Help. . Big Boy Bed transition problems

[tjteems]

Thanks to Baby Whisperer, I had a wonderfully sleep trained baby who could self-soothe and sleep great through the night with long naps.  Now, after a 3 week vacation returning to a twin bed, he won't go to sleep unless we lay with him.  He is waking early in the morning and taking short naps.  We wakes crying most of the time, which tells me he is still tired.
I've read on here that consistency is key, so we have a good routine and tell him ahead of time that he will go to sleep on his own after his books and song.  My question is. . what is the best technique?  Do you let him roam around the room to eventually go back to bed?  Should we sit outside the closed door and tell him to go to bed whenever we hear him walking around?  Any insight is much appreciated!
Thanks!
By the way, he is 23months old if that matters.

[deenz]

We have recently transitioned dd (18m) to a single bed...  in the beginning we found she sometimes got out of bed and played around (more so during the day) but always ended back up in bed.  So I would say, just leave your lo be, and see whether he will go back to bed by himself.

We were also away from home for 2.5wks when dd was 15mo, and found that really mucked up her sleeping habits for a while.  She too needed us to go to sleep, was waking up at night again, and having poor naps.

Has your ds been in the twin bed before you went on vacation, or is this the start of the transition?

[tjteems]

thanks for your reply. . no, he was in a crib before we left.  He is very big for his age, so has outgrown the pack n play (porta crib).  I bought a travel toddler bed that is flat on the floor and he can get out of it.  We figured that since he had been out of the crib for 3 weeks, we ought not go back to the crib.
He is also waking early. . 6 or 6:30am.  I used the advice someone else posted about a later bedtime, but it made no difference last night.  Mabye after a few days he'll catch on?
Any other help is appreciated!  Thanks!

[Carrie~Ryan~Adam]

We've had the getting out of bed problem since we switched DS to toddler bed at 20 months (he's 28 now). We finally had to close the door and put a door know blocker on the inside so he couldn't open it. Basically, his room is his crib. Lately he plays for quite some time before falling to sleep - on the floor. He never gets back into bed so we have an extra pillow for him on the floor next to the door. It might sound cruel, but we all get better sleep that way. When the door is open (which sometimes it is if he stays in bed when we put him to bed), he wakes up very early and won't go back to sleep. When the door is closed, he gets up later, or at least plays for awhile so I can get more sleep. I can't explain it, but that's how it is. Good luck!

[deenz]

We shut the door too, and she can't open it.  At night it is too dark in her room for her to play (read books etc) which is why I think nights are easier than day (naps).  During the day I have to make sure she is really tired when I put her to bed, and then she will usually just stay lying in bed, and go to sleep quickly.  If she gets up at the start of her nap, then she sometimes doesn't go back to bed, and ends up playing the whole time.

We started the transition with night times only at first, then about 10 days later, took the cot out of the room, and put her in the bed for naps too.