him adjusted to his own room and bed. I finally started laying him in his crib awake and would rub his tummy or his head untill he fell asleep. I kept that up for a couple of weeks, then I would just sit in the rocker at his bedside untill he fell asleep. Each night I would move the rocking chair a little closer to the door untill he finally got used to me being further away from him. Another thing to remember, don't make direct eye contact with them or speak, all children regard eye contact as part of their communication with you. Try to keep yourself quiet and calm. It took us some time, but my reward was having my rest back.

Hope this helps you out!!
Jennifer

God Bless You!! I am a single mom to now 14 year old girl and 17 year old boy. Don't sweat the small stuff!! I can tell you that when I separated in 2000 we were forced to move into a 2 bedroom townhome. The greatest thing about it, which it turns out, is that I did not have bedroom to myself and had to share aroom w/my daughter. Because of the circumstances, an wanting to provide a secure environment for my children, we would move a mattress into my daughter's room and my son would sleep on the mattress and my daughter and I slept together for a very long time. Not only did this provide us with a sense of security in difficult circumstances but it also provided us with much needed time together to talk and joke and pray together as a family. I am also a working mom. My kids are now 14 and 17 and have moved on to become socially independent. Some of my most precious, memorable, enjoyable moments with my children were during that time. Did you know in other countries it is completely acceptable for a family to reside in one room (eat, sleep, work). It is only in the USA that we frown upon the situation. Believe the time quickly goes by before your children are grown and gone. Savor the moment.

If you're really serious about getting your son to sleep in his own room, get the book " Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber. There has been some controversy over his ideas, but I can truly say that this method worked beautifully for my then 9 month old son! He has been an excellent sleeper ever since and he's 3 1/2 now. what I like about the book is that Dr. Ferber, a pediatric sleep expert, give good explanations about why kids develop certain sleep habits. Unfortunately, there's no easy or simple solution to breaking your son's bad sleep habits. You'll have to deal with some nights of crying, which will be hard, but if you make up your mind to stick to the method, I think you'll be successful. If the cry-it-out method is not your style, do some research to find other experts that may have a more gentler system. Whatever you choose, just make sure that you stick with it. If you waiver, it really sets you back. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

DO NOT let your son "cry it out". All that teaches them is that mommy and daddy will not respond when they need them and makes them terribly insecure and needy - justifiably so.

Get The Baby Whisperer's book - she has a whole chapter on sleep issues. Try what the other lady below says which sounds like her method....stay bedside, keep lights very low and no noise or talking of any kind. Pat and rub his back in his crib. Sit in a chair and move it further back each night. You may even have to sleep in his floor for the first few nights.

They're only little once!

Hi,
Wanting to sleep in mom's bed can be a real drain on parents!
You might check out a few books on sleep problems in children found at Borders's Books etc. There's lots of advice. Finding a solution that sounds sensible to you is the key.
Does your pediatrician have suggestions?
Have you tried letting him fall asleep with you in his room and then leaving?
Our daughter would come into our room until she was about 3. She would fall asleep and then I would return her to her bed. Eventually she stopped coming.
Good luck.
A.

God bless you! THe EXACT thing happened with my daughter around that age until I got her the big girl bed. Something a/b the crib, it's scary. I pray for your sister. I, too, am a military mom.

since he will sleep in your bed fine with or without you maybe it is time to get him his own bed maybe he is afraid of being closed in the crib or the dropping feeling they get when you put them down. I would get him a bed big enough that you could lay with him at first until he gets used to it but I would let him fall asleep in the bed do NOT put him down after he falls asleep my daughter (19 months) will not go to sleep for me without me holding her and after she is asleep I can put her down & I can't figure out how to make her go to sleep on her own.