Sudden bedtime battles - help!

[Wingingitsince2018]

Hi, I am hoping someone has some advice for how to handle my DS bedtime. He is 2y4m and bedtime has very suddenly become a really huge battle.

A few weeks ago we would just do his routine, ending with a cuddle in the chair and a couple of songs and put him in bed, say goodnight and that was it. We would hear him chatting away to his Teddy over the monitor but he would drift off and was never upset.

Now we are back to cuddling him to sleep for over an hour and if he isnt fully gone, he will just scream and scream and get so worked up so quickly. It then takes ages to get him settled again.

He is also point blank refusing to nap, again he just screams and screams until we give up and go back downstairs.

Any ideas how we can get back to the bedtime we had, or do we just be thankful we have been insanely lucky until this point?

How long has he been like this? I remember my DD (she's 4 now) used to sleep perfectly then all of a sudden started to become really difficult. I can't remember exactly when, but there were a few points and I think it's linked to developmental milestones and regressions. They were always temporary though and didn't last long so hopefully yours won't either. Just carry in with your usual routine.

I do remember at one point actually that I started to give her a dummy to hold in her hand to play with and one in her mouth, and this seems to settle her! You may need to find something that works for you. Just give a distraction?