Nightmare nights with toddler!

[RachCBas84]

My toddler has never been the best sleeper. He has had short periods of maybe a week or so where he sleeps well and through the night, but these are short lived and we have basically been exhausted since he was born!
He's a lovely, lively little boy and loves being with me. Unfortunately, this has spilled over into the night times and he is now in a very set routine of waking up, shouting for me, wanting milk and then coming in bed with us. When he eventually goes back to sleep, he is impossible to move as he wakes up. My husband is fed up, I'm exhausted and not sure what to do!
I realise that I've made a rod for my own back by letting him in our bed, but I'm so tired and just want him to go back to sleep and not wake my daughter up either.
Has anyone else had this problem? If so any advice would be so appreciated!

I have a similar scenario with 2yr old DS…he sometimes wakes at 2ish and comes into our bed for milk and stays there or other nights he’ll sleep until 5.30am before coming into our bed. We have nearly weaned off milk in the night so the last couple of nights he hasn’t even asked, just had a cuddle instead.

Things we have done to make it easier: put him in a bed he can get on/off himself and open his bedroom door when we go to bed so he doesn’t call out for us, instead he just comes and gets in our bed.

Buy a super king bed, it has been life changing.

@Pastaf0rbreakfast thank you for your reply. I have tried not giving milk, sometimes this works and he goes off to sleep quickly. Sometimes he asks for it and I get it because I just want him to go back to sleep!

Yes, maybe removing the cot bars will make things better.

I'm really hoping he grows out of this soon, but failing that, a bigger bed may be the way to go!