Argh!!!!!!!!

It IS possible that ovetiredness is the culprit for everyone - including mommy! I think a group nap may be in order tomorrow, but this is also coming from a co-sleeping mama.

I watched Supernanny deal with kids doing this. They filmed it with the night vision thing. She had mom sit in the middle of the bedroom floor with the lights out and with the kids in the bed. Everytime they got up or jumped on the bed, etc, she got up and put them back in the bed and sat back down. Her back was to the kids. She didn't move, she didn't talk. She only moved when they got up. One ran out of the room down the hallway and her husband caught him/her and brought her back into the room. This went on over and over for an hour.

The next night it was 45 minutes and the next was like 15. She didn't have to do it anymore after that.

You might try this. That way you don't have the crying. You don't do the diaper thing, and you could have a sippy cup of water beside the bed.

Especially for traveling, you might want to do this now.

Good luck!!
Dawn

Not sure if I have any really helpful suggestion, but I did read something - if we cut down their nap time during the day, it makes them extra tired, and more cranky. Instead of ensuring that they'd fall asleep early and sleep well in the night, it can make them over-tired and give them a poor night's sleep.
Day-time naps are better, for them and for us, I guess.
Maybe just tiring out your 2yr old with day-time activities works better?

Ditto Dawn. I did it with our son. It took us three nights to have no more 'popping back out' attempts. I did it sitting in the hallway with a book (I actually 'camped out' for the first night.). The only thing I can add to Dawn's excellent suggestion is to make sure you are staying completely emotionally neutral and not getting visibly upset, not smiling, not talking. This makes it a 'fact of life' lesson-- I get out of bed and mom puts me back in because that's where I belong.

PS-- When they are at the cusps of birthdays, we can see unusual behaviors for our kids. I wish I knew why, but in my years of working with children, I've noticed this to be quite common! Good luck, Mama!:)

do you think he might have another of the reoccuring ear infections???
2 year molars coming in??

I swear this is one of the toughest parts about parenting!

Am I right in saying that your 2 year old is almost 3? (Just make sure.) Does he normally nap well? Are you seeing any indications that he might be ready to give it up? I think my oldest was at least 4 when he gave his up (we can't remember), but our 3 year old just gave his up. He turned 3 in March. Both boys made it quite clear (by taking hours to settle down for a nap and then being wired until late after taking a nap) that they were ready to be nap free.

If you think he is, then by all means try skipping it tomorrow. If not, then I would suggest you still have hiim take one tomorrow.

I would get the kids up at their normal time (even if they don't get up on their own) and do something very active. Maybe go to the park or swim or ride bikes. After lunch I would do naps if they still nap. Try to do as many things "on schedule" as you can. If you are able to do that, I really thing bedtime will go much better.

It sounds like your little guy might have just really been awake or was overtired.

If you think this is going to be an ongoing problem, then I would really consider Dawn's ideas and go with what Supernanny tried. I'm pretty sure she has more info on her webiste. My thoughts above were all assuming that this was kind of a one time thing and that he just needs to get back to a normal routine.

Hang in there and good luck! Remember, you're not alone in dealing with sleep issues :-)

My son just turned 3 and has been pushing me at bedtime as well. It DOES really help when I skip his nap, although the next day he is VERY cranky and I have to give him a nap. Now we are on an every other day nap routine. I COULD get him to nap every day, but then he just keeps coming out of bed at night time too.

Stay strong, mama, and maybe open a bottle of wine? :)

If the 2 year old didn't nap, he's probably overtired and that's why he can't sleep and why he won't stay in bed.

Put a baby gate across the threshold. He can get up, but not out. Let him fall asleep where he will. Move him to the bed later.

Also, I bet the 2 year old wouldn't be coming down quite as much if the baby weren't down there. He is at that age where he doesn't want to miss anything.

IMO 2 is way to young to give up naps. I hear people post about that all the time - child won't nap. Well, whether he sleeps or not is up to him, but you need to insist on quiet time at the very least, IMO until at least 4 years of age. Then, when the nap does go, bed time gets moved up.

Good luck!