20 months, waking at night.

[killpeppa]

my DS1 is 20 months & recently has started waking every night at half 2 and won't go back to sleep in his own bed.

I've tried night lights, later bed times. lying with him until he falls asleep, but still he doesn't sleep until he comes into my room.

HELP!
he's in his own bed & has been for a good few months as he was an early climber and the cot got too dangerous.

I love him but the putter patter of feet at half 2 isn't cute anymore.

any experiences/suggestions?

shameless bump.

any advice before I put him to bed?

Try waking him or rousing him slightly, getting him to stir and shift positions, about half an hour before his usual wake up? Like about half 1? At the same time, cover him over and make sure he isn't too cold and not all tangled up in the sheets.

It might help?

Sounds silly but have you tried earlier nights? Is he super tired at his usual bedtime? Just thinking of my own dc, they tend to sleep better if they're not knackered at bed time.
Is he still napping? You could fiddle around with nap times, either cut it out, make it so he has one long nap early afternoon or break it up so he has 2 shorter naps at opposite ends of the day.
If you're at home with him, make sure he gets outside for a run around during the afternoon, if at all possible, and then start a nice, gentle calm down from tea time onwards.
Is he getting hungry? Perhaps fiddle around with meal times so he has tea earlier, say 4pm (obvs only possible if you're at home) and then a carb-rich supper such as porridge just before bed.
Is a noise waking him up, such as heating clicking on/off? Coukd you try white noise to block it out?