Toddler sleep….

21 months, we maybe have some developmental stuff going on, but I don’t know the right path forward.

The last few nights, she has not wanted to be put in her crib. She points back to the chair to rock. We can sometimes convince her with an extra stuffed animal or just through telling her everyone is going night night. A few times, she will go into bed but then stand up 5 minutes later and cry. I go in and end up rocking her. Mostly happens at night, so I’ve wondered if she has a bit of fear of the dark happening. She has always been super attached to me for sleep and it’s been tough, so I really don’t want to fall into something that is hard to break later.

She has always loved a pacifier but we have only used it when needed - sick, teething, traveling, etc. and have gone long periods without using it. We started having daycare use it for naps because it definitely helped her sleep longer than 30-45 min there. She’s slept a few nights and naps with it recently because it definitely seems to help. But I’m wondering if we will regret making it a habit.

It seems like a good time to add a nightlight, but I’m not sure what kind to get that might actually help.

Schedule is 7a wake, 12:30-2:30 nap, 8:30 bed (if nap is shorter, we adjust bedtime, she’s super sensitive to overtired, especially before bed)