Advice for bedtime with the kids...

[penguins1]

So DW and I will be headed down in December with our 4 YO DD and 2 YO DS. We will be staying in a 1BR at AKV Jambo House. This will be DD's fourth trip and DS's second.

We are a little concerned with bedtime. Our DS has recently starting a thing where he screams for about 10 minutes around 10:00PM everynight. We are always very concerned with disturbing others, but in this case if we leave him alone he typically will be back to sleep in 10 minutes. If we try to calm him down we usually make things worse. So, does anyone have any advice for kids crying in the resorts?

We also are looking for some advice on the sleeping arrangements. Should we put the kids in the master and DW and I sleep in the living room? This way we could access the kitchen without disturbing the kids... DD sleeps through pretty much everything so DS will not wake her. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks!

[Hannathy]

First you can not let him scream for 10 minutes at a resort!!!!!!

Second my kids are always walking zombies by the time the get back to the room so I have never ever had a problem with them falling asleep before they even hit the bed. If they don't seem tired take them out of the stroller more or throw them into the pool for 30 minutes and then they should fall asleep without a peep.

[penguins1]

Thanks...

DW and I have read and read on the Dis and never see anyone else say that their kids cry when going to bed at Disney. I can't believe Disney is that magical where no one else has kids that have issues going to sleep... anyone?????

[JOCAmom]

When he wakes, is it just crying? Or is it full blown screaming?

And are you going to keep to normal at home bedtimes?

As for the sleeping arrangements, I would put the kids in the master bedroom. You and your wife could then sit and relax in the living room while the little ones get some sleep.

[penguins1]

It isn't full blown screaming all the time but he does get loud at some points!

We do plan to stick to the same plan as home as much as possible. The kids go to bed fairly early so there will be some later than normal nights.

Thanks on the sleeping arrangements, that is what we are thinking.

[JOCAmom]

I'm sure people will disagree with me but if he isn't screaming, I would just stick with what works for you and your son. For me, I expect while I'm on vacation at WDW to hear some kids having little crying fits, especially little ones. I know if it were my little one, I'd be doing whatever it is that makes my child calm down the quickest.

Stick with what you know works best if it turns out to your son's normal nightly occurrence. Only if it seems as though it will take him much longer to calm down and go back to sleep would I take him out for a walk or something.

And for all you know, maybe he will be so tired and worn out that he will sleep through the night.

[D,L and K's Mom]

Is he having night terrors? My dd had them on and off for a few months.They were horrible. We found a nice warm bath, calming story , pillow right up against her while she slept and going to the bathrrom right before sleeping helped quite a bit.

[ktlm]

Originally Posted by penguins1

Thanks...

DW and I have read and read on the Dis and never see anyone else say that their kids cry when going to bed at Disney. I can't believe Disney is that magical where no one else has kids that have issues going to sleep... anyone?????

It's not magic-- it's that Disney completely wears them out. They go and go until they finally drop. When we took my DD at 2 yrs 10 months, she was in a phase where she would fight and scream at bedtime at home. At WDW, if she wasn't asleep in the stroller on the way up to the room, she crawled right into bed and passed out. She didn't move until the next morning.

[MSSANDRA]

I think I would let him cry as long it is only for 10 minutes and if trying to calm him down might lead to a longer cry anyway!

Most people are not asleep at WDW at 10:00 (ok, we are but not most people), and walls are pretty well insulated there so.....

[Schmeck]

Actually, we found the walls at AKL to be some of the thinnest ones on property - conversatons from the room next door were pretty easy to hear. A crying child at 8 PM will be heard, but shouldn't cause a problem for anyone, as it's pretty early in the night.

[penguins1]

Thank you all so much for the responses!

We have never been so lucky to tire our kids out so much that they just fall asleep - our kids just love fighting sleep!

When DS was 1 I spent the first night walking him around the All Stars and maybe he got a couple of hours of sleep. He is a much better sleeper now and we hope that this year will be better.

We are just hoping to not come home frustrated like last year - we will have to try our best to make them as tired as possible!!

[jodifla]

Originally Posted by penguins1

Thank you all so much for the responses!

We have never been so lucky to tire our kids out so much that they just fall asleep - our kids just love fighting sleep!

When DS was 1 I spent the first night walking him around the All Stars and maybe he got a couple of hours of sleep. He is a much better sleeper now and we hope that this year will be better.

We are just hoping to not come home frustrated like last year - we will have to try our best to make them as tired as possible!!

I don't think 10 minutes is really all that long to cry....but there is enough change in routine it might not be a problem....they might not think to cry.

I'd start the children in the master, then move them to the living room when I wanted to sleep.

[Skwinkles]

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it. First off, 10 pm is still fairly early in the night, so I can't imagine it would be that much of a bother to anyone else. Secondly, I have a two year old as well, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that just because she's doing something today, it doesn't mean she'll be doing it two months from now. DD used to wake up frequently around 11 and cry, but she stopped a few months ago and hasn't done it since. I did notice that it happens more frequently when she didn't nap that day or only got a very short nap in, so you might want to keep an eye on that.

Enjoy your trip!

[BCDisneyFanatic]

You mention that your DS 'goes back to sleep' after 10 minutes, so it sounds like night terrors to me, as well. My DD went through a period of having them at that age, too...it was pretty scary, since nothing my DH or I could do would calm her down. After some research, I realized they were night terrors, and that she was really still asleep. It took me quite a while to convince my DH of this, though, since her eyes were wide open and she was sitting up/moving around when it happened.

The bad news is, even though she's 8, she still occasionally gets them. The good news is, their frequency was only common for the first month of two after they started...after that, she would rarely get more than one a week.

That being said, three months is a long time in the development of a 2-year-old. By December, your DS may have completely outgrown this phase. It is way too soon to be stressing about this! Best of luck with your DS.

[locolala]

It does seem like he's having night terrors. I have them too (even at 23!) so I can commiserate with how your baby is feeling. I would recommend you just follow the same routine that you do at home, if it works why change it? As for the person so said not to let them, etc.. well, I hope we're not next door to you on a trip when I have a night terror. It would be very upsetting for you to come next door all angry, especially over something I cannot control.