Catch 22

[1978andallthat]

Dd is nearly 2. She falls asleep about 7.45/8. Of we start bedtime after 6.30 she is too tired and tantrums re pyjamas, teeth, lying down, everything. If we start then or before we have over an hour of stories and cajoling into bed etc. ideas?

Her bedtime routine looks pretty long tbh - what does it typically include? And is she still napping? It sounds like you have to do lots of cajoling either way atm.

In our house BT is 8pm (with a 2hr nap 1.30-3.30pm). On bathnight we start BT routine (incl bath) 45mins before we want him asleep so 7.15pm, and if he's not having a bath we start 30mins before at 7.30pm. Bath 15mins, wash & get in pj's 5-10mins, story 10 mins, nappy change teeth brushed into bed & asleep 10mins.

I find he is reasonably cooperative with a relatively short BT routine when he's nicely tired, whereas if I get him ready too early he will scream, cry, tantrum etc because he simply isn't tired enough & doesn't want to go to bed yet.

Could this perhaps be the case with your dd?

That is possible. Routine starts earlier if bathnight. Am experimenting with earlier bath then pjs downstairs so not really part of routine, as then she's by less to do upstairs. But a usual day/night sees 45-75 min nap. Bedtime about 6.30-6.45 going upstairs, new nappy, pjs (increasingly a struggle but better now she can do herself with help) medicine (daily for ongoing thing, always a struggle but she takes it reluctantly) then milk and stories then teeth (a struggle) then low down, another story then lights out. But it's the lights out bit that's hard at moment. Happy to have lights out but then fidgets and gets up and wants more stories and makes (unmet) demands for ages before giving up and going to sleep.