4.6 year old sudden nightmare sleeper - help!

[MadameGazelle]

DS1 has always been a fab sleeper around 11 - 12 hours per night, but he recently gave his dummy up at night time which also coincided with him sleeping at MIL's for a few nights in a row while we had work done in the house. At MIL's he was allowed to go to bed when he wanted (which was around 10pm) and he woke very early in the morning (areond 5am)as the room he was sleeping in only has light curtains up at the window, and MIL then let him get into her bed and watch DVD's whilst she carried on sleeping . Since then DS keeps repeatedly waking during the night saying he is bored and the night is too long . I've tried putting him back to bed repeatedly but he just keeps shouting really loudly for me or DH and is waking up DS2 who he shares a room with - help please I am going out of my mind through lack of sleep!!

Is it worth you or your H sleeping on the floor in the room just for a couple of nights to get him back into the routine of sleeping through?

Sleep deprivation is so awful - I can't function without decent sleep. My 5 yr old still has phases of coming into our bed - I wake up in the early hours to find he's crept in and is happily snuggled up next to me. Problem is I can't go back to sleep then.

I've tried loads of bribes over the past 3 years - sticker charts, pocket money etc and nothing has worked except our most recent discovery - we promise that if he sleeps in his own bed all night long without singing or shouting or going into DS1's room - my H will wake him when he goes downstairs to make me a cup of tea at 630am, so DS2 gets an early cuddle in bed with me! It works, he is so excited about our special cuddle time, he sleeps through! But we have to stick to the promise and wake him or it falls apart again

Hi lovestowalk - a couple of good ideas there - thanks!