Tuesday, June 15, 2010

S.O.S

See this sweet face??

It's not so sweet after 3 hours of trying to get her to stay in her bed. Bedtime has become a complete NIGHTMARE! I put her to bed last night at 8:00 and she finally stayed in her room and went to sleep at 11. I don't know what to do.

Our days are a tad chaotic with up to 5 children here at a time and the evenings are my down time. I don't deal well with Chloe when she gets up out of her bed no less than 20 times. I feel like a horrible mom because while I try to be patient, it's REALLY hard and sometimes I fail miserably. I yell, I scream, I grab her arm too tightly. It's just a bad situation. So, I'm calling out to the troops.

Here are the things we've tried:
  • Being really nice and putting her back to bed quickly and without talking (think Nanny 911)
  • Yelling REALLY loudly
  • Bribery (oh no, I'm not beyond bribing this child!) -- candy for breakfast, a trip to the pool, WHATEVER you want!!!
  • Telling her to just stay in her room. She can leave the light on, play, do whatever into the wee hours of the morning if she likes, but she can not come out of her room.
I do realize that this phase will pass, and that I'm going to miss this later. I get that, really I do. But seriously, for everyone's safety and sanity - this HAS to get better!!

If you have other suggestions or some encouragement, send it my way!!

Please -- somebody, anybody, help a mommy out!!

3 comments:

Andrea Ferrell said...

not that I have any experience...but maybe shorter nap? (when you figure it out, let me know for future reference). :) good luck my friend.

Unknown said...

After the chaos, does Chloe have any "just mommy and/or just daddy" time? Maybe that's what she is missing before she can drift off into sleepy land.

pdawnc said...

We struggled with this for almost one year with our son! We finally heard advice that worked from the child psychiatrist that visits his preschool. 1. Do bedtime routine as usual. 2. Say, "If you get out of bed, I will remind you one time to stay in it. If you get out a second time, I will shut your door. If you get out a third time, I will lock the door (on the outside of course)." 3. Go do your thing and see what the child decides.
We were shocked that he said to lock the door, but it only happened once. And we unlocked it before we went to bed so he could get out in an emergency. This puts the decision in your child's abilities but also keeps her in what you want. win-win
Anyway, it worked in about three nights. Now he doesn't get out at all.