2 yr old sleep regression

koomy56

Hey ladies!! I have an almost two year old daughter who up until about 2 weeks ago was the worlds perfect sleeper. Went down easily and willingly and slept all night. Now it's stressful and she cries and cries at bedtime and most times my husband or I have to stay in her room until she settles and goes to sleep. I know this is a phase, but it's been really hard. Can anyone relate?

mrsvp614

This would probably be a good question for the Toddler/Parenting boards

sugarrush

Oh yes, I can relate.  We've gone through many sleep regressions with our now almost 3 yr old.  The only thing I can say is that we try to stick to a happy routine for bedtime, we talk to her a lot and give her a rundown of what the next day will look like to try and motivate her to sleep so the fun can begin the next day.  If she still cries after we leave, we find that my husband is better to go back in and "check on her" and ask her why she's upset because usually when I go in there, she wants me to take her out of her crib (and YES! she is still in her crib! Boo ya!) and we don't take her out of her crib once she's in there.  If it persists, we talk to her through the monitor and tell her that its time to go to sleep, and usually she'll get herself to settle down, but it would take 5-10 minutes or so.  All I can say is that it gets better, and you have to hold your ground or they'll walk all over you!  I am fortunate that my husband and I are on the same page with this.  Good luck!!

MyNamesTaken

We went through this with DS as well. He stopped going to bed nicely, learned to climb out of his crib, and learned to open his door in the span of a week.  We started talking about our day in his room beside his bed and then we would move to the door to sing a song and then leave. He would get mad but eventually settle and put himself to sleep. We had to play with the routine a bit but now he's great again!

There could be some teething going on too. I think molars came in around that time

Texafornian

My DD is almost 2.5 and has been going through it. Molars were to blame and she's hit or miss on naps now...you kind of just need to roll with itcand adjust as you go along. We also now use a nightlight because she started freaking out about the dark...

JustBored10

My son NEVER slept through the night till he was 3 1/2 and we moved him into a regular bed from his crib. Even now he still gets up 1-2 times a night.  Consider yourself lucky if it is truly just a regression! I laugh when I hear other Moms/Dads complain. If it is truly a regression it will pass just ride it out.

GracefulStar

As others said it could be teeth coming in or even if she's not feeling to well. My son regressed a few times and I just continued as if I was sleep training over again, but faster. So when he was beside himself and wouldn't calm down, I sat by the bed but tried not to hold hand/touch or I couldn't leave. Slowly, I got farther. Since she was trained maybe you could start in the doorway, stay a little and then back away. I sing a song out of view but it helped him to know I'm near. She may also take to a stuffed animal or toy. Good luck!

wellhithen

When my two got to be about that age or a little older they started to have scary bug dreams. I gave them a special elephant that would spray the room down of anything scary and keep the bugs away. I don't know if it's bad dreams or what but it helped a lot with them and they felt safe. That was 3 years ago and my oldest just now told me she doesn't need the elephant on her bed anymore.

koomy56

Thanks for the responses ladies! I haven't seen molars back there but it doesn't mean they're not coming! thankfully she hasn't tried to climb out of her crib yet.. I like the idea of talking about the next day @SugarRush  
We say goodnight to everything imaginable so she feels she's not the only one going to bed and missing out. 
@GracefulStar good idea- if I stay until she sleeps she knows the second I'm gone. I'll try that next time this happens! I work some nights and my husband is way better at putting her to bed than I am because she is way more needy with me than him!