it's possible your little man is going through a wonder week - key signs are an upset sleep routine and a need to be close to mum (or dad) all the time!
i have found my DD is doing similar (and she too is approaching a wonder week) - she is refusing her afternoon sleep for hours on end - doing my head in - but we're working with her instead of fighting it - i know we can work on a more solid routine later...
is he maybe getting too much sleep during the day or waking up later in the afternoon so that when bedtime rolls around he is just not as tired. If this is the case then maybe wake him up half an hour earlier from his day sleeps or do something in the arvo to tire him out and use up the energy like have a little play outside before dinner chasing after a ball or after dinner. At 10 months old you could plonk him down on a blanket (even though if he is crawling he probably won't stay there) with some toys and stuff, a change of scenery might be enough to get him a bit more tired because there is more too look at.
Otherwise just follow his cues for now and slowly put him to bed a bit earlier every few days and eventually get to a time that you are happy with...
Sounds a bit like my DS! As soon as we hit the bedroom its partytime! I've given up on the set bedtime thing. Instead he goes down about 4 hours after his afternoon nap (if its a good one of say 1.5 hours) or 3 hours after if its a short one, i.e 30 minutes and that works so much better! I tend to cave if its too much of a battle and let him get up for a little longer and try again 10 - 15 minutes later and this has almost never backfired on us!
Gentle parenting doesn't mean just letting him choose his own bed time. To me it means using gentle techniques, and trying to understand why things are happening so you can fix the source, rather than fight the wrong battle. At that age sleep can suddenly turn to poo. Unfortunately it is quite common, and happens at a time when many mums are back in the swing of life again and need rest.
There are things you can do though. As has been suggested, one of the first things I'd look at his day time routine. It might be time to cut out a day sleep, or change the time of a day sleep. It might be that he is ready to increase his food intake. Have there been any changes in his life recently - have you returned to work, moved, dad been around more or less - anything that is different? Quite probably there were changes to the normal routines with Christmas - perhaps visitors, being out more etc, and sometimes that's enough. Or returning from holidays.
Sometime it can help to give your little one an extra milk feed, or solids snack before bed, or to change the routine so that the bath is the last thing before bed. If he is seeking comfort, spending more time with him during the day might help. Would you be able to spend some time wearing him in the sling, or sitting with him reading stories or singing. I'm sure you already spend lots of time with him, but he might be craving more one-on-one time with you just at this point. When you have other kids the sling can be a big help, as he can be close to you while you do other things.
Hopefully something here will fit your situation and work for you. Let us know how you go. Best of luck hun.
Thanks for your post MantaRay he's definately thrown me for a six this week. I think he's deciding it's time to tell me the way things go.
This began on Monday after i'd had the day out Sunday. We rarely go out before a morning sleep but this day we did because of the distance we were travelling. It just seems as though one day out of routine has messed us up big time. As yet i'm not back at work but i will be next month and in preperation for this he has been going to fdc one day a week. The carer (who DS1 has been going to for 2 years) has said he's very curisy and happy there. So these are a couple of things that could be distrupting him.
He's a very busy boy and just doesn't seem to want to stop and the evenings have been that way until 9pm all this week. I'm going to try and make some changes to our day time routine to see if we can change these evenings but i'm not sure. I think he's decided he'll go to bed when the sun goes to bed.
Tonight was a repeat of what we've been going through. Today he slept from 9:30am-12:30am (great sleep) I put him back down again by 3pm (which used to work fine) but he wouldn't go to sleep, i re-wrapped him a couple of times but no luck. I got him up and we went and got a few groceries together and came home for more of a play, had some dinner and then i put him to bed at 6pm. This was early but he hadn't slept since 12:30pm so i felt it was well and truely time he got some sleep. He slept 40min and then woke. I tried to feed him and get him back to sleep with no luck. At 9pm he had a good feed and went to sleep without a tear.
Tomorrow i'm going to try and get my head around a few changes and hope for a different evening. I can handle the 9pm if know he's had an afternoon sleep of some kind.
Thanks again for your help and for listening to my rambling
He's pushing Thomas the Tank around and 10pm at night
I thought i could do this but i can't, it's just not right to me...
Today was good, he slept well all night woke up at 8am, had breakfast a play lunch and was in bed again by 12pm. He slept for 3 hours. Had a great afternoon, had dinner and was in bed by 7pm (up 4hours). He slept an hour, this is and has been very common on and off for him. I don't know why I got him up put him in the pram and we went for a walk. He was awake the whole time. Gave him a bf and put him to bed but he fought me. If i stay with him in his room he still won't lie down, if i hold him he struggles and grunts the whole time trying to get out. All i could do was let him go...
What do i do? What is wrong with him? He's like a child possessed. It's not that he just wants me he just wanted to be let go to play. I can handle tantrums and fussy eaters with ease but this is killing me. He's a baby
Thanks ladies, what you say does help. Sorry about the meltdown
Twin sister, reading your expereince and from living mine i think i would be willing to give what you do a try. DS1 was just ready for bed by 6pm every night so i am new to the protesting and adjusting to the later nights sleep. I'm trying my best to understand what it is that DS2 wants. Thanks so much
Briggsy's girl it could be a wonderweek (although i actually hadn't heard of that expression before), he's a little bit clingy at the moment
Thanks for the other suggestions also, i'm going to give it all a try to hopefully not have to have tears every night. Hopefully it's just for as short while
Good luck to you too Olive, i hope it's short lived for you also
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I got him up put him in the pram and we went for a walk. He was awake the whole time. Gave him a bf and put him to bed but he fought me. If i stay with him in his room he still won't lie down, if i hold him he struggles and grunts the whole time trying to get out. All i could do was let him go...
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