Pregnant and toddler won't sleep

[Maria101]

I'm eight months pregnant and last month we moved house with our toddler, who is three in June. She's always been a good sleeper and in our old house she had a cot and blackout blinds. When we moved we decorated her bedroom so her cot was in our room for a week and we didn't have curtains in our bedroom so she was getting up earlier. Then we moved her into her room in a toddler bed. Basically, she's now a terrible sleeper.

She goes down fine at 7.30 after a bath, but wakes up at 1am ish and comes into our room. She says there are monsters in her room, or she's hungry/she's hurt her finger/she needs water etc. Some times we let her sleep in with us but this is getting increasingly difficult for me as I get nearer my due date. I'm huge and uncomfortable and she often kicks out and wriggles so I get a terrible night sleep. So last night we kept taking her back to her room but she cried constantly & came into our room from 1am to 4am. Eventually I went off to the spare room and then I heard her crying for me. We're all exhausted today and I'm worried that in a month we'll have a newborn in with us, and a toddler.

I want to crack her sleep before then, but now she's in a toddler bed and so much more verbal (ie, 'Mummy I'm scared, please cuddle me') it's much harder. Does anybody have any advice for me? I'm exhausted.

I didn't want to read and run - sounds really challening! My dd hasn't got to this stage yet, so I don't have any first hand experience, but I do know that a sticker chart worked really well for my friend. Her DS (3 at the time) shared a room with his brother (younger) and got up at least once a night to come into their bed. They told him that for every night he didn't come in to their bed, he could have a sticker, and when he had 5 stickers, she took him to "The Shop" and let him choose something (The Shop is our local charity shop, so this only cost her very little!). Worked really well, he's grown out of it now completely. Good luck (and congraulations for your 2nd!)

This is the stage that my DD1 is at also. She sneaks into our bed and I would end up getting kicked around also!

I decided that enough was enough and did the rapid return. i.e. straight back to bed each time she got up but with no interaction other than goodnight (as calmly as I could muster!)
The first night was horrific, screaming, tantrums, I was up all night with her.
(DH just saying 'let her in the bloody bed and let me get to sleep!')

the second night I did the same, less tantrums, still crying and lots of returns to bed.
By the third night, was much better, she still got up but returned to bed with no fuss or noise, result!!
And then it just got better. I had to break the habit of getting into our bed.

She is currently still getting up once a night and goes back to bed quickly and quietly so it's a vast improvement.

Good luck on this and new impending arrival :)