Help! Scared of crib after thunderstorm

[melwe]

So DS has always been a pretty good sleeper. Yesterday, he had his 18 month check-up with shots. We had trouble getting him to sleep and I thought maybe he was sore, so I gave him some Tylenol. He did finally get to sleep.

Then in the middle of the night, we had a terrible thunderstorm. He woke up crying around 3 am, the dog is pacing with thunderstorm phobia, and I couldn't get him back to sleep. He would get very sleepy in my arms, but would start crying as soon as I got near the crib. I took him back to my bed hoping he would fall asleep, but no go. I took him back to bed with some toys to play with, nope. After about 5 am, I gave up, made some breakfast and of course he fell asleep in my bed for about an hour until DD woke him up, not realizing he had been up all night.

So today, he gets very upset whenever he goes near his crib. This afternoon, he wouldn't take a nap for my mom who babysits him, (FYI completely different crib at my mom's house). She finally got him to sleep by letting him crash on a spare bed. Tonight, he ran away and got very upset when I tried to pick him up to take him to his crib. I tried going back into soothe him, but he gets upset if he even thinks I'm about move toward his crib. Right now I am trying to let him CIO, and he did calm down after about 15 minutes but now he's right back at it. DH is in there right now.

I feel so bad for him. He has his favorite blanket and paci, but it doesn't seem to help. I don't want to start bad habits, but I'd be willing to let him sleep in my room if he would actually sleep. Oh and I would desperately love some sleep. They are predicting thunderstorms for the rest of the week.

On the plus side, DD seems to be unaffected even though she normally is up 2-3 times on an average night without storms. Apparently, she heard at school that thunder is just the angels bowling so she thinks it great that they get to have fun too.

[melwe]

Ok, DH managed to get him to sleep! Hopefully we all get some rest tonight.

[KLD313]

My DD goes through periods of this every once in awhile. I would guess things will go back to normal soon. Glad he's sleeping now.

[123LuckyMom]

Neither of mine (so far) have had crib fear or fear of storms, but what I would try in your position is a good, loud, white noise to mitigate the sounds of the storms. A humidifier will wot if it's noisy, but a more peaceful sound, like a babbling brook or something, might work better. I would also do some fun time in his crib at non-sleeping times. Is there any toy or song he loves? Let him do it in his crib with you right there.

I feel sorry for the little guy! It's terrible to be scared of bedtime! I hope you can get him liking his crib again soon!

[melwe]

Thanks for the words of wisdom. Last night he woke up gain around 3 am and started all over again. I was able to keep him calm jut by staying in the room, so I did that until he fell asleep. It took about an hour and a half, but he went to sleep all on his own. We have an old recliner in there, so it wasnt too bad for me.

Tonight same behavior but he's starting earlier in the routine (fussing, pushing away, trying to hide) with PJs, story time, and putting into bed. He quieted quickly just from me staying in room again tonight. Of course, I'm trying not to draw additional attention to his fussing because i don't want to reinforce it. So this is my temporary plan. I'm comfortable with the fact that he is falling asleep on his own without rocking, active soothing, etc. I think it will be easier to break a habit of me being in the room as he falls asleep (as opposed to active soothing).

I like the idea of the white noise machine and promoting play at other times in his crib. We already have a dimmed light in his room, so it is not completely dark.

It just kind of surprised me that he could develop this behavior so quickly. Literally he went from perfect sleeper to this in one night. He is developing a some stranger awareness, so I know his little mind is changing quickly.