Hi all,
DS has never been a good sleeper, but a short hospital stay a month ago has really mucked things up!
So - at the moment, we do PJs, teeth and watch a few minute of CBeebies in my bedroom, then go into his room at 6.30ish. He puts on his nightlight and chooses some books (usually with a lot of persuasion) then I lie in his toddler bed with him and read some books. I warn him 'last one, then kiss and cuddle goodnight' and then lie on the floor next to him around 7ish (progress from cuddling him, but a back step from pre-hospital stay!). He usually then spends 40 mins mucking about, firstly crying for more books/cuddle, trying to engage with me ('itchy bit', 'want socks on', 'want blanket on/off', 'mine arms wrong', not lying down properly, while I ignore as much as possible) before falling asleep. If I try to leave he goes into a rage and immediately follows me out the room and cries/screams (previously I could "pop to the loo" once he was dozy and he'd often fall asleep when I left). I was kind of doing gradual retreat (eg lying next to him instead of with him) but it is taking him longer to sleep each time, not less!
So - I need to get to stage where I can read his books, tuck him in and leave! I'm 5 months pregnant so lying with him is not a long term solution, and I need my evenings back, and can't spend all that time with him when I have a newborn too. He's also up at 5/6 every day (3.45am last week was a low!) and not falling asleep til close to 8, so he needs more sleep and I think he would sleep later if he falls asleep independently (from past experience), and if he wakes in the night (a couple of times a week) he ends up awake for a couple of hours.
Do I go for 'rapid return' instead and deal with all the screaming? Or any other ideas?