My Toddler Won’t Sleep
Every time I put my 19 month old son to bed he usually would pass out early at night and sleep til 7 or 8 in the morning but all of a sudden for a few nights now he has been staying awake past midnight playing around and I’ve tried to get him to lay on me and pat him to sleep, turning off the tv or laying him in his toddler bed to sleep but he just won’t go to sleep because he tries to stay wake as long as he can by kicking and hitting me and he thinks it’s funny to hurt me while I’m 12 weeks pregnant and hardly been getting any sleep while my fiancé gets to sleep in our bed all night… ugh this is a bit stressful and overwhelming for me!
Sounds so frustrating! When he kicks or hits, have you tried redirecting - "this is how we touch mummy, gently" or removing attention (turning away, ignoring until the behaviour stops)? Sometimes a big reaction (gasping, pinning his arms down, saying no) is still a reaction and little kids don't understand a negative vs positive reaction. I hope this phase passes soon! I don't have any ideas for bedtime other than having a solid bedtime routine which you might have already. If it's the kicking that is keeping him up, maybe solving one will solve the other.