baby fights sleep

knottie7fb18b78e549a7e8

my little one is 8.5 mths and fights sleep both for naps and at bedtime. she's always resisted sleep and been a light sleeper. sometimes she'll carry on for up to an hour before bedtime. it's beyond mfrustrating. i am very tuned in w her sleep cues and she till does so even when i put her down at the perfect time. she will rub her eyes and be yawning but still refuse sleep. sometimes ill try again and agsin and by the time she sleeps its been a 5 hr wake window between sleep. my question is, should I stay in the bedroom w her and ride it out so until she falls asleep? or is it best to leave the room and go about life until she is too exhausted to stay awake? I don't like to do the latter because than she gets overtired and has lousy sleep, but I can't spend hours everyday in her bedroom just trying to get her down. i have however done this in hopes that itll condition her to prepare for sleep but it has not thus far worked. anyone else deal w this ?

thanks!

knottie7fb18b78e549a7e8

and to clarify, when I say leave the room I mean bring her with me. I'm not comfortable w crying it out and when I do leave her in the room she will entertain herself for a bit but then start crying