Good morning
My husband works contracts and goes away three times a year for between a week and five weeks at a time. When he is in UK he is with our son a great deal of the time and puts him to bed every night. Usually our son gets a little upset for a couple of days, has tantrums and a little clingy but this time he's completely changed. From night one he won't go to sleep on his own without me sitting there until he drops off (usually takes an hour and a half to two hours as he fights it like made). Before he would be told a story, sung a few songs and said a few repeated trigger lines and he would be off. Now, even after I've got him to sleep he wakes up two-four hours later wanting to get in my bed and when I let him he can't go back to sleep and lies awake kicking for hours. He won't sleep in the day anymore either. I'm at my wits end as it's night eight and still as bad. I know I shouldn't bring him into my bed as he'll want that every night but I'm exhausted. I tried hot milk last night and have resort to Calpol two nights. He is in a normal bed and if I leave the room when he's still awake he just gets up crying. I've tried the "keep just putting him back down" way but he won't even lie down and after twenty tries he is in such a frightened state that I feel awful and can't do it anymore. I cannot believe he has not slept more than eight hours in a day as normally he sleeps an hour and a half daytime and a full eleven or twelve hours at night. Any suggestions please as I don't know what the best way forward is.
Thanks for reading my post.