Post holiday sleep hell!

[used2bthin]

My DD who is nearly three has been a nightmare with sleep since we got back from a short holiday two weeks ago. She was sleeping 7.30-7.30 ish with a nap after lunch of about an hour and a half. On holiday she was sharing a room and bed with me and took two hours to settle the first night. The rest of the holiday was similar and it has been dreadful since we got back. She wakes in the night and then can't settle and right now is standing screaming at her baby gate which I have put up out of desperation in her room as she just kept climbing out of bed and running into the living room.

I am a nursery nurse and feel such a failure as nothing is working and I have been mush more grumpy with her as I am tired! She has a bedtime routine and I have tried most things.

Apologies if I have to post and run I have just come to my room for a two min breather to calm down myself!

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

Ditto with DD when we went in November, it took us a while but we realised that she had been used to going to sleep with speaking books or watching DVD's in the creche while we were having dinner, she now has a pile of books and I downloaded taling books onto my Ipod which is in her room.

[used2bthin]

Oh tell me it didn't take long?! We've been away before and never had such bad problem I am back in her room now but she is up and trying to open the curtains. She has also just discovered that she can climb out of be and just really really hates bed at the moment. I tried dropping her nap, I've tried giving a normal nap and a short one, if she is exhausted she will sleep but then wake screaming in the middle of the night.

[used2bthin]

Talking books a good idea although not sure she will respond to anything so reasonable she just gets so angry about bedtime.

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

We also have a deadline for bed time, which is quite late, she hasn't been the same since we have been back (I don't think you wanted to hear that), so rather than fight bedtime we have our supper while she is watching a DVD, sometimes she falls asleep and we put her to bed otherwise we do bed and book.

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

Oh we have been on the sofa aswell (she did the screaming bit and we run a B&B) that stopped pretty quickly, it is also difficult as the nights are so light. We were always told to pick your battles and this one we have decided not to fight and we are dictated to by her, sometimes she sleeps in the afternoons after nursery, in that case she has a later bedtime and other times she doesn't so she goes to bed early.

[used2bthin]

thank you. I feel like it wasn't worth going away as she was so good before, went to bed and settled herself. She'd been like that for over a year so I'd forgotten how awful these battles feel. Touch wood I have just persuaded her to lie down with a book after starting the whole bedtime routine again. She is next to me I am sitting on her bed with her but at least she may settle. I can't do this every night though!

[used2bthin]

She finally dropped off next to me in her bed. How on earth do I get her to settle herself again? What do other people do with children who just keep climbing out of bed? Its so different when they are in cots!