18mnths and seems scared of bed?!!!

[lilycat]

My little one who until recently loved his cot and laughed when we put him in has started to seem to be terrified of his cot. I take him up at night to put his pj's on and een that sets him off. Let alone the actual going to bed where he clings on to me for dear life and screams hysterically. Have tried night light - thinks its fun and bounces round cot, have tried leaving to cry (while I cry downstairs!) have tried more milk (turning into a cow!) But nothing is helping it just gets worse... any ideas?

Hi lilycat, can completely sympathise, but unfortunately I have no advice as I started this thread for my 8.5mo earlier in the week!

Has anything changed with regards to bedtime routine? Has there been a disruption (eg. staying over with grandparents)? I think its the change of routine which puts my ds back into a poor sleeping pattern. I also find singing to him before I enter his bedroom sometimes provides enough of a distraction for me to get him near his cot and he only starts to cry once in it.

I'm sure someone on MN will be able to give better advice!

lilycat
just seen tis, my dd is sort of doing the same thing at 17mths, she got a terrible fright the other night when my hsband came up to ed and whacked the stairgate a real bang, she woke up screaming and i think she got such a fright its taking a good 5 days, even for her day nap she starts to cry as i put her in.
am looking for a reason too!

Well, I posted about this exact same thing just last week, thread called 'toddler cot drama' or something like that. Dd's the same age as your ds, lilycat, and your dd, hermykne more or less, 17.5 months. So maybe it's just a stage they go through? Dd's screaming when I put her down has diminished a lot this week. But she still stands up and really shrieks for up to 5 mins when I leave her. She's also been quite a lot more clingy in the day, keeps resting her head on me and wanting to be stroked like a little kitten!

my dd is 13 months old now, so I might not be qualified to contribute...
maybe your little one just needs some emotional reassuance. Sometimes our kids, just like us, need to be reminded that they are EXTRA special. Hope I am making sense. Maybe when my dd is able to fall asleep on her own and sleep right through I'll be more qualified to speak here, just trying to help though. Good luck

Hi lilycat, I am having exactly the same problem. My DD is 20 months and has been doing this for about 2 weeks now. Have tried soothing music, reading to her whilst she is in her cot, but as soon as she realises you are no longer in the room, she screams the house down foreverrrr. Took me an hour and a half to get her down tonight. She has also started being the same when I try to put her down for her daytime nap an won't go near the buggy. Will watch with interest on what people have to say regarding this problem as she has always gone to bed awake and through the night since 8 weeks old.