Hello group. This is my first time posting in the BW forum and I am in need of help. My LO is 16 months. For the first 11/12 months he was a champion sleeper. I would put him in the crib, walk out and he would put himself to sleep. Somewhere around 12 month he got sick and I started weaning off breastmilk and that was the beginning of the end. The accidental parenting began and snowballed. I have managed to somewhat get on track, but bedtime is still a problem. After we do our bedtime routine (saying goodnight, bottle, brush, book) I put him in his crib. He appears tired but will not sleep. He will usually stand up and if I try to leave the room he will cry bloody murder. I usually end up staying in the room and extra 30-60 minutes after the routine until he sleeps. When he stands up I put him back down and put my hand on his back if he cries. We keep doing this until he puts himself to sleep. I then stay in the room for an extra 10-20 minutes until he is in a deep sleep before I leave. This process is way tooooo long and draining and afterwards I am wiped out. I need some help on how to break this habit and get him back to the point where I can leave the room when I put him in the crib. I know he knows how to put himself to sleep, I just can't sit in the room with him anymore until he does it.
Sample Schedule:
WU: 7a
B: ~8
L: ~12/12:30
Nap: 12:30/1-3:30 (more often than not I have to wake him up at 3:30 otherwise he won't sleep at night)
D: 5:30/6
BT: 7/7:30, asleep 8/8:30
TIA! Any advice is greatly appreciated as I cannot keep going on like this!
