Sleep Store experts?

I think that there was one awhile back. I remember seeing it too, I also remember seeing something about how they had too many questions to answer???

Can us girls help?

I got advice from the sleep store expert while she was on oh baby. What's the problem? If it's similar I can pass her email on.

Aha! Knew I wasn't imagining it. Thanks guys, will email Dr Bartle. But since I'm here and you guys offered I'll ask for your expert advice as well! Was going to post something but thought I'd take advantage of the Oh Baby site as well - I forget sometimes that it is more than forums!

We've had three weeks of DD sleeping really well in her single bed (after the climbing out of cot/falling on head phase), she'd go down fine, maybe yell out a couple of times for us to come tuck her in again but never leave her bed and go to sleep pretty quickly. Now all of a sudden she's a complete nightmare in the evenings. We follow all the same routine, nothing has changed, except that she will not stay in bed. She keeps getting up and walking out of her room, laughing and thinking it's great fun. Last night we walked her back to bed nearly 65 times before she settled! We're trying to be consistent, catching her as soon as she comes out the door or we hear her, saying the same thing 'No, go back to bed, stay in bed etc.' and tucking her in and going out again. A couple of times we've tried staying in the room with her but she still plays up, jumping on the bed or saying 'na night' to us and getting out and going to leave us in the room! It is doing my head in, having to spend hours trying to get her to go to sleep. Only when she is completely exhausted does she crash. And she's still waking at 6am! Her day time sleeps are a mess too, she does the same thing and the only way I've managed to get her to have her naps occasionally is if I've slept beside her (out of exhaustion!) or if we've been out and she falls asleep in the car, then is fine transferred to her bed. What can I do? What have others done? I want my good little settler back!
Don't really want to put her back in the portacot because I feel like that would be taking a step backwards, there isn't really any room for it in her room and I'd really like to have this sorted before baby arrives, so that we're not dealing with this and a newborn's sleep patterns at the same time!

p.s. This may sound really nasty but at 9:15 last night because she was so tired and I'd already cleaned the bedroom twice since her bedtime I climbed into bed with her and held her (thrashing and screaming poor wee thing) until she calmed down and went to sleep.

When I first taught her to self settle at 10 months I did the same thing (held her down in her cot because if she rolled onto her belly she'd pull herself up and never go to sleep). I only had to do this for a few days until she got the picture and started self settling without issue.

Unless anyone's has a better idea I'll be trying the same again over the next few days and I'll let you know how it goes.

ETA: Wow, this method sounds a lot nastier in writing than it actually is.

Edited by The_Stuarts

We moved Michaela from her cot because she was banging the sides in her sleep and waking herself up. We put off moving her for about 3 months but finally made the move and the first week or so in the big girl bed went so well and we were feeling so smug (that was our big mistake I think).

We used to close gabriels door if he got out of bed, after a warning that is what we were going to do...

Not sure how old your child is tho..but sounds like she is just testing and the more consistent you are with her the sooner it will take.

good luck

i think gabriel was about that age too... and it can be hard...i remember standing on the other side of the door while he sobbed his heart out then he fell asleep right in front of the door... must have looked a sight with each of us on the other side of the door crying away...

before he started that i used to lie with him, but at the other end of the bed and just keep lying him down. that worked and he would then stay in bed by himself eventually until he learnt he could get out and come in the lounge or play...

My mantra has become 'do whatever works'. Poor thing (and poor mum!) getting so upset she vomited. Fair enough you want to avoid that again. We haven't had that yet, but DD certainly knows how to scream.
Good plan putting all the toys away.
We've gone back to the portacot, after a week of spending 2+ hours trying to get her to settle (whether the door was open or closed) we'd had enough. First night back in the portacot she went straight to sleep without a murmer. Second night she called out once for us to tuck her in again, then straight to sleep. I guess she really isn't ready for the big bed yet. We're going to try keeping her in the portacot for a week, set up next to her bed, and then see if she will go back again...theory being that she relearns to stay in her room/bed at night and for her sleeps. Will let you know how it goes.