Toddler Sleep Getting Worse with Newborn

It sounds like your son is adjusting to having to share his mom and dad!! Even though he used to go to sleep fine, he's seeing more attention on the baby, so now he wants that more attention. My suggestion would be to have one of you sit in his room - tell him that you will not stay in there until he's asleep, but will stay for a certain amount of time (whatever you are comfortable with (5, 10, 20 mins) then tell him you are leaving but he has to stay in his bed. If he gets up and comes out of his room, walk him back. He may cry or get upset, but as long as you are giving him the attention before bed, he'll get over it quickly (hopefully!). When he gets up in the middle of the night, walk him back to his room (or go in there if he's just yelling at you) and sit for a few minutes, but do the same thing and tell him when you are leaving.

I say this but my situation was different from yours and we did things otherwise. My son was in our room from 0-6 months while my daughter (2 - 2.5 during those 6 months) would sleep in her room. Before he was born, she would cosleep with us most nights (wake up in the middle of the night and I just put her in bed with us). After he was born, she did not want to sleep in our room!! We used to have to sit in her room until she was alseep or mostly asleep then would sneak out. When we decided to move my son to her room to share, I knew that would have to stop so I started sitting with her and telling her when I was leaving. I also started leaving her door open instead of closed. The first few nights of this was a little hard, but it only took 1 night for her to realize she had to stay in her room. And the 2nd and 3rd nights we hardly got a fuss. Now I sit in their room and rock him until he's comfortable but not asleep and then I offer to rock/cuddle with her (she usually wants a hug and kiss then wants to go back into her bed). Then I say her prayers with her, sing her songs and then sit in there for anywhere from 5-10 minutes (depending on how tired I am!). This has worked for us, however, she still wakes up 1x every night and now that her door is open, she just comes into our room and gets into bed with me! It works fine for us because my husband doesn't get home until 230 am so he doesn't come to bed until later so we are not all squashed together!

Good luck! And PS, I would NOT try to sleep train your baby, he's just too young. Much better to sleep train your older son.

Oh man, I feel for you! We have had quite a run with this ourselves. Our baby is now 6 months and our big boy just turned three, so it is getting better:) One thing we did to help was to show our older son, that the baby was going to bed. He didn't like the idea of us being up with the baby while he was asleep. So we would have him say goodnight to the baby, put the baby down, even if it was just for show and then put him down. We did enforce his bedtime because he tried to flip out and we just couldn't have that. But we did tell him that everyone was going to bed, everyone meaning kids of course! That first two to three weeks was the worst, and then it started to get better. But I would say, even if he cries, he cannot hold you hostage in his room, not a habit you want to form. He is old enough to comfort himself. Maybe a special new animal or something he is really into to sleep with. Does he like Toy Story? Maybe a Woody doll. My son LOVES to go to sleep with his Woody doll. But if it were me I would still make him go to bed every time he got up and I would not stay in there until he was asleep. It sounds like he is trying to make sure you are not staying up with the baby and he has to learn to share, which is tough for them!! Good luck and congrats on the new little one, I just love having a baby in the house again:)

Let him be with you.
Modern society imposes the idea
of separate rooms.
He is communicating his genuine
needs to be close and included.
It'll change again. Follow your heart.

Here's a link for some info on sleep with more details besides info below:
http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2010/01/09/...

Growing up is heady stuff for kids. So sleep problems are not uncommon. If your child routinely has trouble getting to sleep or wakes up at night and needs comforting, his developmental achievements give you some important new tools to work with at this age.

Dr. Minde reminds parents of the importance of routine in the daily life of a child. At an age when children are learning so much so fast, predictability and regularity in the timing and location of meals, bathing, and bedtimes is soothing and comforting. In today’s environment of working parents, such routines may be harder to provide, but they are no less important to the child.

He encourages parents to use quiet bedtime rituals to ease the transition. Bedtime stories are a proven staple, as are songs and prayers. But you can personalize the routine and periodically update it to match you child’s special interests, such as helping him put his favorite stuffed animal or doll to bed.

When the child cries, he recommends that the parents check on the child every five to ten minutes (whatever time frame is tolerable for the parent), perhaps patting and reassuring the child, but making it clear that the child is expected to stay in bed. If necessary, he recommends that the parent withdraw from the room in stages, first sitting on the bed, then in a nearby chair.

Jen B has great advice. Also, be sure to include your todder in all decisions with the baby. Ask him if the baby should wear this or that, if you should feed the baby on this chair or on the sofa, etc. (All choices should be choices you are okay with.) The more power you give him, the less he will resent you sleep training him again. Sleep training him will give you more sleep sooner. You need your sleep to be a good mom for both of your kids.