I don't post much, but I'm hoping someone can offer some suggestions, or some reassurance or something because I am at a loss.
L was great at naps and going to bed until about 3 days ago. We would tell him it was bed time and he would walk to his room, get his paci and let me put him down. Now he is screaming if I try to put him in the crib, pulling up his legs, clinging to me. The first night, after a horrible hour of crying and throwing his pacifier, banging his head on the crib, etc., I let him snuggle on the sofa, and he was fine and fell asleep after about 45 minutes. The next night, when he got fussy about going into the crib, I tried to cut to the chase, and let him just snuggle, but after 90 minutes he was awake and wanting to play and really fighting sleep. So, I put him in the crib anyway, and for most of the next hour he cried, though I sat in the room with him. He finally relaxed and fell asleep. Now, today, he is doing the same thing at nap time. Cried for over an hour. Mad, angry crying, and wouldn't stop. I told the nanny to finally give up and just let him out and he is perfectly fine and happy.
He sleeps fine once he is asleep, and I really don't think he's got anything else going on. We tried to give him some tylenol to see if it would help in case he was teething or something. But this isn't painful/sad crying. This is angry stuff.
I thought that maybe it was a one off thing, but now that it seems to happen every nap and bed time, I'm afraid this is just a power struggle. It is so hard to deal with and I am not sure what to do. Do I just stick to my guns and let him cry? Ignore him in there? Let him stay up all night? Get rid of the nap? It really seems like he won't ever give up and it really breaks my heart listening to him. We've tried music, leaving the light on, etc. but the only thing that stops it is letting him out of the crib, and I don't want to go down that path.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Re: Help with sleep issues?
LCT - 5.15.14 ~ 9lbs, 22.5 inches