2 year old won't stay in bed. Getting desperate!

[CP2701]

I don't even know where to start. My daughter was 2 in January. She's ALWAYS fought sleep. Like no other human I've ever met. She can't self soothe and if she feels herself getting sleepy, she tries anything to stop it.

She has always hated her cot. Screamed so much in it that she would almost be sick. So i had to get her off to sleep beside me in my bed and then move her. Once she's sleeping, she is fine. Getting to sleep is the problem.

Getting her to sleep beside me would take an hour at least. She now won't lie on the bed beside me, she won't lie down at all when she's tired as she doesn't want to sleep.

We took the side off her bed (she has climbed out so our hand was forced). I give her a bath each night, take her into her room lit only by a night light and read her a story, tuck her in and leave. This is where the madness begins. She automatically gets out of bed and plays... For hours and hours, it doesn't matter how tired she is.

I have tried repeatedly putting her back into bed without speaking to her, after 2.5 hours of this, I no longer had it in me to keep going. I've tried this multiple times, it does not work.

I then tried just leaving her to play, but she won't go to sleep, eventually when she gets mega exhausted, she'll cry for me and I'll cuddle her in and she'll go to sleep.

I see people all the time saying' my child took into 9pm to fall asleep last night '. I would love that. My daughter does not fall asleep until 2am bare minimum, every single night. I cannot deal with it anymore.

She doesn't have a dummy and never has. She doesn't nap during the day mostly anymore. I wake her at 10am each day. I can't wake her earlier as it honestly makes her worse. She cries all day and then stays up even later overtired... Last time I tried this, she finally went to sleep at 3:45am.

I have no idea what to do. I can't put her back in a cot, she can climb out. I can't Co sleep with her as she won't stay in my bed either. She jumps out and rakes through all the drawers etc. She won't stay in her own bed. She gets up and plays with toys all night. I can't repeatedly put her into bed, it doesn't work for us.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?!

I am really at the point of desperation now so please be kind.

I suggest settling for bed before she gets overtired would be your ideal situation.

My youngest ones are bathed before 6pm, in bed with a story 6.15pm. Asleep 7pm latest. Occasionally if youngest has a nap he is later settling at night, say 7.45pm/8pm. Never allowed to nap beyond 2pm.

jessstan2 I know, not ideal. But ultimately I am a morning person, so get loads done at the start of each day, including weekends and chill out after 7pm each day.

OP, one day they will be grown up and you will wonder how you got through it. I went through all this nonsense with my older ones but now the teenager won't wake up in the mornings!

@blowinahoolie I know what you mean, my eldest is now 16. The lack of sleep was horrendous when she was little but now feels so far away.

I know this time will come with the little one too, I'm just trying to survive it in the meantime. They say no two children are the same. Well, so far, they are proving to be the exact same! 😂

We have been up since 7am today so here is hoping we survive! I know I need to encourage her to settle herself, I just don't know how to go about it. I suppose with her not having a dummy etc, it's actually hindered her ability to go to sleep on her own. Neither of my children would take a dummy however, so it wasn't a choice.