What is the best way to..?
We have been moving & traveling back & forth since October. Finally we are in 1 location & in 1 house. My son has gone from laying him down in his crib w/ his blanket & bottle ALONE for nap time to where he won’t let me leave his sight. All he does is scream his little head off. He will throw anything he can. I have had it. I have been patient with him and since we won’t sleep in a play pen or port-a-crib I have let him sleep in bed with us. Yes I know this is bad! I would like to be able to leave the room to go to the restroom, or shower, or even make him a bottle without the screaming. I don’t know what to do. My husband is also at his witts end with this whole situation!
What can I do? I am not against letting him scream, I am just tired of cleaning up vomit when he gets so worked up.
Answer:
Oh my goodness, you and I have so much in common. Mine barfs too! We moved cross country it was very hard. I totally understand how hard it is.
What I did was stop all food and liquid 2 hours before bedtime. That way they should be empty. I bought "splat mats" to go around his crib. People usually put them under highchairs to keep the floor clean. I used mine to keep the vomit off the carpet in his bedroom.
We bought a white noise machine for background noise in his room, got a cute night light, and prayed he'd scream it out and fall asleep. He did vomit but he fell asleep and slept the entire night. He never vomited again at bedtime or naptime and we have had peace and quiet for months now. He sleeps all night, every night, unless he's sick.
It takes time for them to get used to their new house and into their new routine. So keep the routine the same - it makes them feel safer. We have dinner, play, take a bath, read books then put him to bed. Every single night it's the same so he knows what to expect. They love routine, thrive on routine and have melt downs when the routine is altered.
And of course we let him scream it out. Do what you want. It's called the Ferber method - google it!
Best of luck to you, take care.
the child has a terrible case of seperation anxiety, why cant he follow you ? you might consult a doctor.
Hate to say this but he will be like this for a while. Once he realizes that you aren't going to be going away or that you won't be moving again then he will calm down.
Have you tried talking to him or singing to him when you are out of his sight? Sometimes it just takes them knowing that you are around and didn't forget about them to help calm them down.
For a little guy he's had a great deal of change and commotion for some time (2-3 months). You need to be extra patient and reassuring until he settles into the new place. He's confused and not sure what else is going to change. Make sure you continue the same routines and he should settle in soon.
Stability is the thing. Now if he'd been raised in this mobile life until now, this wouldn't be an issue, but he wasn't. So his sense of security is pretty low. He's used to his room looking, smelling a certain way, the house sounding a certain way, etc and it's been a while since he's had that.
However, NOW you are in a stable situation again. Give him a few weeks to get used to all of this. Consider getting a full or queen sized bed for his room and getting rid of the crib. That way, he's got room and unlikely to fall out, you can lay down with him til he falls asleep and then get up and out easily. Only thing you might want to do is install a baby gate across the door so that if he does get out of bed, he's not wandering the house.
It's going to take time for him to get used to this being the house you will be at for a while. Try playing in his room during the day with hi, so he gets used to it, and slowly wean him from your bed to his. Let him fall asleep in your bed, then put him in his own. If he wakes, put him back in with you guys.
Eventually, work your way to him going to bed in his own bed.
Patience is all that is going to work here. Patience and stability.
All babies go through this,my son is terrible for it. Maybe find someone to watch him once in awhile to put a bit of distance from you and he will get a sense of indepence!
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