Help! My 21M Old Won't sleep....he Use to Until 4 Days Ago!

I have a different perspective than the other moms. We have a recently turned 2 year old and an almost 4 year old. The younger is a great sleeper, the older is terrible.

we've had lots of conversations with our pediatrician about sleep. It's very common for children, as their growth and development change, to have dramatic changes in their sleep patterns. I wouldn't be surprised if, at 21 months, he's beginning to recognize that he wants to soak in so much more of the world around him and to not want to go to sleep.

That being said, I'd not recommend transitioning him into the toddler bed unless he's trying to climb out of his crib - that could very likely create more issues because of the freedom of being able to get in and out of his own bed.

Good luck.

First, I want to recommend brushing his teeth AFTER he has his milk. The sugars from the milk will sit on his teeth and lead to cavaties and tooth decay. They should have only water after brushing their teeth!

As for your sleep issue: he could be ready to transition to a bed. We went through something similar with my son at 19 months. He had been sleep trained at 4 months, then suddenly fought bedtime and naptime. Then, during one of his fights, he climbed out of the crib. We took the front rail off to convert it to a toddler bed and he still fought sleep. After 2 months of dealing with it taking 2 hours to get him to sleep at night and he was waking twice overnight (which he didn't even do as a newborn), we switched him to a twin bed (I had done research which led me to believe he felt "too confined" in the toddler bed converted crib). From the first night in the twin bed he has gone to bed without a fight and has slept through the night and wakes up in a better mood than ever.

Is he perhaps night quite tired enough when you put him to bed? Kids are forever changing in how much sleep they need and maybe you'll have to start putting him to bed a little later. Is he still doing 2 naps? Maybe it's time to go to 1 nap? I've also found with all 3 of my kids that things seem to change at 21 months with regard to sleeping. My oldest started freaking out at bed time and we eventually got him a big boy bed which really helped. He might also be testing you and you might just want to stick to your guns for a few more days if you think there is nothing wrong.

I am a FIRM believer in the Ferber method. I used it for each of my boys and it worked wonders. I would stick to your routine and the tips in the Ferber book. Sleep disturbances reoccur every few months or so, and the best thing to do is the same thing you have been doing. It is reassuring to your child and he will go back to sleeping in no time. Sounds like you are trying new things when you say, laying on the floor holding his hand, glow worm, etc. I wouldn't do that. I would stick to what you were doing before. If you have to go back in at intervals, keep it to no verbalizations, a minimal back rub and then leave. Reread the chapters in the Ferber book that will help and keep it up! Best of luck, you can do it!

First thing that popped into my head was molars are coming in. I know they're called "two year" molars...but my daughters came in around 20 months and she became a horrible sleeper as well. :( We gave her teething tablets and an icy teething ring to bring to bed and she started sleeping.
That may be it!

He could be teething. Try giving him some tylenol and some hyland teething tablets. May be he is ready for a big boy bed. You never know. I wish you luck.

I would say that he may be teething, but an even more likely possibility is that he is ready to move to a toddler bed. I've heard other moms tell a similar story, and once they moved the mattress to the floor, or put him in a "big boy" bed, wala! he would sleep. Good luck!