My son is two years and two months. Since turning two he has been what I can only describe as a fucking nightmare at bedtime. Since he was 8 months old he’s gone to bed awake and slept all night without any problems. And would sleep anywhere - so sleepovers with or without us were fine.
Since he turned two he’s been horrendous. He was in a cot still and started waking in the night, which was unheard of. We made the switch to a bed and things got better for a time. This last week it’s been absolutely awful and my anxiety at bedtime is escalating. I’m actually sitting here crying while DH deals with him. In the day time DS is a normal toddler - he plays, he chats, he has a nap, he’s a little bugger at times but generally good company. When he goes to bed it changes. You put him in bed and he starts making noises that lead up to full on wailing. He goes “uh uh uh”
Louder and louder and as soon as you leave the room the shrieking begins. He comes out onto the landing and stands at his stair gate screaming blue murder like something awful has happened. Got him a night light and that helped for one night but we’re now back to this. I dread bedtime massively because this is driving me insane. He will not lay down, he gets back in when you go up only to get right back out again seconds later. We tried putting the stair gate on his bedroom door but he shook it and slammed his door shut which took his door off its hinges!!!
He is screaming like his world is ending. We’ve both taken it in turns to sit upstairs till he goes off but we can’t keep doing that - i was there for over an hour the other night and he didn’t talk to me or bother with me other than to start the uh uh noises if I tried to move.
I feel like my toddler is manipulating us and I know that’s not true - he’s still small I know but I just don’t know why his personality has done a 180! He’s also been really clingy and crying when being taken to CM yet I then have to fight to bring him home at night!! I cannot cope with the shrieking when he’s going to bed. When he’s asleep he doesn’t wake up till morning but it’s getting him to sleep that’s hard. He’s going to his aunties for the night on Friday and I’m seriously considering cancelling it as she has a 6 and 2 year old herself and I cant even think of him behaving this way somewhere else.
My husband is much calmer so he is dealing with it most of the time but this needs to stop. How the hell are we supposed to go anywhere or leave him anywhere when he acts like this?? Part of me wants to put him back in the cot so at least he can’t run out but then knowing him he’d just climb out now!!
We haven’t changed routine, his nap is only an hour which he still needs as he’s worn out by lunch, NOTHING has changed! Why is it like he’s broken in the last month! If you try and leave the room when he’s in bed he just starts wailing if he’s not ready for that. I feel like I’ve tried everything - rapid return, slowly moving myself away, shushing, being calm, winding down before bed... you even mention bed and he just grins and then makes it hard to take him up as he won’t walk but fights if you carry him.
Any advice would be appreciated!!