18 months and all suddenly gone wrong.

[Methenyouplus4]

Our ds2 loved sleep, loved his cot, would happily go down at night/ for naps and slept through.

The past week it's all gone wrong. He screams hysterically when he goes down and is refusing milk (eats/drinks fine during the day). I am pretty sure it's separation anxiety as he is calm and happy if we just sit on a chair near his cot till he drops off to sleep.

Problem is... This can take 30 mins and while it's fine at the moment, we're due twins in the next few weeks and his bedtime routine taking an hour when we'll have two newborns plus one older do to sort just isn't realistic. Any ideas?

Tonight we've put him down and he's screaming again, I'm going in ever 5 minutes to lay him down again and sit next to the cot till he stops crying but every time I leave he screams again... Help!

I'm I e same situation, my son is 17months. I've decided to try and co sleep although I appreciate this is of what you'd want to do at this stage in your pg

Sorry you're in the same boat. I wouldn't mind bed sharing at all but I plan to do that with twins for ease with breastfeeding so don't want him to feel booted out when they arrive. He seems to gone over for now and I'm wondering if it's because I left the door open, thinking perhaps noise from the TV reassured him we were still here?

I literally walk towards the door really slowly. He gets bored and falls asleep. Lots of head rubbing and patting.i try not to pick him up but that's hard. Last night I coslept for ease. Life's too short, SOS my patience, I might just commit to co sleeping for a year. Or two...

I already cosleep but was met with protracted bedtimes around that age.

I found he was just too full of the new words he was learning and needed to spend some time going over them and thinking before bed. We've found very detailed picture books very helpful; if he's just not tired he looks at these while in bed - one of us has to be there but it doesn't have to be me. He likes to point and talk about the pictures and tends to practice a new word (almost 19 mo). When he's tired he snuggles down for a bf or just flops over clutching his favourite car. We've tried the walking off, daddy getting stern etc etc but I've surmised that at least this way he's learning some stuff. They get clingy as they start communicating as they know they're not great at it and know you know what they're trying to say best.

It can still take a while; I've had to get extremely clever about noticing how tired he is as if he's not tired enough there's just no point trying bedtime.

Also I'm finding teeth at this age can make them clingy too.

Usborne books are super for details - 100/1000 first words, or the lift the flap ones - it's '"things that go' with over 60 flaps" every night here! I wonder if daddy could be employed here?

I sit outside the bedroom on the iPad catching up with mn. She can see me and eventually she drops off.

If it's separation anxiety have you tried leaving the door open and pottering about doing jobs where he can see/hear you? It can be comforting just to know you're around....

OP, I've just had an incredible sleep, on the sofa in my baby's room....he woke three of four times with a howl, but I smushed him and he turned over, maybe something like thus could work...it keeps them in their own cot and room, but prevents physical contact....think ill do this for a few weeks.