Friday, April 15, 2011

Sleep Dilema

I want to hear your guys's opinions on this little sleep dilema that I've got going on with Lizzy right now. Basically, the story is that Justin has been out of town for work, so Lizzy and I have been visiting my parents. My sister has been nice enough to let us sleep in her bedroom--me in the bed, Lizzy in her Pack N Play...at least, that's what's supposed to happen.

What has actually happened is that Lizzy WILL NOT SLEEP unless I'm holding her or unless she's in the bed with me. After battling with her for HOURS, I finally just let her sleep on my chest at about 3:30am this morning, but that's not something that I'm happy about doing, because I know it will probably result in battle royale in terms of sleep once we're back home. However, I also don't know what else to do--she isn't comforted at all by just a hand on her chest, and I obviously don't want to keep the rest of the house up all night by trying to let her cry or fuss at 2am.

Anybody experienced anything like this while on vacation? What did you guys do?

13 comments:

  1. i'm battling this right now. my son got really sick and was having seizures so i was keeping him in the bed with me. he and i both got used to it so when i was ready to move him back to his crib - all hell broke loose. we are still battling it out. i find that if he falls asleep with me (yes, in my bed) and i move him to his crib - he does fairly well. if i stick him in his crib and let him CIO - the rest of the night is disastrous - resulting in both of us up all night. i really need to get our situation figured out as we're expecting another baby in September and i really don't want to be dealing with a toddler in my bed as well as a newborn. i'm looking forward to the feedback you get in hopes i can use it myself! good luck!

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  2. Every.single.time. I have an 18-month old, and we have this same battle whenever we go out of town to visit my sister. She'll go down fine, but only for about an hour and then wakes up screaming. Unfortunately, I don't have much advice, because we usually end up doing the same as you - she is in bed with me. Kinda stinks because here it is 9:00 p.m. and I'm stuck going to bed with her and I miss out on visiting with my sister. :o( Hopefully someone has some suggestions!

    And by the way, usually, it's only a battle for the first night or two back home for us, and my kid is begging to be in her bed at night. Good luck and I'm looking forward to other suggestions that people might have!

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  3. We just dealt with this in Florida and ended up sleeping with him on my chest. And he's sleeping fine back home now. I figure a few days off isn't the end of the world, and you need to get some rest, too.

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  4. This happens to us everytime we go out of town and attempt to sleep in the same room as Lily. If she knows we're in there, she will not give up until she's in the bed with us. So I either have to make sure there are going to be two seperate rooms for us to sleep in or plan on letting her sleep with us. But no matter what happens, she always goes back to sleeping as usual when we get home.

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  5. We had the same issue a couple of weeks ago. Our daughter sleeps really well at home, but woke up every hour while away for the weekend. I tried to let her sleep with me and she wouldn't have anything to do with that either. We let her cry it out a few times, but I would nurse her to sleep at times, too. And we were staying by ourselves in a cabin, so we didn't have to worry about anyone else. We're going away for a week with my parents at the end of this month and I'm already nervous. Another mama suggested that the smells and feel is so different from home; I'm hoping that after a couple of nights she becomes familiar with the place we are staying and can get good rest.

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  6. Same thing happens every time we travel -- in fact we avoid staying in a hotel at all costs for this very reason!

    We always give in and let him sleep with us, and he has always done fine when we get back home. I think it's just the unknowns of a new place... plus, I just like to view it as being sweet that he feels comforted by me when he's scared somewhere new. :)

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  7. I can't say I know what you are feeling, yet. I'm hoping that since Jaxon will have his own room at my parents house he will be okay. *sigh* it will be a long month of "vacation" if we don't get any sleep. I can tell you that he won't be sleeping with us though because he is a kicker. Even when he is in our KING sized bed, no one gets any sleep, I can't imagine what it would be like in a queen with the three of us at my parents! Yikes!

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  8. I'd just let her sleep with you. She's in an unfamiliar place, so being by you is probably sort of a home base that she needs. In my experience, getting back into the routine at home is not a big problem because it's what Isaac is used to.

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  9. I feel ya- when Cameron was her age, if he wasn't in his crib, he wasn't sleeping at all. I can remember a few times we would be out of town and he just wouldn't sleep in the pnp. They don't seem that comfortable, really, so I can't blame them!
    I'm not sure I have the right answer, but with a little sleep training when you get home (not complete CIO) I would think that she would be back to her old habits after a few nights, even after she had been sleeping with you. Thats how it was with Cameron anyway. It may be rough for a few to get her back in her bed, but it will be worth it for you and her in the long run.
    Good luck!

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  10. We end up doing this too when we're somewhere unfamiliar (he's okay at the grandparents houses since he has a crib at each). I think it's because there are t0o many new and unfamiliar things (textures, sounds, smells). I always try the incrib consoling first, then a quick rock and back in but when that doesn't work he ends up in bed with us lying on my chest. For us it's NBD really, he's back to his same ole same ole when we get home.

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  11. The last time we went to visit my in-laws our little lady would not sleep anywhere but in bed with us, a first when visiting them.

    After about 30 minutes of fighting it, we let her sleep with us, got some rest, and she slept fine at home after the visit was over.

    Get the sleep, if you can!

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  12. When our power was out, we stayed at a friends and there was not room for the pack-n-play. Eva slept with us. She had the hardest time falling asleep. The only time she will fall asleep on us is when she is sick. Sorry I am no help. I hope that she gets back to normal once you are home.

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  13. Not sure if this tip has been posted or not but I had this problem and asked a friend & her little girl went through the same thing...Put a thick blanket in the pack & play (tuck it under the mat if you can) basically the pad may be too hard. This has worked like a charm both times we used pack n play...after a few restless nights. I also try to bring anything that may feel like home (music, animal etc) Also sometimes I will put a tank top I wore all day in there with her as well as sometimes a blanket over to block out the distractions and the fact that she is in an unfamiliar enviroment! Hope that helps!!

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