Going to Bed is a War Zone

My 18 month old bedtime is terrible. I have tried it all and I’m all out of solutions. Every night we do the same routine at the same time - dinner, bath, milk, brush teeth, in bed reading. We co-sleep. I made sure there is sleep pressure by only allowing one nap that ends before 2pm. We are in bed just after 7pm and he fights, cries, and all out loses his mind before finally going to bed always past 9pm. Jesus Christ man I am so over it. It’s literally two hours of hell at the end of the night. Way to completely spike your cortisol in the evening. It is completely unbearable. I also have a newborn so between my husband and I- one of us has to keep the newborn away and the other is in the room with the toddler. My husband especially is losing his mind because he has to wake up super early so he has to go to bed early. He just wants a little child free time at the end of the day but because this monster don’t go down until after 9pm he doesn’t get any.

Any advice is appreciated. There is a little fighting at nap time but not much. I don’t have a clue how to get bedtimes down

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You can check with pediatrician about magnesium glycinate drops. My toddler is also 18 M. We make him play outside for an hour after 5 pm so he get tired before bedtime

I just posted a similar struggle a few days ago. I am in the TRENCHES.
18 m sleep regression, learning new skills, change in sleep needs. Idk but i am also STRUGGLING. My spouse is deployed im just attempting to survive. Youre not alone!

So you have to go to bed at 7pm with your toddler and you have a newborn? Does your toddler run around outside a lot to burn energy? I would work on transitioning them to their own room/space, is that an option? They might find it hard in the beginning but since they are already having such a hard time it might be worth a shot. Some other ideas; avoid screentime after 5pm, bath before bed, soothing music (we love bluey sleep on Spotify) extra hugs and support since they might be having a hard time adjusting to the newborn.

I totally get it me and my husband need our evenings if we loose them we really feel it. 18 months was a bad time for us too, it’s such a huge development leap. Is your son sleeping through the night if he does fall asleep at 9pm? and what time is he waking up?? Also is he showing signs at 7pm of being tired? Sorry for all the questions just trying to get some more context xx

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