DD1 had a nightmare over a month ago. She woke up with a terrible scream and told me there was a scary guy in her room. I turned the light on to show her there was nothing there and tried to explain that it was just a dream -- kind of like watching TV when you sleep. I let her sleep in bed with me because she was really scared and DD2 was only a month old; I wanted to be in the same room with both and needed better sleep than DD1's floor would give me.
That week she talked about the dream all the time and would want to sleep with me when she woke in the night (I let her), but she was still having quiet time (already dropped her nap) alone and going to bed initially pretty well alone.
Then it kept getting worse and worse, needing me ALL the time. I'm trying to be sensitive since she says she's scared and she's getting a lot less of me since DD2 came along (only 10 weeks old).
We're reading books about being scared and talking about it with her animals and the characters in the book. She has a new lightlight. I made her a chart this week and after 5 times of going to bed by herself she gets a special trip just with me for ice cream and the pet store. (The chart worked miracles when she was afraid to poop. Now she goes 4x a day!) I say a special prayer for her and her stuffed animals are supposed to help.
I'm not sure at this point how much she is actually still scared and how much she's just using it to keep me around. But when I try to completely leave she gets hysterical and climbs over the gate. I actually think the gate is a bit of an issue right now, but I don't feel safe letting her run abound everywhere, so I told her the gate will keep the dreams out. A couple times when she's mad about something she's told me she's scared.
Yesterday, I started with only my knees and my feet in her room. Then she let me move to the hallway, but the gate was off and she had her big light on, and she kept checking that I was there and it took a full 3 hrs for her to go to bed! I don't have time for that! I don't have a big issue with her sleeping with me in the middle of the night, but I really can't stay with her for her quiet time and as long as it takes for her to get to bed.
Any suggestions?
That week she talked about the dream all the time and would want to sleep with me when she woke in the night (I let her), but she was still having quiet time (already dropped her nap) alone and going to bed initially pretty well alone.
Then it kept getting worse and worse, needing me ALL the time. I'm trying to be sensitive since she says she's scared and she's getting a lot less of me since DD2 came along (only 10 weeks old).
We're reading books about being scared and talking about it with her animals and the characters in the book. She has a new lightlight. I made her a chart this week and after 5 times of going to bed by herself she gets a special trip just with me for ice cream and the pet store. (The chart worked miracles when she was afraid to poop. Now she goes 4x a day!) I say a special prayer for her and her stuffed animals are supposed to help.
I'm not sure at this point how much she is actually still scared and how much she's just using it to keep me around. But when I try to completely leave she gets hysterical and climbs over the gate. I actually think the gate is a bit of an issue right now, but I don't feel safe letting her run abound everywhere, so I told her the gate will keep the dreams out. A couple times when she's mad about something she's told me she's scared.
Yesterday, I started with only my knees and my feet in her room. Then she let me move to the hallway, but the gate was off and she had her big light on, and she kept checking that I was there and it took a full 3 hrs for her to go to bed! I don't have time for that! I don't have a big issue with her sleeping with me in the middle of the night, but I really can't stay with her for her quiet time and as long as it takes for her to get to bed.
Any suggestions?
