Let me tell you what I tried last night and today at nap and then maybe we can tweak? (More background follows below.) Last night, after reading more on the forums and zeroing in on a recent exchange re: a 21 month old, I attempted PU/PD with perhaps a bit of GW thrown in. It took about 2 1/2 hours to get him to simply lie down in his bed. During that time, I led him back to his bed every time he got out, telling him that it was time for him to go to bed and that I knew he could go sleepy. Finally, after what seemed like 1000x pu/pd, he finally lay down in his bed and was able to settle a bit holding my hand as I sat beside him on the floor. After about 15 minutes, I told him that I was so proud of him and that I was just going to go to my room so I could go sleepy, too. I told him I'd be close if he needed me and that I would leave his door open. Then I gently let go of his hand and walked out. He didn't protest or try to follow me (although he was definitely awake) and that was the last I heard from him until 6:15 am this morning - when he whispered to me from his door. I started nap a bit early today as I knew it would take time. After an hour of PU/PD, he finally curled up on my lap as I sat on his bed. After a few minutes I gently put him down into bed (this took several attempts) and then held his hand as he tried to fight sleep. When he was very drowsy but still awake, I told him I was going to leave his room so he could go sleepy but would be there when he woke up. I forgot to leave the door open (last night was the first and only time I've done so as our house is very loud) and I heard him open the door just after I left - but then he closed it again and I've heard nothing. I *think* he is asleep - or else he is very quiet in his room. I'd like to think this is major progress, but I'm not sure. What do you think? The hardest part seems to be getting him to lie down in his bed - he is part playful, part defiant and part upset (rock, rock, rock he cries!) during this phase. How hard should I be pushing? Should I be physically laying him down or do I just ignore his antics? And, am I negating it by allowing him to cuddle with me for a few minutes before he finally lies down?
Sorry about the 10 thousand questions. . .THANK YOU!
As way of background:
He was actually "kicked out" of nursery school because he was more determined than they were - he could and would cry the entire four hours. That was in September and since then he has slowly but surely become a bit less attached to me. I can now do things around the house while he is playing in a different room and, while he still cries a bit when I leave him home with a trusted caregiver, he usually stops as soon as I'm out of sight. And, like I mentioned, he goes to sleep very easily for everyone else. (I work part-time - he has a nanny about 15-20 hours/week)
While things have been a struggle for at least 6 months, it has been worse in the past few weeks as we recently returned from a 3 week vacation overseas. (For better or worse, I never put him down for nap or bed the entire time we were away and he slept great.) When we returned his body clock was very out of whack and he would only go down for me (very odd indeed!) - and then only if I rocked him. That only lasted a few days, but ever since he wants me to rock him to sleep. Oh, and we did have to transfer him to the BBB about 2 weeks ago, but he has gone down fine for everyone else. . .
