How to actual heck do you keep toddler in bed?

[PurplGirl]

My 2.5 year old DS kept climbing out of his cot. So reluctantly, but necessarily, we have converted it into a cot-bed. We’re on the 5th night of 2-3 hour bedtimes. It’s wearing me down. We’re doing the usual bedtime routine, book in bed, sitting next to him, then moving to a chair, then outside the door. When we’re in the room he’s rolling around his bed messing around. When we’re outside he’s straight up and out of bed. We put him back, minimal words, repeat. If the parent ‘on duty’ pops to the loo or to another child’s bedroom, he’s climbing - onto the windowsill, drawers, pulling at shelves, you name it, he’s doing it. Same thing in the morning if we don’t immediately hear him.
He has a 1 hour nap at lunchtime that I wake him from. I can’t stop the nap because I’m in the car for the school run and if he hasn’t napped he’s asleep at 3-3.30 which is even worse.
What the actual heck can we do? 3rd child, never experienced anything like this with the other two - they’d call out and sometimes get out of bed, but not repeatedly or climb. Help??!!

Sounds similar to my DD when she was that age. In the end we removed anything she could climb on and put a baby gate on the door. Many nights she would fall asleep on the floor.
She's 10 now and thankfully this is a thing of the past!

This sounds quite unusual if you’ve had two children previously who you’ve successfully managed to get to bed.

Stripping the room of any platforms and furniture sounds extreme but like something you will need to do for safety. The windowsill is more of an issue. Can you occupy it with large immobile secured … things??

Some kids need much less sleep than others. This was a shock to me when I had a low sleep need kid. If he fell to sleep in the day I was brutal at waking him up after 15-20 minutes as otherwise we’d be messing around until midnight: interestingly now he is 15, he would naturally be up all night until 230am and waking about nmidday. It’s a constant battle to get on a vaguely socially acceptable sleep cycle.

Mine had a floor bed and I laid on the actual floor (ouch) at the side with my cheek on the mattress. Then I could hug pin down until they fell asleep. This was after weaning from feeding to sleep or when it failed for whatever reason. Then you can just lay at the side, then sit, then move away etc. worked for my cosleeping contact nappers

I used to lie next to my most difficult sleeper until he fell asleep. I’d read and ignore him, and he wasn’t allowed to get up

Can't recommend you do what I did because it'd probably result in being reported but I remember reaching the stage of exhaustion (chronic illness and toddler do not mix well) that I wasn't really thinking straight and after putting dc back into the cot so many times that I no longer had the strength to lift them I turned the cot upside down and told them they were in baby jail and not allowed out!!! They promptly lay down and went to sleep, I moved the cot and left them asleep on the mattress on the floor. They never climbed out of the cot again because they 'didnt like jail' as they told my parents who weren't as shocked by my actions as I expected them to be. I know you've already moved to a bed so I can't really help but hope you get sorted soon.

How does he cope with being woken from his nap? Could you cap it at 20-30 mins? My youngest has coped well with this since 2 and a bit years and it helped with nights.
Perhaps even start bedtime routine later around 7.30 with an aim for sleep by 9ish and then gradually pull it back. I wouldn't recommend starting both of these on the same day though!

Yes can you put a stairgate on his room door and clear the room? Only soft stuff. Honestly I hought my partner was being ott but stairgate on the door- best.thing.ever. and toniebox. Can you leave him in there with a nightlight on and books/toniebox or whatever til he just tires himself out- this sounds exhausting for you!

Omg good idea' I am suffering like the op right now

Thank you! Yep, already got the state gate in the door so he can’t get out. But it’s the climbing that’s the problem, so we’re going to have to empty the room if all furniture and belongings. A pita! But our only option.

So i see three options

lock down the room. put a stair gate on the window sill, put latches on all the drawers, wardrobe, remove all toys etc

put him back in his crib and add a crib safety tent so he cant climb out

put him in a toddler sleeping bag, back to front and use a teeny padlock on the zipper so he cant get it undone

Me too but 6 years in and I'm regretting it now. My youngest is 4 and won't sleep alone. My eldest is 6 and has just started occasionally going to bed by himself. It's exhausting. Takes hours to get them to bed. Op, if you can try and persevere with putting him down

Yes I did. I was up early and tired enough by then. I understand that not everyone can do this though.

You could put a high clothes rail on to hang his clothes from, on hangers so that they can stay in the room but not be climbable on.

Good luck. My nephew is a climber. He grew out of it eventually, but my sister-in-law had an interesting few years . . .

Take everything out, put a stair gate on the door and leave him to it.

The novelty of having the freedom of the room will soon wear off.

I find gorilla glue fairly effective.

Quiet often it's the other way and they are overtired and just like us can't switch off.

I think your doing the sit bh move to chair thing too quickly. Got gradual withdrawal you sit beside bed ignoring them gentle hand on for a few days, once they stop resisting that you don't need hand than once that's established you sit further away for a few days. It generally takes a week to hit the outside the door ....but you can't give in. If they resist you go back a step.