25 mo has been a brilliant sleeper. Bedtimes were a doddle. She turned 2 and her daytime behaviour became quite challenging but nothing unusual for a small person with a big personality – tantrums, screaming etc. She normally calms down if left to get bored. For the last few nights, however, bedtimes have become increasingly awful. Everything is a battle – getting in the bath, getting out the bath, putting nappy and pyjamas on. She won’t drink her milk, won’t clean her teeth and screams the moment we turn the light off for a song. Tonight I let her wriggle out of my arms and stomp around the room until it became clear she was not going to stop screaming so I left the room once she was safely in her cot, which she was naturally furious about. She has now been screaming in her bed for 15-20 minutes. Going in to ‘settle’ her has the opposite effect. She doesn’t want to be cuddled, doesn’t want stories or songs, she just rages.
I am due to have my second baby in two days. I feel terrible about not being able to help my toddler, not least with this seismic shift on her horizon, but equally I am at my wits’ end as nothing I or my husband does helps her calm down. Does anyone have any experience of this? What can I do? I feel cruel and sad leaving her to cry but don’t know what other options there are when any intervention seems to escalate things.