How Do I Get Back to the Sleeping Routine?

Hmmmm.....the advise you have received so far is quite different from what I usually do so part of the challenge will be you figuring out what works best for YOU and YOUR family. That said, we have the same trouble with our gang whenever we go o visit my parents - late bedtimes, lots of extra noise, etc. We allow the change while we are away but absolutely do not deviate from our home routine once we are back. It's OK to have the "rules" change when you are away but once home, it's back to our regular schedule again. We go back to the usual time frame, storytime, and bed routine. Our kids generally like getting back to normal!

LOL, we just got back from travels and are having the same issue. What we are doing is making sure to wake up our 2 yo at the same time every morning, even if she's still tired. We are also keeping her nap the usual length. Slowly, we are seeing improvement. Last night was night 3 of being back, and she was within 30 minutes of her previous bed time. Good luck!

Hi K. - We had a similar situation when we got back from a trip to Switzerland. Our 22-month old is an awesome sleeper and goes to bed easily. It took about 2 weeks to get her back on a normal schedule. We just kept trying w/ the routine we had before the trip. She cried & fussed a lot. We went back to the Ferber method...letting her cry/fuss for 5 minutes then go in and comfort her (in the crib. we didn't take her out) for a minute or so. We then left and wouldn't go back in for 10 minutes and do the same. Add 5 minutes each time. It took about 3 or 4 visits and then she was asleep. Now we only have 1 child at the moment, so it may be easier. Good luck!

Our doctor suggested moving back 15 minutes each day, when we were chuckling about our summer hours versus school hours. (We've tended to adjust by half an hour each day to get to the desired goal faster.) As long at you keep getting him up the same time, he should get back to normal after a bit.

My observation is that kids tie into the routines more than the time, especially if you change the time gradually. Therefore, if you do all the nighttime routines just a little earlier each day, you'll be back to normal in no time. (The trick is the discipline of the big people...at least that's the case in our house.)

Good luck!

start with the later bed time. Each day wake him up 15-30 minutes earlier and put him down 15 minutes earlier.

K.,

Do the bedtime routine you did before you went on vacation. Stick to it and don't give in. Let your son cry if needed for a few minutes then if you feel you need to go in, go in and tell your son, you love him, that he is fine and that it is time to go to sleep now. Leave - make sure you don't stay longer than 1 minute. Repeat as often as you feel you need to til he goes to sleep.
Repeat the whole routine the next day and until he gets to sleep on his own again.
This method is from the Jodi Mindell book "Sleeping thru the Night" it is a great sleep book.

L. M