22 month old won't settle now he's in a bed

[TooTiredToThinkOfAUsername]

DS climbed / fell out of his cot a month ago so we made the cot into a bed (it's a cot bed, we're not diy geniuses).

Prior to this his sleeping was ok. He'd settle no problem at bed time. He might wake in the night but again he'd settle. And best of all, we'd recently got a gro clock and his morning get up was no longer 430 / 5 it was around 6!

Such a relief as DD was born 4 months ago so the nights are pretty bad with her anyway!

Since we've made the cot into a bed DS WILL NOT SETTLE! ARGH!!!!! He repeatedly gets out of bed and turns the light on, before playing and emptying out all the drawers (we have storage issues and all our stuff is in his room as well :( ). When he wakes in the night, same process. And he is back to getting up at stupid o clock.

The only ways I can get him to sleep are to either sit / lie with him til he falls asleep but that really doesn't work with DD as I've got into a pickle with her sleep and it seems I can only get her to sleep by feeding her lying down in the dark for two to three hours (!!!) or to just ignore him til he falls asleep with the light on but that can go on for hours. When I have removed the bulb or as tonight as an experiment I've flicked the fuse for the upstairs lights he is hysterical.

So... has anyone else experienced this? What on earth can I do? I'm so tired and I'm totally fed up.

I've not been through this but could you try:

A nightlight in his room so he can see without switching the light on.

A side on the bed so it's trickier to get out.

Move some stuff out of his room (even just at night) so it's not so interesting.

Really tire him out between nap and bed so he's tired enough to stay asleep.

Will he understand a reward yet? A sticker for staying in bed until the sun?

Some ideas and a bump for you!

Thanks Icedfinger - I like your ideas.

The side on the bed sounds particularly appealing. My mum suggested today that maybe he feels insecure in bed rather than cot..And the idea to really tire him out is a good one. We often do less in the afternoon than the morning because it's shorter and I'm Knackered :) And as for rewards... I think that might be worth a go!! He's not daft so he might just get it... Everything has got to be worth a try!

Watching with interest.

Definitely look at a bed guard of some sort OP. I can't link for some reason but if you do an Amazon search (try 'wooden bed guard') it will bring up some good options for you. You can get extra wide ones too and they are suitable for cot beds.

My older two were older when moved to a bed but we still used a bed guard each time to ease the transition (5yo DS2 has only given his up in the last six months as he loved it so much!). Obviously a guard won't stop your DS physically climbing out but it will help with the security/comfort issue.

Icedfinger has some good ideas...I have to say I would also be tempted to try your DD with a bottle of formula at bedtime to try and break the feed-in-the-dark-for-hours habit before sleeping but that's just me and I fully appreciate that many here would disagree with me.

Good luck, it's horrible when evenings/overnight sleeps go to pot like this.

I've heard lots of people say that because the toddler has climbed out over the side of the cot that it therefore must be time to change to a bed.

I really don't understand this. Why would the response not be to teach the child not to lean over/climb out the cot because they could fall and hurt themselves?

In my experience being able to climb doesn't correlate with understanding the need to sleep, as far as I can tell.

We haven't turned the cot into a bed until about 4 years old with my children.

FATEDestiny DS is so reckless and chucks himself everywhere that it just didn't seem safe to leave him in a cot.

dietcokeandwine (oooh I haven't had a diet coke since I got preg with DS and I was so addicted! :) ) I will look up bed guards NOW...

As for formula... I just don't know! I feel, probably wrongly, that I should do the same re breastfeeding for DD as I did for DS. Therefore I can't do the formula. But maybe that is crazy.

Safety 1st Compact Fold Portable Bedrail www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002KO7E8U/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_gLo6ub16G6QTA

DH says looks like a waste of money :( surely not?!?

I dont think a bed guard is going to solve the problem as ds will just crawl to the end of the bed.

The problem is that ds is in a toddler bed far too young.

But i know hes in a toddler bed for safety reasons.

What is your reaction when he makes a tip of the bedroom? You need to be very very firm with him regarding teaching him to stay in his bed and not go into drawers. If your very persistant and he knows you mean business then it will take less than a week to teach him.

Personally i would put him back in a cot and teach him not to climb out

Do you use gro bags? It is much harder to climb in one as they can't lift just one leg by much. Would that allow you to go back to cot mode?

Gro bags are a brilliant idea!

Sounds like it should be a good suggestion thank you BUT he can get out of his gro bag :( and has been known to strip off gro bag, clothes and nappy. Yuk.

Wow I'm really painting a picture of an ill disciplined child and a household in chaos

Eek. Even the sort with one central zip and no shoulder poppers? Trying to think if there would be a way to safely secure the zip.

You could put the gro bag on back to front? Zip up the back?

Haha Icedfinger that would fix him in! He'd be quite annoyed but it would work!

genius!