Hi, I'm desperate for some advice if any one can share any.
I have an almost 2 year old who I have to share my bedroom with as well as my partner, his dad.
We have a tiny room so he has a space saver cot. I know this can't be the most comfortable place but he never complained before.
Until about 4 weeks ago, he slept pretty well and self settled to bed, minimal night wakes and up anywhere between 5.30am-6.30am with a bed time of between 7.30 and 8.30. No amount of changing bedtime changed his awake time but I could cope with that.
He was quite poorly almost a month ago and had a lot of night wakings where he would want to sleep in bed with us. I didn't mind this as I am not adverse to co-sleeping IF HE DIDNT SPEND HOURS FIDGETING!!!
The past 4 weeks, he has slept the whole night in his bed ONCE.
He would go to sleep alone but wake anywhere from 11pm-4/5am and want to get in bed with us and its mighty hard to refuse when he can physically touch me (scratch/pull my hair) through the cot bars.
Now it is getting to the point where he wont even settle in his own bed and tonight has taken over an hour of taking him back to bed about 20 times (cause of course he can climb out) where he is desperately screaming at me that he wants to sleep in my bed, with me in it also.
He spends the whole night tossing and turning or random high pitched cries in his sleep and when I am sharing a bed with this animal, I get zero sleep.
How can I get him to A) stay in his bed all night (preferably til 7am but beggars can't be choosers) and B) go back to self soothing himself to bed.
He would literally say goodnight to me with a smile and turn over and go to sleep after maybe singing to himself for a min or two.
Now he's punched, scratched and kicked me while I'm trying to put him back in his cot.
I have tried controlled crying but this seems almost pointless when he can climb out and come running in to me crying and I did 40 mins of constant crying after me putting him back tonight that I caved and cuddled him almost to sleep then snuck him in his cot.
I've tried lying with him in my bed for a few mins and then putting him to bed and then putting back to bed after each escape, firstly with a cuddle then gradually not saying anything. I try this every night but how long do I continue each night before I cuddle him down because I cannot sit here and listen to him cry so much he makes himself sick.
Please, does anyone have any suggestions that I haven't tried, apart from "move house" as if that wouldn't be the first thing I tried.
Please please please