Not to know how to deal with DS's overtiredness and bedtime nonsense?

[CesareBorgiasUnicornMask]

Posting here for traffic really:

Basically DS is 18 months old and has always needed a pretty early bedtime. There's a window between 5.45 and 6.15 where 9 times out of 10 he will drop off with minimal fuss, I pop him down in his cot, (still feeding/ cuddling to sleep), all is well.

However, if that window is missed he becomes totally ridiculous. As in, having s put lights out at 6.30 tonight, I'm still in the dark (in my bed now as I got too fed up on the chair in his room) cuddling him. I have escaped for two minutes twice to pee and grab leftover pizza respectively, but each time he has then woken and gone ape.

Any time we have tried to get him to lie by himself to go to sleep he either runs away if not in his cot (last time gave up after returning him for the 62nd time while he giggled manically), or if in his cot screams until he's sick and bangs his head repeated on the bars, so not prepared to 'just cry it out' and put him and me through that.

Thing is we've got rid of our second car, and on days DH can't pick him up from nursery I have to walk there from the train station, then walk home, and with the best will in the world cannot do it before 6.15, and then at the very least he needs a nappy change and a handwash before bed, assuming I get him to eat something in the buggy on the way. So where this was an occasional error, it's now about three times a week.

Any ideas?

[CesareBorgiasUnicornMask]

If left to his own devices he will sleep til about 7, but usually our alarms or us getting up wake him around 6 if it's a work day. He's sometimes in our bed by the morning and when he's not is a very small flat and he hears us anyway. He has a nap for 1-2.5 hours at some point between 11 and 2.30ish. Length of nap has no discernable impact on when he's ready to sleep at night, but his morning wakeup time seems to. At nursery he will lie down to sleep when he sees the other kids doing it, but still apparently needs someone to rub his back til he goes off, and sometimes needs them to sit there with a hand on him or he wakes.

[RubbleBubble00]

some kids just need more sleep, my eldest was like that. I would change his nappy at nursery and put him in a furry onsie and tuck blankets around him. Hopefully buggy make him dozy and he nods off and you can pop him into bed. I wouldn't worry about food if he's eating snacks and lunch at nursery. Mine were always too tired and was lucky to get a banana into them before dozing off