9m-old ds has chucked bedtime routine, we are going with the flow, are we mad???

[PhDlifeNeedsaNewLife]

We've always done the same thing with him: dinner, bath, story, then if he wants bf or I just sing to him. We've always done this lying on our bed, then shoofed him into the cot when he's out cold. This has always worked very, very well for us. (Well, for past 6m, anyway.)

Until v recently when story-time has turned into a circus: "look mama, I can crawl! I can climb over you! I can stand! I can roll this way! And that way!" We can't read the story for all the antics.

I tried picking him up to rock/feed/sing and it's much the same: he looks left, he looks right. He leans riiiiight over backwards. He wants the light, the dressing gown, the floor, the sheet. I can barely hold him.

But if I put him down? The tears, the howls, the wailing! Doesn't matter whether I go or stand right there patting him.

So tonight we've just gone, aw, to hell with it - he's in his jams doing his circus act in the lounge. We figure we'll try a move to the bedroom and a story when we see some yawns/finger-sucking.

Are we insane???

Don't know, my my DS (7 months) has just chucked bedtime out the window too!

And we're just going with the flow too.

We had a milder version of this lately, got a bit stressed, tbh, but then realised she was getting way too excited by stories! (She's 15mo, by the way). She now gets a quiet cuddle in the dark after stories, which seems to suit her. But - my point is - it took us a while to work out what it was she needed, and I suspect going with the flow will give you all time to work out what the new routine needs to be, without all the tears and stress. Have fun!

Thanks yeah Habbibu that's what we're hoping too. It worked okay tonight, but then he'd had a dose of medised for his stuffy nose.