DD (20months) has always been a good sleeper, she used to go to sleep at about 6.30 and sleep through and would go down no problems. But it seems that bliss is over.
About 2 weeks or so ago we had to take the sides off her cot as she had managed to climb out during a nap time. For the first day or 2 she kept getting out of bed and just standing by the bedroom door crying, we left her to cry for a few minutes at a time and within about 3 days she was going straight off to bed.
However, since Christmas day she has been a nightmare, she just will not settle, it is taking us up to 2 hours to settle her to sleep. We are keeping the same routine, dinner, bath, teeth etc. Sometimes milk, sometimes not, depending on how much she has eaten during the day. But either way she is the same.
Tonight I have tried a night light in case she is a little freaked by the dark being in a whole room rather than the security of the cot.
She is her happy self during the routine, we keep the place quiet (apart from her sleepy music cd which she always has) lights very low, story, and then we put her teddys in her bed and ask her to get into bed, and that's when the tears start. We manage to get her lying in bed with her dummy and teddies and when we go to leave the room she kicks off. I have been leaving her to cry for up to about 5 -7 minutes at a time. The second I go back in she stops crying and is quite happy, this evening I went in and lay on the spare bed with her and she was quite happy to cuddle, she is not at all teary when I am in there with her but the second I ask her to get back in bed she cries.
This evening has taken just over an hour and she has now got back into bed and settled down.
In the morning when she wakes up she is quite happy, she often gets up, goes and gets some more of her toys and gets back into bed until I go in and get her up.
At nap time today she got into bed and went straight off to sleep, sometimes she plays and then goes to sleep, but generally its tear free. Today I cut her nap slightly so that she was definitely tired, but not over tired.
I'm at a bit of a loss I hate hate hate hearing her cry. Any suggestions please?