parental stress

[joy]

So I have a question for all the parents out there...

How do you get an 18 month old to go to sleep at night when he's over tired?

How do you quiet a 4 year old who talks CONSTANTLY????

Aren't kids cute? Remember when you would look down at your little ones and they'd look like little angels in their cribs and you didn't want to wake them up so you just watched them sleep? I guess the reason I bring all this up is because Erik, my 18 month old was up last night until 1:30AM. He was so tired, but fought sleep for hours. Poor kid, finally after I had been rocking him, I laid down with him on my chest, and he started to snore. It was so cute! He's in his crib now asleep. I felt so sorry for him last night, but I don't understand, if they are overtired, why do they fight sleep, why don't they just let it come to them? I just don't understand.

I run a daycare, and the lady said she will be here early to pick her daughter up, and I am taking a nap when she does! Only have 1 kid today! YAY!

 

[Jean]

I know what you mean Joy...they are so afraid they will miss something in this whole great big world that is so new to them...to stay awake they have to fight it. I used to trick my daughter into taking a nap by telling her I was so tired but I needed a friend to take a nap with me or would she rub my arm to help me take a nap. It always zonked her right out. and I got to relax too.

Don't miss too much of it; it all over too soon and then you're waiting for grandchildren and hoping they will come.

 

[hensylee]

And they do come - then the great grandchildren are next - they come, too. Favorite place is "Oh boy, let's go to Nanny's"

 

[Creed3]

Hi Joy!
Boy, I can certainly relate. I have two daughters, one is 4 and the other is 9 months.
I don't know if this will work for you and your 18 month old, but you could give it a try. When my oldest would fight sleep, I would always snuggle up with her on the sofa and watch a movie. She always fell asleep shortly after the movie started.
My four year old right now is always asking why why why????
I try to answer her questions and then sometimes I will turn the question around to her by asking, "well what do you think about this or that?" That always gets her to think a little more about things and she is also contributing more to the conversation.
They do grow up so fast. I work at a hospital and see the babies on the OB floor all the time. Just 9 months ago my baby was that little and now she is growing up and moving all around the place.

Take Care!
Gail

 

[JimL]

It was a very hard night when Shirley and I resolved to just leave little John in his crib and let him cry. When he finally realized we weren't going to come, he went to sleep.
Whatever you decide to do, be sure to sing to your children. I'm not sure of the melody, but one of my favorite songs to sing to my children was "Someday you're going to have children."

 

[joy]

Hi guys, I have my little guy, Erik sitting on my lap wit his favorite blanket. It seems like just yesterday he was born. Today is his 18 month birthday. Ok, so we don't celebrate by the months, but he's officially a year and a half old now.

Gail, my 4 year old is always asking, "mommy, what are you doing?" Or "Where's daddy?" He'll actually be 4 on December 2nd. I know it sounds bad, but he REALLY knows how to irritate me. Sometimes I wish he would just go to his room and leave me alone! I guess it just comes with being a daycare provider. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, but it's hard to deal with them all day long. Especially someone else's kids.

Erik slept good last night, we just let him watch Dharma and Greg, and he laid in his crib and watched with us until he fell asleep. He likes to do that, but I guess Kevin forgot that he likes to lay in his crib and watch tv while he falls asleep. Actually I am the one who got him started in on that when Kevin left, I used the TV for company while I was falling asleep. I often wondered how people do that...just have their kids for company while their men are away. I get to get out tomorrow night and next monday night with no kids. Even if it is just for my job, I get out and the nice thing is now...I just have to tell Kevin to watch the boys and I don't have to worry about finding a babysitter. WEll, I better get going. Erik wants me. He keeps saying , "mama, mama, mama." over and over. Take it easy!

 

[Jan]

Hi Joy

my sons are adults now 24 + 30 so I can hardly remember that long ago, My mum always used to sing little songs to them and that usually worked.

Last week my cousin who is aged 26 had twin boys
she also has little girl who will be 1 on Dec 14th
a little boy who is 3
and a girl who is at school aged 6

So she will have her hands full,

I know it can be stressful when children are young and demanding, but they soon grow up

Take Care

Jan

 

[Simon Gee]

Glad it's not just boys!

Glad it's not just boys!

Hi all you stressed parents (and unstressed grandparents)

Joy, your question is surely rhetorical - none of us really have an answer!

Mary and I have three boys, now 10, 7 and 5. Each has his own sleep pattern, but we started off with Ed, who fought sleep just like Erik (maybe it's the letter E?) and would never drop off to sleep quietly. We resorted to plenty of activity during the day and then a disciplined bedtime with few distractions. He would bawl for a while and it's never easy to leave them, but we persevered and he eventually got the idea. Even now at 10, he still lies in bed reading for at least an hour and I often have to 'suggest' it's time to sleep when I go to bed. And he gets up in the morning.

Number 2 was even worse - Will had colic and used to cry every evening until midnight. Mary and I used to take turns at bouncing him on his tummy - it's supposed to help. Even when he wasn't there, we found ourselves bouncing our knees as if he was - quite a spectacle! Once he got over that, his sleep pattern became very regular and he is now the best sleeper of the three. He actually asks to go to bed sometimes - top man!!!

As for Freddie, the least said the better. He went to bed, and to sleep, reasonably well, but used to wake up every night and, once he was older, come in to get daddy, not mummy who sleeps nearest the door. I only had to snuggle him back down again, but he kept this up until he was almost 4 and the novelty soon wore off.

As for chattering, they all do it. As a parent you need the patience of a saint, something I'm sadly lacking, but we've found that getting them to question things has a really positive impact - it just takes a fair bit of effort on your part.

I've attached (I hope) a picture of the little darlings. I'm afraid Mary and I are much too frazzled to appear in front of the camera!!!

Keep ticking,

Simon