19 month old threw himself out of cot

[Clarabell78]

For the last month or so we have had a lot of problems putting my ds down to sleep... He used to go down easily and sleep well with few wake ups. Recently it's been taking up to 2 hours to get him down with waking during the night. He screams and cries when we try to put him down. Throws his dummy, teddy, blanky, pillow out the cot while pointing at the door.. We have had limited success by getting him off to sleep on our bed but it's by no means a guarantee. Last night we decided to try controlled crying. 15 minutes in and he was asleep, I couldn't believe it. Then he woke at 4am and we set the timer to start controlled crying. He threw himself out the cot!! Three times! It's at the lowest height and this is the first time he's ever done this. What the hell do I do now? Do I take the side off and start rapid return or is there another option? I'm at my wits end

If he can throw himself out then I'd put a duvet or cushions next to cot so he can't hurt. Himself and if/when he throws himself out do rapid return. No talking just straight back to bed. If he keeps throwing himself out then I suppose taking the side off is the safest thing to do.
We had a nightmare with ds when he went into a bed as he eventually realised he wasn't trapped anymore. We out a stair gate at the top of the stairs, shut all the doors and left him to it a lot of the time. He didn't scream though just mucked about. We'd invariably come upstairs to find him asleep on the landing. He was older though so wouldn't advise leaving your ds like that if he screams.

I'd take the side off. Baby proof the room and put on a stairgate.
Or do gradual retreat instead so you are in the room with him and can stop him I he looks like falling out.
Or would a sleeping bag help contain him a bit more?

I'd take the side of the cot off if possible, or put him in a bed. Safety gate on the bedroom door and start the rapid return thing. Or let him cry it out in the safety of his room if that works better.

Make a chart and mark on it what times he goes to bed and what times he sleeps. This is for two reasons, firstly so you can see if there is tangible progress, and as insurance. When I did controlled crying with my first (who was loud and obstinate), someone in the block of flats called social services. After seeing the chart, they were happy we were doing CC and not leaving her alone in the flat (apparently the neighbours knocked on the door, we didn't hear).

Good luck, sleep problems are tiring.

One further thing to consider if it is taking that long to go to sleep - is he actually tired enough? If he's having say a 2hr+ nap after lunch he may no longer be ready for bed at 7pm. We found we had to shift our ds' bedtime to 7.30 at about 18 months then 8pm at around 2yo, once he stopped napping it went back to 7pm.