2 Year Sleep Regression?

[skatured]

I had four hours of sleep last night. Not from the baby --- she’s a dream now. Goes to sleep for realz somewhere between 8-9 and stays that way except for wanting to eat a few times a night. That I can deal with. What I cannot deal with is the new Morella

Comments

[cimmorene]

ok, while I dont have a 2 year old (yet), I *was* a teacher in a 2 year old daycare classroom for 8 years. I think you are going to be fine if you let her scream it out a couple of nights. She needs to know that she cant push you around, and that, despite what she might think, you *are* actually the boss of her.

As far as the potty training thing goes, it is totally normal for her to go and hide to poop. Its a weird thng, but kids that age see their poop as a part of them and dont want to drop it in the toilet. Are you using a potty chair or just training on the regular toilet?

In my experience, it goes a lot smoother if you use a potty chair and let them be the ones to dump their poo into the toilet so they can see it going in and going down.

When she tells you to leave the living room, its totally ok to tell her no, that if she wants privacy to poop, that is what the bathroom is for.

[skatured]

You know, Tim and I were going to make a sign and hang in the house that said we are the boss of them at some point. I should remember that...maybe wait until they can sign it. Ha ha.

This privacy and pooping thing is so new -- the last two or three weeks I think. I have mentioned to her that she should go to the bathroom .. but mostly I have just backed off because I still think it's novel that she wants privacy to poop. I am sure that novelty will wear off soon, especially since apparently my room is the new safe "pooping" destination, complete with the door closed.

[sassywoman]

Don't even sweat the potty training. The more you push the more she will regress. Emma is almost three and only uses the potty about half the time and hardly ever for poop. Don't make that your battle right now

[skatured]

yeah I am not too worried about the potty training thing. I mean she is only 26 months old -- and she was spot on before this regression without me even doing anything. What i need to work on to really start the next step in the process is teaching her how to undress herself. Right now she is just learning so if she did have to go potty by herself I have to undress her myself.

No, Morella is in the toddler bed now and has been for the last six months. She loves it because she can get into it and out of it on her own. Her bed is her safe place. Does your crib convert? I don't think Morella would go back to the crib. I just wish we could get her to show interest in the full bed we have so that eventually Athena can take over the crib.

You are so right. Consistency and routine. Tim is always going on about that -- and sometimes you just need a little refresher regarding it. Children and old people are so alike.

[majellen]

Ellie thankfully doesn't do it often. When she wakes up, one of us (usually Sean because she goes back down quicker for him) will go in, and pat her for a few minutes. But she doesn't get a sippy in her bed, has no light on, and is basically a good sleeper.

If she DOES get unreasonable in the middle of the night - say she wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep - I tell her, "Fine, you can stay awake if you want, but it's past Mommy's bedtime and I'm going to bed. Please be quiet, or I'll have to shut your door." It seems to work ok.

How are Morella's naps? I've been skipping LJ lately due to massive amounts of snow-shovelling and teething babies and such. Could be you might have to tweak some of the daytime sleeping. Or, if it is at the same time(s) every night, try wake-to-sleep - you set your alarm for a half hour before she typically wakes up, go in, jiggle her a little bit, just enough to make her stir and semi-wake, then go back to bed. Resets the internal clock somehow. I've never been brave enough to try it though.

[skatured]

Morella was a good sleeper too -- and you know since we started being hardasses about it I think she is going back to it. Thank god! We tried the talking reasonably to her but it just doesn't work. I don't think I am a big believer of talking too much reason and logic to them at this age. I wonder if I am short changing her by not giving her enough credit...I do explain things but not in detail.

He naps were wonky for a couple of weeks there -- I thought she had given them up to be honest. But it seems now that it was more a nap strike that was going on. I don't think I have the guts to wake her up to reset that internal clock either. I shudder to think of it. She did wake last night in the early morning and threw a 18 minute fit before going back to sleep. But you know, 18 minutes is a hell of a lot better than 1-2 hours and one of in her room. The biggest drawback was that Neeners ended up sleeping next to me most of the night because it was easier to keep her asleep through all that ruckus.

[ashesofroses2]

Two years old was so long ago for the guys that if this happened I must have been too tired to remember it. I watched an episode of Supernanny where they were dealing with the same sort of bedtime issue though, and what they did was sit in her room without interacting with her (except to put her back in bed if she got out) until she gave up and went to sleep. There was some crying and cruising around and it took like 45 minutes the first time, but after a couple of nights the kid went right to bed and stayed there. (I know it's just a TV show, but it's all I got. Besides a lot of sympathy.) ;)

Not being totally potty trained at Morella's age is pretty normal. Dane waited so long that I think he and Rhys did it at about the same time. Getting them to poop was tough. I hate to admit it, but I had to resort to bribery. Skittles did the trick. One for a pee in the potty, but **FIVE** for a poop! :)

[skatured]

Aww .... I can imagine myself saying this same thing in a few years. I guess that is why I don't feel bad posting about this stuff. I sort of want to remember it.

I don't feel like candy is that great of a motivator for Morella. Maybe because we have a more lax policy on sweets around here. It's not like we spoon feed her sugar all day, but it's not something that I make really hard to get. I am also not overly concerned about her potty training as she just only turned two. I was mostly just commenting on the kicking out of rooms trend when she is pooping trend. Though I will have to nip that in the bud...or lat least make her go to the bathroom for that privacy except you know, she isn't allowed to close the door to the bathroom when she is in there so it's a catch 22.

[skatured]

Morella is pretty strict with where the sippy must be placed -- perched on the end of her bed rail by the changing place (it's a three in one type crib thing). The sympathy has been wonderful. It's great perspective. :D