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Parenting

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2 year old suddenly refusing to sleep in his bed

4 replies

EverydayIsPJday · 13/10/2022 10:24

Hoping someone can offer some advice. Ds2 is 2. He's been settled in his room for well over a year or so, no issues. Approximately 3 months ago, he started to wake in the night upset, we could usually get him back to sleep but it became harder and harder and he became noticeably more distressed crying and shaking. I was pregnant at the time and DH made the decision to bring him in to our bed, he would fall asleep straight away which meant we could all rest as I really couldn't spend ages sat next to his bed once I became heavily pregnant. Since then he's gone to bed in his room but will wake after 1-2 hours very upset. we've tried asking what's wrong but he just said he doesn't like his bed. We made the assumption he had started to have nightmares (typical for this age). Baby is a month old now and it's becoming a bit of a struggle as I cannot move in our bed. DD has a side sleeper but thanks to c section I feed her laying down and with Ds in with us I am pretty uncomfortable and long term it's just not going to work. We'd decided that our two ds would share with bunk beds whilst we have the house converted so after they became excited about it we have gone ahead and put them in. New beds, new bedding, all made up as he wanted. We thought moving him out of his room and in with big bro might bring him comfort however it has made zero difference.

Has anyone any suggestions?

OP posts:
KitchenSupper · 13/10/2022 10:29

Is the bunk bed a full single bed? If so his father could get in there with him until he falls back to sleep, so that he is more used to sleeping in his own bed than in yours.

EverydayIsPJday · 13/10/2022 10:33

It is yes. Ds fell asleep in it last night but woke after 2 hours. DH went in with him but it becomes like having a newborn, we can settle him but is almost impossible to get out of his room without him waking. He succeeded a couple of times but ds woke within 10min or so. I was hoping DH would persist as I didn't want ds to think he could come in our bed from his new room (and so he will do it again and again) but DH said he was exhausted by midnight and gave up, tbf he has to work and ds2 woke ds1 who has school. I would have intervened but I was feeding DD (breastfed).

OP posts:
ThisMamaSays · 04/01/2023 20:16

How are you getting on now OP? My almost 2 year old has just started the same. 2 weeks nearly of carry on about going to sleep - taking off sleeping bag, throwing teddies out, standing up… this week I tried sleeping in his room next to the cot because he wa so upset and then latterly him in the spare bed and he didn’t sleep at all. We were all awake from 3am that day! 🫠

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LifeChangingParentingWithFee · 05/01/2023 17:19

It's no fun at all! Life is sooooo hard without sleep. It's very possible that your little one is going through their final sleep regression. It should last between 2-6 weeks, but there are many factors which can lengthen it...

  1. The developmental milestone that has been achieved just before it occurs.
    It's a great idea to provide your little one with lots of opportunity to practice their new developmental milestone during the day. This makes it less novel more quickly, meaning they don’t want to be practicing it when you put them down for nap or bedtime, so their sleep regression is quicker.

  2. Whether or not your little one associates you or a feed with sleep.

  3. How you respond to the sleep regression.
    I know it's easier said than done, but try your best to keep a consistent nap time routine and a consistent bedtime routine. Keep the bedroom dark enough that you couldn’t read a book and limit distraction such as wall art, mobiles and toys. They are a distraction when your little one needs to learn to go to sleep and stay asleep on their own. You can try using a white noise machine to cover up any noises you are making around the house, or calming bedtime sounds. This will hopefully help your little one fall and stay asleep at the end of their sleep cycle.

I hope you found something useful here and I hope the sleep situation gets better for you quickly! Fee Xx

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