22 month ds doing my head in - think it's a sleep / naps issue

[blissieblue]

DS has been having 2 hour naps fom about 1-3pm quite happily and then going off to bed at 7/7.30 without complaint and waking between 6-7am.
In the last couple of weeks bedtime has become a battle again. We go through the whole routine as always of bath, pjs, milk, story and in to his cot with his dummy and a book but now he starts crying when i leave the room and stays awake until 9pm or later with me or dh going in and out (not fussing but being firm and telling him it's bedtime).
Am now trying to cut back on his afternoon nap so that he has only an hour but the problem is by teatime he's an absolute nightmare. Doesn't eat properly, screams all through his bath and then still doesn't go straight to sleep. He is also now much more bad tempered in the morning and whinges and cries for seemingly no reason.
I'm 31 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty knackered anyway - dreading to think what I'll be like in a couple of months when up all night feeding as well.
Help!

if you have shortened his afternoon nap, then you need to bring tea and bedtime forward for a while.
Once he gets used to the shorter sleep during the day, you can slowly move bedtime back to where it was originally.

I'd say it was the naps, the afternoon one proably needs shortened or, if he really needs that much, then changed to earlier in the day so he is up by say 2pm at the latest.

I bought Solve You Child's Sleep Problem, Dr Richard Ferber, and it explains a lot about sleep patters etc. Might be handy. Good luck.

Thanks Coolmama
stupidly hadn't thought of bringing tea and bedtime forward - will try that tonight and for the next few nights and see how we go.

Thanks frumpygrumpy

don't want to bring nap forward as we are generally out and about every morning at various things - which i think we both need for our sanity! Might try that book though - we have had loads of trouble with DS sleep on and off since he was newborn and am steeling myself for going through it all again!

Another Fabulous book is the "happy sleep habits, happy child" book - Can dig out the details if you want, but basically the premise is that sleep begets sleep! - certainly works in our house!

BlissieBlue, I had this with my 21 month old a few weeks ago, you poor thing, must be hard being pregnant too. As everyone has mentioned, I cut the nap to 1.5 hrs and woke him and started putting him to bed at 6.15 - 6.30 and touch wood seems to be rectifiying itself. (Roll on when the clocks change!)