I'm reaching the end of my rope with DS2. He was sleeping reasonably well until mid-summer, when he got a little bit of flu. The illness ended but he kept waking up at night.

Now, he's not going down right away -- anywhere from right away to a few minutes after I leave the room, he'll stand up in the corner of his crib and cry. It takes 2-3 attempts for me to get him to stay down, and I always have to physically lay him down myself (he NEVER lies down himself, even though he knows perfectly well what I'm asking). And he'll wake anywhere from once to .... who knows how many times at night. And he's often (but not always) up too early, before 6. There's just absolutely zero consistency -- I have no idea what to expect every night.

I just don't know what to do anymore. I feel like CIO at this age is going to suck hard core ... but I don't know what else to do. I tried letting him have a favorite stuffed animal; he just hurls it out of the crib. He's still in a sleep sack to discourage climbing. No night lights but he's never had one -- do kids become afraid of the dark all of the sudden? No idea about teeth. Separation anxiety? Run-of-the-mill regression that he'll outgrow?

UGH ... anyone else have issues around this age?