Heather has been a great sleeper for a long time now . Happy to go to bed, able to get herself to sleep and sleeping for 12 hours a night.So much so that if she woke with a bad dream and really needed us in the night , we were able to go in her room lift her up for a minute , then she would want to go back to bed.The routine was bath, milk and stories down stairs , teeth then bed.No quams, no crying, no struggle. However as soon as she hit 22 months things began to change. More stories were wanting to be read, toys being pulled out, fidgetting when being read to and crying when going to bed .
The first time it happened was the night we had changed her crib to a bed as we thought it time , before the new baby comes , and also she was used to a bed for naps at the day home. We had also been to a friends bar-b-q and it was a late night for her .She cried on and off for 2 hours , with us going in to lift her and try to comfort her , but there was no stopping the crying .I mean heart wrenching screaming with her arms tight around your neck , standing at the side of the crib with out stretched arms shouting "mummy ,daddy!! " and loud screaming and shaking the sides, enought o bring a tear to anybody's eye!!!. There was no way this little girl was going to settle by herself. James and I just looked at each other ..it was 11.30 and she was not stopping...we couldn't leave her in the bed like this , as I needed to know she was safe, so he got out the tools and then converted her bed back to the crib. Exhaustion eventually took over ,as we asked her to sit down in the crib ,and she could no longer stay awake. The next few nights were the same, she was getting smarter , saying that she had pooped , just so that I would lift her out of the crib..of course she hadn't pooped at all, wanting to sing " jaque jaque" (freres jaques) etc .This couldn't go on , how would I cope with James on night shift , Heather screaming and having to attend to a new baby....I thought our luck had turned , what had happened to our easy going child.
We put our heads together and agreed that we had to nip this in the bud . So no lifting out the crib, having to leave her to cry for longer periods before going in to her room and gentle reassurance. We both did the same for a few nights , no giving in . The routine was changed ...bath , teeth and 2 stories in her room. It took her by surprise at first , but after 2-3 nights she knows what to expect and she is now back to her little angel self and happy going to bed with no tears and talking to teddy as she used to do.
I don't know if it was the hot weather, the light nights , her testing her boundaries or a bit of everything , but I have spoken to 3 of my friends and they all experienced similar things...must be in the air.
I am so relieved that she is back to her good sleeping pattern ..... however, we still have to change the crib back to a bed.....next job!!!
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