22 month sleep

[shardlakem]

Hi all,
My 22mo will only sleep if I am lying on the floor next to him - does anyone have any advice on how to stop this?
His sleep has always been terrible, we hired a sleep consultant at 12m and did pick up put down sleep training to get him to sleep in his cot which worked but he has continued to wake often and now is completely unable to settle himself.
Please help 😩😩😩

I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but have you considered letting him sleep in your bed? Or get him a double so you can get in with him?

My daughter's sleep fell apart at about that age (she'd previously been sleeping through). We got fed up of lying next to her cot in the middle of the night, so she went straight into a small double.

She's 5 years old now and still calls for us in the night. We start off in our own bed, then one of us will get in with her for the rest of the night when she calls. Everyone gets maximum sleep that way.

On the floor? At his age I'd tell him mummy needs sleep too and I'd go to bed. Every time he gets up put him back to bed with a kind but firm "bed time now. Everyone's going to sleep", then leave.

If you provide him with a safe cosy sleep environment and all the usual things like bedtime story, warm cup of milk, cuddle, favourite teddies etc etc whatever it is... you can't do any more. Tell him to go to sleep. You need to sleep and a nearly two year old cannot dictate that you must sleep on the floor next to his bed.

We've tried that but he will stand up crying all night, he did 5 hours straight of crying this week before I gave up and lay down next to him out of sheer exhaustion 😥

Thank you, that is very understandable advice! I did try that a few nights ago but he just screamed and wanted his own bed, and I think ultimately I'd rather he slept in his own bed too.