OH WOW!

[Nauvoo]

DD will be 2 next week and for a couple weeks now sleep has been really off! shorter nights and very short naps. all that I can deal with, but a couple days ago when I was putting her down for a nap she was having a hard time with me leaving so I just patted her bum a bit (yes patting still works and sometimes shushing too) and she went to sleep, not for long of course.
well that night I put her down and same thing happened but more pronounced. crying and clingy. so I left her door open and she did fine going to sleep and slept all night (which I had no idea was a luxury soon lost). she has been the best sleeper up until 2 weeks ago, 12hr nights, 2 hr naps. but night before last she woke at 2:30 crying and clingy and for the next 3 hrs was either happily chatting in her bed or crying and pleading for us to come to her. she woke up DD1 during all of this .  3hrs!!! I was trying to be minimally involved as she is so at that age that whatever I do she will expect it. in the end after 3hrs i patted he bum and she fell asleep. oddly enough this didn't occur to me sooner or else i would have done it.
so last night she would not go to bed for DH and when I got home and hour later she was crying and awake! so I lay on the floor in her room and it took her about 20min to fall asleep.  last night during the night she woke at 5:30 after finally falling asleep at bedtime at 9:30. she was very clingy and crying and just unhappy so I lay on the florr again next to her but she just seemed very uninterested in sleeping. happy for some time  crying for some, I tried to pat her bum to help her go to sleep but that didn't work. finally at 8am I got her up for the day. 8hr night and very grump busy morning and she is asleep for nap now but I am not so optimistic it will be a good one. 
I need help! support! help me help her get through this rough patch without creating props i will regret! do you think lying on the floor is a good idea or should i take a diffrent approach. she does talk well but seems unable to identify let alone explain how she feels.

[HenaV]

There's something crazy that happens to LO just before their 2nd birthdays Aime. My DD did exactly the same but I had learnt my leasons from the most horrific 18SR expaerience.

I offered reassurance - repepadyt telling her she was come - mummy is here and did WI/WO.

I was none the wiser at the time but there is apparently a developmental ea leap this af= which causes the Rama that you are now experiencing.
HTH x.

[Buttonbobs]

No advice but lots of hugs, E is 2 next week too and we're getting some yucky NWs - 2.5 hours last night. We should have arranged a play date

What date is your DD2's birthday, is she a triplet with E and Anna's Audrey? Xx

[Nauvoo]

the 18th.
I really want someone to tell me it will pass and return to normal! hopefully!
I dread tonight. last night I slept terribly because of the anticipation of a long night waking and she didn't disappoint.

[ZacsMumme]

I really want someone to tell me it will pass and return to normal! hopefully!

It will pass and return to normal

It will....we have had something like this in some shape or form every 6 mths or so since the 18 mth Sr. It's developmental.

Be consistent but caring. Present but not too much, and if you can try to get her extra sleep with EBT etc where you can. I think our 2 yr one lasted a couple of weeks (but not weeks of long NW iykwim)

[Emami]

I really want someone to tell me it will pass and return to normal! hopefully!

It will pass and return to normal

Just saying it again! We have just been through it.  Naps more than nights, but some NWs and trouble settling at BT crept in too.  Now she's back to normal.
Agree with PPs, ride it out as best as you can and hope it doesn't last too long Sorry, I know that doesn't really help.  Seems like there are a lot of mamas struggling around the 2yr mark atm. Hope you get a better night

[anna*]

I wish I could help but I am hanging on for dear life here waiting for this to pass... Audrey (2 on the 20th) - I lost count how many times she was up last night. I know she had been up four times by 11pm. I know her canines are hurting her because she's crying "no food no food" at mealtimes, but pain meds don't help with the sleep...

[HenaV]

Good Lord, I just read back my post - evident are all the reasons why I shouldn't post when I'm super tired with head lolling trying to keep awake while I finish my post!!! I shall try and again....

Yes there is IME a developmental leap around 2years which send sleep doo-lally. For us it manifested itself by way of long NW and EW. Luckily are naps were not affected so between naps and EBT there was scope for catch up.

R turned all needy at BT - no mummy, please stay, lie down, all panicky and not wanting to go to bed or go to bed alone. I offered her reassurance that she was fine, that it was bedtime and that mummy was there for her. On occasion she accepted it but at other times it would lead to hysteria - lots of no, no. no and pleading for me to stay. I don't think her cutting teeth at the same time really helped out course.

Now that I've dealt with the doom and gloom, for some positive news, it passes and relatively quickly (compared to the 18SR ime). For us, Im sure it was no more than a couple of weeks. After which we dealt with the OT and got back on track.

Again, Im sorry my 1st post was so utterly useless but hope that this one is somewhat more helpful. Big (((hugs))) ladies for those in the midst of this mare, I truly do feel your pain 

[Nauvoo]

I so hope it only last 2 weeks. she is sooooo tired from 7 and 8 hr nights! 
she woke at 4am last night, was fine for 30 min after I reassured her, crying after 30min, fine for 45 min, crying again, every 30 min or so. I find I have to be more present as she is waking DD1. I lay on her floor for an hour this morning sure she was asleep as she had been so quiet for that hour, only to leave and have her crying 2 min, later she woke at 4 and is she fell back asleep at all within that time is was some pretty short sleeps. I ammthinkingmshe didn't. I got her and myself up at 8:30 and she is napping now. we are gone until 9 tonight so ........I am dreading the next 2 weeks.

[HenaV]

I appreciate that it's more difficult for you as you have DD1 to consider BUT I'm not sure if you being so present is not helping you? The lying on the floor etc I did with the 18SR and I think I made things sooooooo much harder on my self. With the reassurance etc I did take the hard line approach of doing WI/WO rather than staying with DD. It seemed to do the trick at this end.

H

[Buttonbobs]

Sadly still with you here, a 2.5 hour NW last night and still awake at 9.30pm tonight. Fingers crossed she'll be tired enough to sleep through.

We do a mix of WIWO and reassurance with words from the doorway here. Going in seems to prolong the problems for us too.

[Nauvoo]

yes. thank you. good point. perhaps tonight I will close DD1's door and turn on a fan full blast to drown out the noise.
how about naps? what length of nap should I give or more like how long of nap should I give?  she'll sleep forever because she is getting maybe 7 or 8 hrs at night.

[HenaV]

I used to do then a slightly earlier at 12.30 and let her have 2.5h and BT slightly earlier (between 6.30-45) dep on nap

[ZacsMumme]

I used to do then a slightly earlier at 12.30 and let her have 2.5h and BT slightly earlier (between 6.30-45) dep on nap

Same 

Hugs!

[Nauvoo]

thanks ladies.
last night DD woke at 1:30am but a little pat on the back is all she needed. then she woke at 2:30am and same thing. then she woke at 3:15, 3:30, and 3:36 but at these 3 wakings all I had to do was reassure her with words from the door way. then she was up at 7:30am for the day after a 8:30 bedtime. I put her down at 12:30 for a nap and she slept an hour  .
she woke at DD1 last night who was awake for 3hrs!!! we are all very crabby and tired today!