toddler suddenly won't sleep at bed time

[kiki22]

I need some help trying to teach DS 20mo to get to sleep. He used to go to sleep no problem every night I would cuddle him while he had half of his bottle then put him down sleepy leave the room and come back later to an empty bottle and sleeping baby however this has all changed and I'm really struggling with him now. It started when his naps moved to later in the afternoon so he wakes about 3.30 having slept for an hour. I'll give you a run down of tonight so i'm no dripfeeding.

He has a great routine bed, books then asks for bed at this point we say goodnight to daddy and he walks me to his room, he then wants us both to get in his bed I say no bring him on the rocking chair and he drinks his bottle when messing around chatting moving and generally waking himself up, I then move him to his single bed where he kicks the walls / sits up / pulls the covers up and down / chats to me /shouts for daddy anything to stay awake after about 20 mins he starts to fall asleep he will then start shouting woof woof or some random thing to stay awake this continues for about 40 mins before he finally falls asleep.

I have tired keeping him up during the day but he's over tired crys all afternoon and his sleeping at night suffers, tried keeping him up later but by 7.30 - 8 he's crying for bed, tried getting him to sleep earlier but won't work. I don't want to leave him to cry and when I tried the leaving the room and putting him back in bed when he gets out he got up 27 times in 18 mins, it just woke him up more and made me furious.

I know he needs to self settle and i think me being in the room keeps him going i just don't know how to get from being in with him to leaving him without crying or putting him back in bed 10 million times. I've heard of the no cry sleep solution but don't know if that would work at his age. He falls back sleep at night (5/6am) without a hassle but I do get in with him.

Please don't tell me it's all my fault I know but I don't sleep well myself and tend to sympathize to much with him and go to soft :(

This is happening to me too. No words of advice sorry but waiting with baited breath for other replies. I'm contemplating ringing The 3 Day Nanny!! :)

does he go to sleep OK at nap time? you say the problem started when the nap got later - would it be possible to have the nap earlier again? if not, what about putting him to bed later?
ds2 was always terrible at going to sleep. I am very familiar with the dilemma of being there keeps him going - chatting, fiddling around etc. but by leaving they get all worked up and distressed/cross which is far from helpful.
good luck! I'm sure he'll get through this phase soon

What time does he nap and how long for?

Could you let him have a shorter nap? Or an earlier nap?

What I do with my toddler is sit and read for 10 minutes then tell her I need to get a drink/use the loo/change the babys nappy, and that I will come back in 5/10 minutes. Most of the time, she will be asleep when I go back in. But you must go back or he won't trust you next time. If he is still awake when you go back in, repeat but use a different reason for leaving.

He has been sleeping 2.30 til 3.30 can not get him to sleep any earlier no matter how long I stick at it or how far we walk but come half 2 he goes to sleep no problem. It's like he need to be shattered to sleep or it's just a nightmare but at the same time he asks for bed and goes in quite happy... I have no idea what's going on with him and I find sitting in a room playing dead for an hour incredibly frustrating :(

Shorten his nap to 30 mins. At bedtime read him stories in bed, then leave the room. Tell him you'll be just outside while he goes to sleep, and if he fusses, keep telling him it's bedtime. Sound boring. Go back in and reassure if necessary.

moneymug if I leave he gets straight out of bed after me will not stay for even a few seconds

I've tried a shorter nap with no luck either

I am going through the same thing with dd2 who is also 20 months. She has just this minute fine to sleep when a few weeks ago she would have been flat out by 7.30pm.

She just keeps screaming and I have literally tried everything.

Does anybody know what it is? She doesn't seem to be crying for any reason other than the fact she is pissed off she is in bed!

No naps after 1. If they're tired, tough.

stick to your guns. It's shit, and you will need support not to cave, but you will get there.

ds did this through my pregnancy with dd and for a long time after. It was v stressful and we missed lots of telly, but around age 3, he nailed it.

Currently have to sit in the dark with 23 month old to get her to sleep.

Now, if anyone could tell me how to keep a 4 yr old and 23 year old to stay in bed past 430, i'd be eternally grateful.

I also tried no naps for 2 weeks but it made life hellish he cried from 3 til 6 everyday then fell asleep almost standing up and was up 3 or 4 times a night, once back napping he sleeps til 5 or 6 every morning then back to sleep.

The only he will sleep early is if we go swimming but I can't do that every day

I think that at this age they definitely need a nap, but earlier would be better. Could you try putting him down after lunch around 12?

I read with interest as I was going to post something similar. My 21dd is been terrible to get to sleep then niggles and niggles through the night then about 4:30am falls asleep and is like waking a teenage boy when I need her to get up!!!!!!! she is still in her cot (it's a cot bed) but the though of changing it to a bed fills me with total dread