Desperate for some advice on how to improve my DD2's nap/bedtime please.
She has been an ok sleeper up until about a month ago. When I say ok we have had to do a lot of sleep training when things have slipped a bit but she has always gone back to settling herself and sleeping mostly through the night and having one good nap.
About 2 months ago she started only wanting a 30min nap but went down ok for it and bedtime and through the night was still ok so I went with it. However for the last month she has been fighting the nap and bedtime and waking several times a night. She would take the nap eventually but often only for 30-45mins. I could occasionally resettle her but not consistently.
Anyway the other day she was battling the nap and just messing around so I asked her if she wanted to sleep in her sisters bed. She did and she slept for about an 1 hour 15 with no issue at all. I think my husband and I got a little too excited by this and decided maybe she liked the big girl bed so took the side off her cot and gave her a duvet 🤦♀️. Night one and first nap were ok, sitting by her bed but not intervening too much to settle her. It was also reassuring that the tantrums and throwing herself around in her cot and bumping herself/trying to climb out her cot was gone (on day 1).
However, since day 1 of the cot bed she has now gone back to battling bedtime/naptime, throwing herself around in rage and now with the added issue of I can't just walk out and leave her to see if she can settle herself as she just gets straight up and cries/screams/throws herself around on her bedroom floor 🤦♀️
I do not know what to do. Do I put the side back on the cot? Do I drop the nap? Do I try to extend the nap? What sleep training method do I try? Previously when sleep training her we did a sort of controlled crying method. Although just before changing the cot to a bed I was using more of a gradual retreat as she was showing signs of separation anxiety so I thought that might be better but we hadn't really progressed far.
I have considered dropping the nap but if we go out I in the car any time from 10.30am she tries to fall asleep so is that a sign she still needs it? As I said she will settle for it eventually so it's not like she won't take it at all but it's a battle.
If you've made it this far through my babble then well done and thank you!
Any advice at all would be amazing and I hope I've made some sort of sense!