2 Years and Not Sleeping Through the Night!!!!

My number one suggestion is NO TV, especially not before bed time, not in his room AT ALL. Even though you may believe that it calms him down, TV actually get kids riled up even more and makes it harder for them to fall asleep and stay asleep.
I too let my under two year old watch some TV, even though I was orginally opposed to it - but let's be realistic we all have to take a shower or get things done around the house some time. But we do not watch TV prior to bed time and I can tell how it is harder for her to go to bed when her dad has the TV on to watch a game at night.
My daughter has a sippy cup with water in her bed and helps herself when she is thirsty at night.
I fish tank may be a good idea, toddlers usually like them, they are interesting and sometimes they find it soothing, however it does require some work cleaning and if you don't have any experience it can be challenging to set up. Maybe a smaller tank/bowl with just one fish (a betta would be great for this) would work better.

I'm curious as to why you are "totally against" being with him at night. (and yet you finally "give in" and let him crawl in with you). We mammals are made to sleep together, especially young mammals need their mamas at night. Either in the same bed, or else you could have his crib right up against yours so that you can soothe him to sleep when he wakes up, and then roll back into your bed - it's so incredibly simple! Cosleeping solves SO many "sleep problems" as well as helping children to feel safe, giving them a sense of security that will last the rest of their lives. (speaking from experience, my two slept with me until they were about 4, I always snuggled or nursed them to sleep - and now they are wonderful parents who happily sleep with their young children)

You could try replacing the movie with playing a CD that you make that has some of the songs from Nemo, along with some other soothing songs. My son didn't sleep through the night until around 2 and now he goes to bed better than any child I know and usually sleeps through the night (unless he has to go to the bathroom or hits a growth spurt and wakes up with growing pains -- both only happen rarely). I set very firm rules for going to bed and staying in bed when he turned 2 since at that age he could understand what I was saying. It was the only time that I used an extremely firm voice so he got it right away when I insisted that he follow the night time rules and stay in bed. He goes to bed with the same CD every night (a Winnie the Pooh lullabuy CD) and it's just what he needs to keep him laying still so he can unwind by himself. Additionally, the music reminds him of the routine so it helps set his brain for sleep time.

At 2 they are at the age where they are testing you and checking cause and effect. Thus, this is a good time to be firm about bedtime rules. You'll all be thankful in the future. I know I was since my husband is often deployed and I need to count on that down time at night and we both benefit greatly from our son being well rested.

I understand letting him crawl into bed with you at 5. It's hard not to let that happen when your hubby is gone. We got an alarm clock that showed the time on the ceiling and set the rule that he could only climb into our bed at 6 a.m. (he knew his numbers at 2 so it worked for us...it may be something you could try later if your son doesn't know his numbers yet). Since he always started his day around 5 or 5:30 the first two years of his life the 6 a.m. rule allowing him to crawl into our bed was just the right time since he never went back to sleep. I, or my husband, just got some snuggle time.

Good luck! It's so hard when you have a child who doesn't sleep well. I read every sleep book out there to help my little guy. In the end, all I really could do was wait until he turned 2-3 before life got easier in the sleep department. In sum, it will get MUCH better if you just start setting ground rules now at age 2 and stick to those rules. He'll love you and you'll be able to love him all the more when you are both rested. Then the morning hour when he comes in to snuggle with you in your bed will be a reward for both of you!

I'm completely in agreement with other moms: NO TV! It does unnatural and unrelaxing things to brainwave patterns. I always notice I feel pretty awful when I watch TV, and haven't had one of my own for many years.

Aquariums are wonderful soothers, but require care, and tapping or clonking things against the glass can jolt the delicate nervous systems of fish. They have nerves along the lengths of their bodies that pick up vibrations with great sensitivity. (Imagine gunshots going off in your bedroom…!!!). Not to mention the possibility of breakage when little boy games get lively. And little kids have a yen to put the wrong sorts of things in with the fish, sometimes deadly for the little finny guys.

My grandboy has a not-too-bright "aquarium" light with fish that swim in an endless loop. It gives some of the same monotonous entrancement without the risk or maintenance issues, and is not expensive.

If you get him one of these, you might make a big deal about it being a reward for staying in bed when you present it to him. Tell him a detailed story about how much a little boy just like him enjoys having his little fishy friends for nighttime company, and how they help him relax and go back to sleep. Have him practice turning the lamp on and off. Ask him if he'll stay in bed if he gets to have this light. He'll probably say yes, and then call for you anyway at first. But keep reminding him, and he may catch on pretty quickly.

My grandboy also responded well to reward charts at that age. Keep the initial rewards almost immediate, and gradually add nights as he improves.

Good luck. This is a challenging problem, and some little kids are just not very good sleepers. As a person with chemical sensitivities that take a serious bite out of my ability to sleep, I often wonder whether our kids are just getting too many chemicals in the air they breathe: cleaning products, air "fresheners," fabric softeners, mommy's perfume, off-gassing from synthetic products, etc. If you have any reason to wonder about this, you might try limiting his exposures for a few days and see whether it makes a difference.

I think you need to lay down the law. Besdtime is non-negotiable, and at sleeptimes the child is in bed. It is rough, and there will certainly be some difficult days as you both adjust, but, it seems to be the only thing that really work. You are in charge, and you do set the rules - you just need both of you to remember it all the time.

When we let our daughter get in bed with us during 'sleep time' she'll start waking up and wanting in at all times of night. We have to be really hardcore - she can't get out of her bed until it is okay to be up (try putting a light on a timer to go on when it is okay to be out of bed). If she does, she gets put back in with no discussion, no negotiation, no nothing except 'Its still sleep time, you need to be in your bed.'

Good luck!

Get a baby gate or a lock on the outside of his room so that he cannot get out of his room. He really needs to stay in his room. The first few nights are going to be really rough on both you and him. Don't give him because if you do, it will only get worse.

Tell him when you put him to bed that you expect him to stay in bed all night. And then follow through. Make sure his room is safe. Make sure he is safe and then go to bed.

Also, I would offer him food when the family eats, if he doesn't eat it take it of. Don't feed him until the next meal. I bet he will eat with you at the next meal time. Then follow through with this. Every time. He will get the message.

But work on one problem at a time, do the sleep problem first. After that has been established for a month or so, work on the meal time problem.

Good luck.

I would take out the TV. There is no good reason for a 2 year old to have their own TV. I have an 11 year old and an 8 month old and neither one of them have their own TV's, we have a seperate TV that the 11 year old can watch if he wants to watch something other than what we haev on. Later in life it has been know to lower grades, decrease social skills and increase sleep problems. I think having a fish tank in his room would be a good compromise so that if he wakes up in the night he gets to look at the fish. You could make a deal with him like every night he stays in bed he gets a star and after 7 stars he gets to pick a new fish, when you get the tank only get 1 fish. Also if you do not want to have him in your bed when daddy gets home I would not let him in bed with you now. He will get mad at daddy for taking "his spot" when he gets home. (My nephew was mad for about a month and my brother was only gone for a couple of days!!) Good luck!

On the waking bit...have you tried feeding him when he wakes that first time? Like not a snack, but something warm and filling?

I think giving him a small fish tank or even a small fake one would be a great idea!

hello! this may or may not help but i took my two boys ages 1 and 2.5 to the chiropractor to be adjusted and that helped a lot with their quality of sleep. maybe he's just had too many tumbles and is all out of whack. one way to help that too is to hang him upside down by his feet and let him hang and swing...fun stuff we do anyways!!! :)
good luck, i've been there and it's not fun. it will all work out though