My once great sleeping toddler is now a bedtime horror! Help!

[Freya]

My kids have always been great sleepers once they hit 3 or 4mths old. Never had ANY issues with them at all.

Up until now with my 2yo that is

All of a sudden as soon as he hears the word bedtime or see's his brother going to bed all heck breaks loose. He flatly refuses to stay in his bed (he's in a big bed not a cot), he will constantly come in and out until we finally get annoyed and yell at him. He has a very bright night lite so it cant be because he's scared of the dark or anything. We let him have books and matchbox cars in bed with the rule that he can play in his room but NOT leave it. Still he fights us on it. It was 11:30pm before he went down last night after pretending to sleep on his couch on our floor and then dragging it back into his own room, telling us he cant find his blankie/sippy/pillow and then being 'surprised' when its lying right on his bed where we left it etc etc Once he does go to sleep he crashes and sleeps through til sometimes 9am!

Its really starting to annoy me as my sleep is very staggered being pregnant and its not something I need when Im up with a newborn every 2 hrs next year.

Any idea's on what we could do? We had a routine of hugging everyone goodnight then Daddy takes him to bed, changes his nappy and reads him a book but he's flatly refusing to be read to now.

[AmandaJ]

My two year old changed his routine when I was about 7-8mths pg, he went from going to sleep by himself to having to have me or DH sit in the room until he went to sleep. He's still doing it now, maybe give it a try just so that he will go to sleep and then you will be able to as well. I found just this bit of alone time together (even though we don't talk is like a safety thing, maybe for them). I hope that you can work something out so that you will be able to have some good sleep once bub is here.

hugs xoxo

[sushee]

Anna,

Charlie tries that on every now and then. The trick that's worked with us is that everytime he gets out of his bed, we pick him up (no talking, no playing) and put him back to bed. He will keep trying to get out, but we just keep putting him back in. Sometimes it takes 10 or 12 times but we don't yell at him, we don't give up, we just silently bring him back to bed.

Eventually he stops trying to get out of bed (because he realises there is no point, and he's not getting attention) and he will sit in bed and play. Or go to sleep.

It has worked for us every single time. Sounds simple, but it does work.