Problems with Bedtime

hello there..
i have the same problem with my 1 and a half year old. she has found herself at the point where she never gets a full night's sleep, because she also wakes up all night long as well. i was told by my mentor, I'm a midwife's apprentice, to try bach's night remedy, which i bought at aqua vita. i am going to try it for the first time tonight. i'll let you know how it goes... crossed fingers.. also, i became a single mother to my now 5 and a half year old daughter when she was 2 and a half years old. she also had this screaming before sleep issue, which i handled very similar to you, and it did get better faster than i thought. i bought her a sleepy cd, and played it while i lay beside her bed, until she fell asleep. at first i held her hand while she cried, then the crying stopped, and soon i didn't need to be in her room at all while she fell asleep. it took about 3 weeks of crying. i know how these life changes can be for you and your daughter. i'm free to read or respond any time i can.
good luck,
S.

Hi C.,
My daughter is 2 1/2 years old. We moved her into her own bedroom when we brought her baby brother home about 6 months ago. What worked for us was, putting a lamp in her room. I bought one of the disney princess lamps that lights on top and bottom, and I have both on, so the room is light enough where you can see to walk. I've tried to put it on just the top part and she askes me to turn the light on (cause it's dark). I usually lie in her bed and we recount the day, and I would ask her to sing to me, and I would sing to her. Then I would tell her that I have to check on her baby brother and I will be back, and for her to close her eyes and rest a bit. Usually when I come back to check on her, she is asleep. Hope this helps.

Hi C....
My daughter is almost 2 and went through this and for her it was she was scared of the dark..I dont put nite lights in the kids room ( I am afraid of it starting a fire) so I leave the hallway light on for her and leave her door open a little bit and that worked great...If she still cries just let her cry it out .. As hard as it is if you cave in every time she knows by crying that you will come and get her.. As long as you know she is not sick or suffering she is only crying to get out of bed..It is really hard, but after a few nites of completly ignoring it she should learn...
Good luck,
M.

We had a little trouble with my daughter when we put her into a toddler bed. (She's 6 now) I sat down with her and told her that she had her own big girl bed and she needed to sleep in it. I told her that we could read and talk a little, but I had things that I had to do before I could go to bed. I asked her to get into bed and told her that I would check on her in a little bit. If she started to argue or get upset, I would turn on a lamp, hand her a book and tell her to "read" and that I would be back - but if she wanted to read, she HAD to stay in bed. If she was going to get out of bed, I would have to turn off the lights. I gave her the choice - read with the lights on and I'd be back in a little bit or lay down with the lights off.

Your self description says you're a "recently single mother" - if that means that her Dad was in the picture and no longer is, her actions may be her way of trying to deal with change. If this is the case, you may be able to bribe her. Tell her that if she gets into bed with no screaming, then tomorrow she can talk to Dad on the phone (or something).

Also, maybe you might let her pick a sheet or pillow or something to make the bed more her own space. My daughter was SO excited that she got to have Wiggles sheets on her bed.

And, ladies, those are my ideas. I wish you all good luck - I'll be going thru this again as I have a one year old. I may come to get your advice!!

I have a friend who's daughter has a cd player and she is 2 yrs old.. she listens to one cd at bedtime of classical music, piano, etc.. she sings to it for about a half hour and then drifts to sleep. If you haven't tried it, maybe give it a shot.

Hi, I have a 2 and a half yr old daughter, Skylar. She hates sleeping in her own bed so we go through the same thing every night, too. She screams and throws fits and finally ends up sleeping in our bed. We need help breaking her of this fast. I am 99.9% sure I am pregnant with our 3rd and my little one can't keep sleeping in our bed for the next 9 months. If anyone has some advice I would appreciate it as well.

B.