2 year old will not stay in bed!

[Scoopmuckdizzy]

He's been in a bed for about a month in the same room as his 3yo brother. 3yo settles and goes to sleep straight away (as long as 2yo isn't bothering him) but for the past week or so my 2yo will not stay in bed and fall asleep. He was fine to begin with and I was so pleased with how he took to his bed straight away and slept really well.

I'm currently on the landing outside the bedroom door. For he past few nights I've been putting him back in bed when he gets out and leaving the room. It's constant though! I just wish I knew why he's only started this behaviour now when he was so good at first.

An hour and 15 minutes of this tonight and it's still ongoing. DH has gone out and left me to deal with it. I'm having braxton hicks contractions and really feel less like dealing with this tonight.

He should be exhausted!

Another crappy evening. I can feel the pressure inside me rising and I I just want to scream at him.

DSSs are here and are downstairs watching TV very loudly- every time I ask that they turn it down it goes back up again.

Mine is doing this too!! It drives me nuts! I think I need to reduce his nap (he will happily do 2hrs at lunchtime) to make him more tired at bedtime.

I don't want to leave you unanswered - my ds2 is 2yo in a week and since the clock change he has gone from falling asleep within 15 - 20 minutes to taking 45 - 60 minutes. To be fair he is in his cot still (we were going to change to a bed but no chance after this kicking off!) But his chattering/singing/squealing and continual requests for his nose to be wiped annoys the hell out of me. I was wondering if it's because his room is much much lighter so could try a blackout blind but that would render his room pitch black in the middle of the night (no lights on and has door shut) which I don't like the idea of.

Our dd1 one started doing this the night dd2 was born. Impeccable timing

The next night my dh went to buy a stairgate for her bedroom door and we cracked it within a week.

We used to let her shout at the gate for 15 minutes before we put her back into bed, then another 15 minutes if she got up again.

She only got up a second time on the first night (so went to sleep after 30 minutes) and then we had a couple of nights of going to sleep after the first 15 minutes. She stopped bothering after that as I think she realised that it wasn't any fun.

Get your OH back to help.

Sitting on the landing doesn't really help. They can smell you there....

A telling off and then back downstairs is the approach here.

Doje I though reduce nap too but mine only had 12.15 until 1.05pm yesterday and still didn't go to sleep until 8.30pm after being in bed since 7.25..... Still listening to him chatting away now about bloody Nanny Plum, Mummy birds and cold and frost mornings......

I think the OP is pregnant (mentioning braxton hicks) so I don't think going up and down the stairs will be very easy. Maybe you could shut yourself in your room - staying on the landing might be too tantalising for him!

Finally asleep

Thanks everyone. Just knowing I'm not the only one is really reassuring right now!

The room has a blackout blind but not very well fitted as the windows are so wonky so there is a tiny bit of light getting through. I suppose, as it never seemed to bother DS1, I hadn't really considered it being too light but DS2's previous room had a blackout blind and thick curtains so I'm going to sort some for their room.

I've tried leaving him to it but more often than not he gets into bed with DS1 and they both end up getting wound up.

Tomorrow I'm going to not sit outside the door and go and sit in my bedroom instead. Perhaps leaving 10-15 minute intervals would be better than pouncing straight away.

DC3 arrives in about 10 weeks and I really want this cracked by then!

I still co-sleep with DS (2 in Jan) and am hoping to shift him into his own room next week. DC 3 due in 10 weeks too!
Hope this thread still going then, I'll need it!

What's wound up?

We just leave them to it in their room. I consider it teaching them to calm down themselves.

Then we go in and bollock them when they are tired and they drop off

poocatcher that might be the kind of parenting you enjoy but it doesn't work for everyone. I'm not sure leaving a 2yo and 3yo to 'calm down themselves' is very conducive to any particular life lesson, not at that age any way.

Sorry, no help here, I can't remember what we did, neither can DD, who's the older sibling!

I can't leave them to get on with it- 3 year old DS1 just wants to go to sleep while the DS2 piles books on him, tries to get in his bed, take his bear etc. it wouldn't be fair to expect him to put up witht that. Being in a bedroom with his brother is a huge novelty to DS2 and he needs to learn that bedtime is for sleeping, as DS1 did. They're both early risers and losing 2 or more hours of sleep that they're used to having due to the current bedtime shenanigans isn't good for them.

I know we'll get there eventually- it's just the lack of rest time in the evening I find hardest. I used to pop them both into bed at 7pm and they'd go off to sleep so compared to that this is a bit of a nightmare!

I'd personally put him back in a cot. What are the downsides to this?

I second the cot too then try again in a few months?

I was worried about him associating not being in his cot anymore with the new baby. DS1 went straight out of his cot as DS2 went into it but DS1 is far more easygoing and I'm a bit worried about how DS2 will take to having a new sibling as it is. I was really hoping to have DS2 settled into a routine of going to sleep in his bed before the baby comes along.

He's had a good nap today and I usually find his sleep is better when he's not overtired so hopefully tonight will be better than the past few evenings.

insane we disagree then. I think it is good for them to learn to manage their bodies and emotions. They play together and chat and if they don't settle themselves we go in and settle them.

In the example the OP offers above however it is not right as the older child isn't happy with it.

Yes poocatcher I see where you are coming from but at that age I think they do still need some guidance from an adult as to what is acceptable and what isn't. They can only learn that by being told/shown. Playing together and chatting is perfectly fine but most 2yo wouldn't just stop at that, as the OP has described.

Fair enough.

Let us know how you get on tonight op

I have started leaving a couple of books in DD bed, she seems really happy lookong at them before drifting off and is less likely to get out of bed (touching lots of wood!)

What is he doing when he's up after lights out?

Right now he's trying to talk to DS1. He gets up and wanders around the room before going to DS1 who is trying to sleep. DH has taken over putting him back to bed now so we'll see how that goes.

A bloody ice cream van has just driven past the front of the house with its tune blaring and that has not helped.

When I went in earlier all I could see of him were his little legs poking out from under DS1's bed. I'm not sure what he was doing under there.

He will get over this phase, it's still just the novelty of being able to get out of bed. Have you tried cutting out his nap for a few days? My brother did this with his 2.5yo and he went from being up until 9pm to practically falling asleep in his bath! You have to try it longer than a day or two though so his body clock can adjust. I'm currently listening to mine chattering a continuous monologue about Ben and Holly......