PLease help hysterical toddler no idea what to do!!

[lj1977]

Hi guys
seems i am only ever on the sleep board!! We have been dealing with Isaac since 6.30 hysterically screaming have got him up 3 times and he is getting progresively worse each tim ewe put him back to bed - this is why we have never been able to do controlled crying but have always had to do cry it out - but tonight we just cant seem to do it. however i think thats it for now - he is the most hysterical i have every heard him and its just so hard to deal with. does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? he is 17 months old and has been an ordinary sleeper form the start but this is just a whole new ball game tonight - he is pulling out all stops.

[melfunction]

My son has been like this for the past two nights..I ended up taking him into our bed and lying down with him there. He didn't go to sleep, but he stopped screaming. I think he just wanted to be near his mum-mum.

When I put him back in his own bed after nearly an hour, he was that tired, I didn't hear a sound from him..

It is so hard to know what to do sometimes. I really feel for you :hugs:

[Little Gorilla]

My DS went through a stage like this...me and DP nearly went insane.....he still sometimes acts the goat at night with his sleeps.....I would say the easier thing to do is not to look at the clock...get him up...do something very quiet with him ie lie on the bed and read and book very softly, take him for a walk outside to look at the moon and stars....if he goes to sleep at 8pm, so be it...better all round if you don't have to put up with the hysterics for another hour.

have you thought of putting him to bed a bit later? that's what we ended up doing...and 5 out of 7 nights bub goes down without a peep.

[lj1977]

Thanks for response. Yes its hard to know what to do esp when you go in get him up for cuddles and reassurance and then it just gets worse each time!!!!! i think he is asleep now and DH and i decided that we may have to revert back to total CIO as we have had to do in the past - he is a determined boy our DS. Its heartbreaking that he went to sleep that way tonight and its rough knowing he will get almost 3 hours less sleep that he usually does (he is not a child that will sleep longer in the morning when he goes to bed later)
Having another baby in 14 weeks so its all pretty hard to deal with knowing that its all going to change again soon!!

[Jax Tellers Old Lady]

Have you tried putting him to bed with a few soft toys and a few books that way he may amuse himself and then drift off. Just a thought

[pickles]

My son did exactly the same thing for about 6 weeks from 16 - 18 months. He would settle okay in bed but scream every 1 1/2 hours all night. At first we would go in and pick up / calm down and slowly we would just go in lay him down and pull the covers up. For the last 2 weeks he would lay down as soon as i opened the door. I spoke to a friend who is a paed and he simply said that he was scared. That he was going through rapid changes in thought process / fears and that he needed the reasurrance that we were still there. It stopped as quickly as it started and he is now 22 months. Generally however he still calls out every 2nd night once around 3 am. as soon as he hears us coming he stops.
good luck
Pickles
DD 02/03
DS 03/05