Sleeping issues with 20 month old DD - help really needed!

[mum2RandR]

She is an amazing child, very well behaved but its just the bedtime part where it all goes wrong.
She wakes up normal time (7 ish), has one sleep late morning/early afternoon (30mins-1hr30mins), then bed about 7.30-8.00.
By this time she has sometimes been awake for 8 hours but she gets into bed, drinks her bottle and then suddenly comes back awake again!
She shares a room with me and DH (shes in a 'proper' bed), so I sit on my bed while she goes to sleep. Usually takes 1 hour, sometimes more. The other day she didnt sleep at all during the day, and she still took about half hour to fall asleep!
Im finding it very hard to know whats the best thing to do, my DH works long hours and has to travel quite often, so the bedtimes are mostly left to me.
If anyone can give me any advice I would be very grateful. My friend told me that when her DD wouldnt sleep at this age she took her to the doctors who prescribed her some sort of medication to help her fall asleep quickly and get her into a good bedtime routine. Dont like the idea of this much but not sure if its the normal thing to do.
Advice please!

Hello

Sounds very tiring for you, poor you.

Have you tried giving her a nap in the late afternoon? 5 ish? Just a short one, 45 mins or so? Sounds counter-productive, but maybe she is overtired by bedtime.

Or maybe a room of her own, if possible.

What about some books to occupy her while she drops off, leaving you free to leave the room. Or a story cd?

My DS is 3 and goes to bed at 7, but is often still awake at 9.30! We have a gate on his bedroom, so he cant get out and run around the house, but just has to sit in his room and play until he gets tired, then he gets into bed himself and goes to sleep. Gues if DD shares with you though, she might get into all your things. Maybe try the gate, but hide things away for a while?!

Hope this helps.

PS I don't like the sound of sleeps meds for a 20m old either, well done you

Hi, thanks so much for replying. Unfortunately its not possible for her to have her own room at the moment, which is a shame.
Thanks for your advice, havent got any story cds but think I will try reading her a book and see how we get on!
My DS was the same as yours, he would go to sleep and then wake up a few hours later as if it was the morning! Found that when he started nursery at nearly 3 and a half that his sleeping really improved.
Thanks again x

Could you try bringing bedtime forward a bit, say 6.30/7.00? When my boys are overtired it takes them much longer to settle. Also wonder if seeing you in the same room while she settles to sleep might actually be quite interesting for her to watch you? Have you tried putting her down for sleep and leaving the room? One other idea, I find that if mine have been running round in the fresh air a lot, they're out like lights. Good luck, hope you find something that works.

Have you tried moving her nap a little later gradually? My 20 month old DS used to have a morning nap, but at nursery he naps early afternoon so I switched to match their routine with great success. I now put him down at 12.30/1pm and he sleeps for between 90mins and 3 hours depending on how tired he is or how active he's been! Might be that her daytime sleep is affecting the nighttime? Also what is your routine like for bedtime? I try and do same routine for nap and bedtime starting calming down about 15 mins before the nap/sleep with stories and a bit of quiet time. Really hard though - an hour of settling really eats into your evening too! Good luck.

I've found a tomy dreamshow light projector helps to keep my DD occupied whilst in bed but not quite sleepy.

Im going to give her a bath at 7 tonight and get her down by 7.15, see if it makes any difference putting her to bed a bit earlier. Would be great to have her in bed and asleep that early!
Your absolutely right bondgirl, feel like I only have an hour or two before I go to bed myself!
Going to read her a book to try and get her settled so she will find it easier to go to sleep (thats the plan anyway!).
Also pretty sure I have a dreamshow in the cupboard that my sister gave me, so might give that a try tomorrow if the book fails.
Wish me luck and thanks everyone for your advice. Will let you know how I get on.

Good luck! Really difficult when she is not in a cot so you can't leave the room. I haven't quite worked up the energy to try that one yet! Light show is a really good idea, I have one of those but haven't ever really used it. Hope it goes well!

How did you get on mum2RandR?

Not very well unfortunately! Took nearly an hour to go to sleep, but did seem to enjoy the book!
Been at the park most of the day and she hasnt had a nap, so might get an early night out of her tonight.
We are going away for a long weekend so Im hoping a break in her routine might help get her back into her routine, if you know what I mean!