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Uncontrollable screaming at bed time! Arghhhhhhhh-23 month old

Hello fellow parents!!!

So my 23 month old has always been a great sleeper!

She developed gastro/tummy pain 3 weeks ago and now refuses to sleep in her cot at night time!

She will not even lie down for a second, just jumps and screams! She has all of her favourite toys, comforter, dummies and white noise in there. It's driving us crazy!!!

I've let her cry for 30 minutes but she just gets louder and louder. If we go in the room she gets worse!

It just doesn't make sense because she has no problem having her day time nap in there-goes straight to sleep! She naps for 1 hour only during the day.

At night we have resorted to having the port cot in our room where she will have a full nights sleep! We really don't want to do this as we don't want to start a new bad habit and she will wake once one of us gets up for work.

Any advise would be great! We are pulling our hair out each night!! Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Replies

  • Sounds like she has a negative association with nighttime and the cot which may well be down to her tummy issues like you say.... it can’t be the cot that is the problem is she is sleeping fine in it during the day. 

    Have you tried putting  the porta cot in her room at night & letting her sleep in that but in her own room? I would try that as a temporary thing... if that’s a no then I would gradually move the cot further and further away from your bed over several nights until she is back in her own room. If she struggles then lie down on the floor next to the crib with a blanket until she settles then slowly and gradually move further And further away until you are out of the door. 

    Also give her lots of praise and love when she settles down in her crib on her own So she develops a positive association with it again.

    Good iuck! 

  • Thanks for responding image

    I've been sleeping on a mattress next to her cot the last three nights and it's been taking about an hour to settle her. Last night she tried to fall asleep standing with her head on the cot rails. She just keeps pointing at our room and yelling "over there"

    I like your idea about the moving the ports cot closer gradually to her room but our room is at the front of the house and she would have to move down the corridor, past a lounge room, through the family room, past the study and then past two bedrooms. Might be a bit far lol.

    I have ordered a special night light that she can hold in bed so fingers crossed that works otherwise we will try the porta cot in her room.

    I thought it was seperation anxiety but she doesn't even care that I'm camping out in her room with her!

    Thanks again

  • Good luck!! Hope the light helps her! 

  • Been there with my 2 yr old started when she could climb out of her cot and get in with me when she was 23 months both twins were still in my room until we had building work finished making them a room.  Decided to transition to toddler beds and move rooms in one go and yes we had screaming.  Having older kids taught me a lot so we followed a strict controlled crying routine 3 nights later harmony restored we now have a lovely bedtime routine encountered one more hiccup about a month ago when they learnt to climb the gate that’s on their door now we have two gates and again routine restored.  It’s hard very hard but I honestly found the controlled crying fast effective and despite how some view it my daughter certainly hasn’t suffered for it 

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