Go To Sleep Little Baby
So, my child is stubborn.
Yes, I said it. Stubborn like me, I suppose (although his father has a stubborn streak, also). So, my child is double stubborn. I need a book titled, How to train stubborn children without pulling out your hair.
For over a year we have been trying to get Ryley to sleep in his own bed so you'd think he was used to this idea by now. But apparently somehow he thinks that if he puts up enough of a fight we'll give in and he will sleep with us. I'm not gonna lie sometimes after a long days work I don't even try to fight with him, but most nights I'm really good about it and neither of us get any sleep because in turn he puts up an epic battle. In and out of his bed, until finally he falls asleep. This doesn't always last the whole night, alot of times he'll only sleep a few hours and then he's in our bedroom.
Ok, so the problem started from infantcy...Let me detail you in.
1. First problem... The crib we were given was Eric's crib when he was a baby. 26 years old and had been stored above the cars in the garage for about 20 years collecting every bit of exhaust, dirt, dust and grime imagineable (Which I got to scrape off and clean with a tooth brush while 7 months pregnant. I had to do this about four times and polish with wood soap to get it even decent looking.) It was missing pieces and wobbled, the side rail was partially broken so it didn't go up and down easily and definitely not with only one arm, which is normal when you're carrying a baby to put him down to sleep in the crib. Needless to say I did not feel comfortable having my newborn baby sleeping in it. He must of felt my anxiety, because he refused to sleep in it also. It wasn't seconds before laying him down in it that he would start to scream.
2. Second problem... We didn't have alot of income and so a large heating bill wasn't in the budget, so alot of times our house got pretty cold at night leaving Ryley not able to sleep in his room. So the only option really was to have him sleep in our bed with us for the warmth.
3. Third problem... Sleep training did not work. We tried the "He's stubborn so we'll just let him scream it out" technique, this did not work. He just ended up screaming until we couldn't take it anymore, letting my baby scream so hard he threw up in the crib really wasn't an option for me. We tried letting him hold onto your hand until he fell asleep, the moment you let go he'd wake up. We tried singing him to sleep, letting him listen to lullabye music, and even talking to him for hours. We tried car rides, he hated car seats so he'd scream even more in the car. We tried swings, he hated (for the most part) being in swings, he'd scream. We even tried his basinette. Nothing worked except sleeping with us and if that was my only option to get sleep, so be it!
Last summer he was pretty much trained to go to sleep in his own bed, until it started to get cold again and we were putting off using the heater as long as possible so we let him go back into our bed. I know some of this might be confusing for him, but I guess he'll adapt sooner or later. I don't really mind having him in our bed, but it really is a good step for toddlers to be able to have their own space and learn to sleep on their own. Plus sometimes I just want to stretch out.
Parenting really is a learning process and once you learn a little bit, stuff changes. I've learned to be flexible and to not have preconceived ideas about how you're going to be and what you're going to allow, because circumstances change and you are different and do different things than what you'd of imagined. I was definitely alot tougher as a babysitter lol than I am a mother. Good thing? Bad thing? Idk, maybe just different.
And you can't really compare yourself to other parents because every child is different and what works for some, may not work for you or your child no matter if you like the results or not. lol So sad, I wish it was as easy as 1,2,3. I know this, I could be more consistent. We, Eric and I, are both working on that. To be consistent with each other, also. None of this, Mom said no so ask Dad stuff.
Yes, I said it. Stubborn like me, I suppose (although his father has a stubborn streak, also). So, my child is double stubborn. I need a book titled, How to train stubborn children without pulling out your hair.
For over a year we have been trying to get Ryley to sleep in his own bed so you'd think he was used to this idea by now. But apparently somehow he thinks that if he puts up enough of a fight we'll give in and he will sleep with us. I'm not gonna lie sometimes after a long days work I don't even try to fight with him, but most nights I'm really good about it and neither of us get any sleep because in turn he puts up an epic battle. In and out of his bed, until finally he falls asleep. This doesn't always last the whole night, alot of times he'll only sleep a few hours and then he's in our bedroom.
Ok, so the problem started from infantcy...Let me detail you in.
1. First problem... The crib we were given was Eric's crib when he was a baby. 26 years old and had been stored above the cars in the garage for about 20 years collecting every bit of exhaust, dirt, dust and grime imagineable (Which I got to scrape off and clean with a tooth brush while 7 months pregnant. I had to do this about four times and polish with wood soap to get it even decent looking.) It was missing pieces and wobbled, the side rail was partially broken so it didn't go up and down easily and definitely not with only one arm, which is normal when you're carrying a baby to put him down to sleep in the crib. Needless to say I did not feel comfortable having my newborn baby sleeping in it. He must of felt my anxiety, because he refused to sleep in it also. It wasn't seconds before laying him down in it that he would start to scream.
2. Second problem... We didn't have alot of income and so a large heating bill wasn't in the budget, so alot of times our house got pretty cold at night leaving Ryley not able to sleep in his room. So the only option really was to have him sleep in our bed with us for the warmth.
3. Third problem... Sleep training did not work. We tried the "He's stubborn so we'll just let him scream it out" technique, this did not work. He just ended up screaming until we couldn't take it anymore, letting my baby scream so hard he threw up in the crib really wasn't an option for me. We tried letting him hold onto your hand until he fell asleep, the moment you let go he'd wake up. We tried singing him to sleep, letting him listen to lullabye music, and even talking to him for hours. We tried car rides, he hated car seats so he'd scream even more in the car. We tried swings, he hated (for the most part) being in swings, he'd scream. We even tried his basinette. Nothing worked except sleeping with us and if that was my only option to get sleep, so be it!
Last summer he was pretty much trained to go to sleep in his own bed, until it started to get cold again and we were putting off using the heater as long as possible so we let him go back into our bed. I know some of this might be confusing for him, but I guess he'll adapt sooner or later. I don't really mind having him in our bed, but it really is a good step for toddlers to be able to have their own space and learn to sleep on their own. Plus sometimes I just want to stretch out.
Parenting really is a learning process and once you learn a little bit, stuff changes. I've learned to be flexible and to not have preconceived ideas about how you're going to be and what you're going to allow, because circumstances change and you are different and do different things than what you'd of imagined. I was definitely alot tougher as a babysitter lol than I am a mother. Good thing? Bad thing? Idk, maybe just different.
And you can't really compare yourself to other parents because every child is different and what works for some, may not work for you or your child no matter if you like the results or not. lol So sad, I wish it was as easy as 1,2,3. I know this, I could be more consistent. We, Eric and I, are both working on that. To be consistent with each other, also. None of this, Mom said no so ask Dad stuff.
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