Almost 2.5 year old lacking sleep

[arabee]

My DS had a great time sleeping for a while now BUT since January (two months) he will wake for a reason, usually wet (we tried EC unsuccessfully at nights, too much disturbance and awake time) but sometimes hunger due to being too tired to eat a proper supper. He can't get back to sleep after this waking and stays awake for 4-6 hours!! 
 

He used to nap 2-3 hours during the day, now he will play enthusiastically for the 2 hours in his darkened room no books (he eats them) and no toys (too stimulating), despite being exhausted. Then crash hard at 6pm, only to wake up sometime in the middle of the night and stay awake for 4-6 hours, happily playing, squealing and talking,  in bed. 

I am at my wits end because I know he is frequently overtired and this is why he wakes often and is lacking sleep. But what can you do aside from telling him to sleep? Nothing works! 

[P.J.]

I have never had anything like your situation but we did have some massive sleep struggles and are still dealing with nightwaking, although nothing like yours.

The book The No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers by Elizabeth Pantley has helped us tremendously! It is chock full of good ideas for naps, bedtime and night waking. Following her ideas and sleep logs, we totally transformed our bedtime battles to an enjoyable ritual that works every time. I have yet to really tackle the night waking thing because, quite frankly I am too tired in the nights to deal with it, so I just jump into his bed and he sleeps much better. I do aim to solve this though and eventually help him sleep through by himself, and there are plety of ideas in this book for that.

Good luck!