DD is 2 and has always been hard to put down. At the moment we have a bedtime routine which has been much the same since she was tiny. Bath sometime around 7-7.30pm followed by 3 stories in bed and then lights out. I sit with her, patting if requested, or sometimes lie next to her until she falls asleep. But this can take forever. She chats, she sings... Delaying tactics include asking for water, for toys, or to go to the toilet. I usually submit rather than get into an argument that may wake her up more. I try not to engage at all with the chat and just tell her to shh from time to time. If I get cross she promises to be good and is quiet for a few minutes but soon starts up again. If I leave the room she sits up and cries pitifully. On the few occasions when I've been out at bedtime and dh has put her to bed she has gone down in about 15 minutes, so I don't think it's that she can't sleep, more that she won't. Although I can't be sure... She won't let him if I'm there though. I have considered the option of not staying with her and trying to get her to send herself to sleep but after a painful and ultimately unsuccesful attempt at leaving her to 'cry it out' when she was about 10 months I am loathe to go through it again. I should also add that when she does finally go off that's not the end of it - she still wakes in the night, more than once, and I more often than not end up spending most of the night in her bed. What can I do??? I am deeply frustrated and now have another on the way so am also rather fearful of how I might cope with two sleepless babies! Any helpful advice? Or shared worry?