Help. Ds2 hates his cot.

[stainesmassif]

In brief (am feeding to sleep and on iPhone) ds2 is 15 months. I've gone with the flow, co slept, fed to sleep, anything to give me an easy life. He's had a nap every day in his cot - lovely long ones - and has always started the night in it.
Now he's teething or poorly or something but if he wakes even a tiny bit going down, he yells. If he's wide awake, good mood, put him in the cot, he yells. The moment his back hits the bed he spins round, stands up and yells. For aaaaaages. And not in a tired way, he's furious. How can I persuade him his cot is a good place to be?

No idea but I'm looking for answers to this too.

Dd2 has always gone into the cot without so much as a squeak. This last month has been hell. She goes mental every time she see's her cot, let alone goes in it.

Naps are currently taken on the sofa and bed is a mix of cuddling to sleep and crying it out.

I've just cuddled him to sleep and now I'm eating ice cream in bed for the seventeen minutes before I go to sleep.

I have limited success with cuddling to sleep as she really hates being fussed. Sometimes she will fall asleep next to me and I can move her if I time it perfectly but in the last month I think that has happened 3 times.

I've just spent 15 minutes patting and shushing her to sleep in her cot. I hate doing it but if I didn't she just would not give in.

Does he nap during the day still?

Crap ATM but he's just been poorly, so I mean 1.5 hrs total instead of 3 hrs. He's always been so easy (if you remove the requirement to sleep thru the night) and I'm starting to question my own judgement.
I guess I can a) do cc/CIO (least favourite option) b) continue going with the flow - but I would REALLY like to plan a night out for myself without complication. C) put him in a junior bed/get the ikea bunk with mattress on floor option and ds1 on top.

What am I forgetting? It will pass, won't it.

Anyone got any other ideas? Up since 4.30, am in a FILTHY mood!!

Well you could lie him down,say good night and leave the room and see what happens. Around about that age, I did that with ds and after a bit of me going back in and lying him down telling him to go to sleep, he did (he was shouting at me, not crying). This was after months of rocking, feeding etc to sleep and I was fed up. Amazingly he went down after 10-15 mona as opposed to up to an hour of messing about.

tried that -resulting in standing up fury and I haven't had the cojones to see it through. He's definitely more determined on this than I am or ds1 ever was.

I did it out of frustration. Left him for about 10 mins to calm down. Was expecting to go back in for another battle but he calmed down.

My little man has a set bedtime, and goes to bed every night at that time, whether he has just run around the living room or is already dozing. He goes in mummy changes his bum, puts him in his sleeping bag, kisses and cuddles him, puts him in his cot, turns off the light and tell him mummy loves you as she closes the door.

He very rarely cries at this and even more rarely have i had to get him up, and only then when he is really ill.

I sometimes think sticking to a routine can help. Also something that smells of you, sleep with one of their teddies etc.

Yes we have a routine, am sick to death of the routine!

I'd say leave him and see what happens after ten minutes. If you resent it then you need to change. Honestly I'm not a CC/CIO person so wouldn't advocate letting them cry but if he's angry that's a bit different IMO

What time is his nap usually? And what time does he wake & go to bed?

Has this waking/angriness only started since the illness or was he waking at night before that???

If he's always been a pretty good night sleeper then I would perhaps wonder if 3hrs could be starting to be a bit too much day sleep. I know at that age I had to start limiting my DS's nap to 2hrs or he would wake early. We never really get long NW's or bedtime battles though, we just get the dastardly early waking instead.

Historically his nap has been in the morning - 9 til 12isj and then bed by 7, but this last couple of weeks everything seems to have changed. I've blamed teeth. I think iggly you're probably right - we've reached a stage where I've got no choice but to let him go for it. I just wish there was another way - throwing biscuits into his cot, for example.

Ps, up by 6-6.30 but still night waking too. I'm knackered!

Biscuits would work for me

I felt ds understood me when I said it was time to sleep unlike a baby would.

I'd also change his nap time to midday - will take time to push it back. Or wake him after 30 mins at 9 then put down again at 12.30/1 for 1-2 hours. 7 hours is too long and might be making him too tired so he can't wind down. The morning nap will give him a chance to recharge after broken nights then you can drop it leaving one afternoon nap. This is what ds had (2 naps until 20 months), 1 nap still going at 2.5 years.

7 hours between nap and bedtime that is.

Thanks iggly. Will give it a go today. Am also tossing up getting him to go to sleep on his own (no bf) in my bed - he definitely likes it there - or going for the ripping a sticking plaster off effect and cc in his cot tonight. With no bf.

I'd not drop the BF - if you do too much in one go you might be a disheartened! Maybe work towards dropping the bedtime bf gently? I dropped it by introducing milk in a cup with bedtime story then ds would feed less then I'd put to bed without bf. of he asked, I'd feed, otherwise if he didn't I'd go to settling him without. Soon he stopped asking altogether.

Went for the cc option - which was pretty tough and now I'm dreading the night time, but he did give in after 28 tortuous minutes. My shoulders are around my ears!

That's pretty good going!

Good luck for tonight.

I know! You'd think he was pfb.

Oh bless him. He's given up after two minutes tonight.

result!

Bah. He was just resting up for the long night ahead.