2 yr old sleep dramas NEED HELP!

[lestyrox]

Sorry this is a bit long...My DS is 2 next month and he used to be such a good sleeper, sleeping from 7:30pm to around 6:30am and a good 2 hour sleep during the day.
Well thats all gone out the window now! For the last few weeks he has been refusing to sleep at all during the day. I try to get him to sleep but he just whinges until i give in and get him up. Is he too young to get rid of his day sleep? I'm 6months preggas with DS number 2 and i usually have a sleep when DS is napping but now that he isn't i'm sooo tired.
Plus we are having major night sleep issues as well. The last few weeks he has been waking up crying around 3 times a night. He settles as soon as i go in to him but then he wakes again a few hours later. I don't think its nighmares because his cry is different when he has them. He's teething (i think, who knows!) at the moment but he's been teething pretty much for 6 months and he hasn't done this before. I gave him some panadol last night ( after my hubby begged me to because we were both so tired, i don't like to give it unless i really need to) and he still woke up 3-4 times so i don't think he's in any pain or discomfort from his teeth. I'm starting to think maybe its a habit? Should i just let him cry? It breaks my heart to let him cry but i have no idea what else to do. He's still in his cot and its crossed my mind that maybe he's outgrown the cot and he's waking up becuase he's uncomfortable??? Sometimes i go in and find him all squished up in the corner of the cot, or he'll roll over and hit the side of the cot and that wakes him up. Is it time for a big bed? I was planning on waiting a little while longer but maybe its time?

Also he has a favourite pillow that he takes EVERYWHERE and wont sleep without it. Lately he has been throwing it out of his cot and screaming until i come and put it back in, he usually does this during the day when i'm trying to get him to sleep.. he just keeps doing it over and over again! When he does it i put on my strong cross voice and tell him 'Don't throw the pillow out, its naughty' but he just does it again. I think its a way of stalling sleep and getting my attention- problem is if i just leave it and don't pick it up he wakes up after only 1/2 hr of sleep in a full blown tanty because he hasn't got the pillow and then he's in a HORRIBLE mood for the rest of the day.
Sorry its long, i'm just sooo tired and don't know what to do Any suggestions??

[rosehannah]

Hi there, hopefully this is just a phase :? and that it will pass quickly. I'm not sure that he is ready to drop the day sleep, he is probably just fighting it because there are so many more interesting things to do. All children are different thought and I know of some kids that don't have day sleeps at that age. Try winding him down before putting him to bed eg. read a quiet book or tell him a story in his room.
With the pillow, my daughter does a simular thing and I will only pick it up once, after that it's bad luck. She protests for a short time I think she is realising that I won't be drawn into a fetch game. Maybe you need to think about getting a bigger bed and see how it goes, at least you won't be kicking him out when the bub comes.
Best wishes