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All of our kids have gone through this phase at around 2-3. I know with our older two it was clearly fear around the dark and noises they would hear in the house or outside. We ended up having my DH take over bedtime at that age, and he would lie down with them until they fell asleep. Same as with you, we were expecting another baby each time, so I wasn’t a part of bedtime because we wanted things to remain consistent for them when the baby arrived.

I know some people are opposed to lying down with them, but we don’t mind, and they have always tended to fall asleep super quickly (and stay asleep afterward). When we aren’t around for bedtime they adjust just fine.

I know it’s probably not the answer you want but physical contact worked really well for us, if your husband can do it. It’s still the best way to get our almost 4 year old to sleep quickly (usually a hand/arm but sometimes we lie down) and even my 7 year old falls asleep faster if he has a hand to hold. But I do think it depends on how much your child craves physical touch. Our middle (the 7 year old) has always needed a lot of touch for comfort. When he had troubling settling his body around age 2 we would actually lie down with him and throw an arm or leg over part of him and that just spoke to his system (maybe like a weighted blanket?) vs it taking hours. I think especially with new baby changes coming, it makes sense to need physical security during the transition to sleep. No one size fits all though, just throwing it out there.

@karenbme: ugh, I'm sorry you're struggling with this. Sleep issues are no fun at all, especially when you are worried about bringing a new little into the picture soon.

Just wanted to say not to worry too much if the twin bed doesn't work at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We did the same thing as you. When my daughter was about to turn 3 we tried the twin at my parents' house since she was too big for the pack and play she used to use there. Well, it was a total disaster and she ended up in the pack and play in the middle of the night. One month later though, back at home, we transitioned her to a twin bed because I wanted her out of the crib before little brother came, and she did totally fantastic. Couldn't have imagined it any better. It sounds like she might be ready for a twin bed since she's trying to climb.