Unable to put DD to bed

[piscis]

My DD is 13 moths and she has been generally a very good sleeper.
Until she was 6 weeks old, she was waking up only once per night to feed, and from 6 weeks she started sleeping through the night until pretty much now (apart from 3 of months when she was not sleeping so well).

So, she is a pretty good sleeper, and once she is asleep she normally sleeps through, the problem is putting her to bed. It has always taking us a while to put her to bed which is not a problem for me (she lays on her cot and we hold her hand until she falls asleep), she gets very excited and it seems like all she wants to do is to play, sometimes she starts laughing... The case is that before it was something completely doable, but for the last few days it has been a nightmare, she refuses to lay down, she will stand up no matter how many times I put her down and cry a lot when I do and even if I tried to avoid her standing up, she tries so hard that I just cannot stop her (I would have to apply too much force).

Has anyone had this problem and if so, have you got any advice on what to do?
I am dreading bedtime and now that I am working I would like to have a nice time with her rather than a struggle...

I've stopped putting DS in his cot awake for this reason. I'm trying to stop feeding to sleep so we cuddled on the single bed in his room til he was asleep tonight- I could stop him standing up or crawling about too much so he drifted off

I'm afraid we've always let DD fall asleep in her playpen in the sitting room then moved her to bed. Would horrify some people but she fairly consistently goes to sleep at roughly the same time every evening and we've never had difficulty getting her into bed or getting her to stay there. Totally different story if we try to put her down awake, so we don't even try any more.

I don't know what to do...it is frustrating because it has changed in the last few days from taking a while (like 15-20 minutes) but being something completely manageable to being a nightmare.

The reason I would like to put her in her cot awake is because when we had the 3 months period when she was not sleeping so well, I read a book by a sleep consultant (link: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UNLCYJQ/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o06_?psc=1)&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8 and it said the key for a good night sleep without interruptions was to fall asleep in the same place she was going to be sleeping during the night (we rouse at night even if we are not aware of it, and if you find yourself in a different place to the one you were when you fell asleep, then the normal thing is to wake up completely, imagine, you fell sleep on your bed and during the night you open the eyes for just one second and you find yourself on the floor, then you will wake up completely). Basically, after reading the book, we changed our routine and we stopped feeding her to sleep and we started putting her awake in the cot, we stay with her holding her hand until she is asleep (she fells asleep pinching the skin in our hand). That worked wonders from day 1, from 3 months of waking up during the night to sleep through, no problems...I swear by the advice in that book, and I am scared to change what it says is the key. Singing to her seems to help a little but not enough...

We have moved to a new house a few days ago and the change may have something to do with that?

I am sure the house move is at the bottom of this. Also you mentioned that you are now back at work?
Even small changes are unsettling for little children.
The solution can be to treat them as younger than their actual age for a while to build reassurance.
So maybe try a slightly longer run up to bed time to allow her to wind down and dont try to leave her awake?

She is in a possibly scary new place to fall asleep, so naturally feeling insecure.

Whether or not the house move is an added effect, I found around this age both of mine went through phases of having very prolongued bedtimes. It didn't last more than a few weeks.
Neither were anywhere as settled as your baby has been, but certainly this very awake thing did happen at the same time for both of them. We rode it out by cuddling or using slings, and at 14 months in our eldest reading to sleep started working which has been our method ever since with her (she's over 4 now!)

Try giving an option that still gives you the result you want - does she want to go to sleep now or after a story, for example

I am sure the house move is at the bottom of this. Also you mentioned that you are now back at work?
Even small changes are unsettling for little children.

Yes, I am back at work (3 days a week) and she has also started with a childminder. All in a week... :(

That is a lot of changes. No wonder she is unsettled.
Can you get some library books or other materials about moving house, going to the childminder/ getting a new brother or sister?
You can read them together and talk about her fears in a safe way.
Also, role play with duplo people or playmobile figures is a really good way of allowing her to articulate her fears.
I am sorry I am not very up to date. Do people still get library books for dc?
I am in my 60s!

Sorry I think I mixed you up with another poster whi is pregnant.