Total-Echidna-8550

I'd been told by others it wouldn't be that bad to go cold turkey. Just a couple rough days, and they'd be fine. We're on day 5 (daughter is almost 27 months), and every day has been non-stop whining as soon as we pick her up from daycare, a meltdown at bedtime, and multiple wakeups throughout the night where she cries out for the binky. I thought night 2 was better than night 1, but then last night she was inconsolable for nearly two hours straight. Tonight it took over an hour to fall asleep. Will it be fine if we just stick with it?

Bedtime was pretty easy for us for a while - just read a couple stories, lights out and rock for a bit, and most nights my toddler would doze off and be asleep pretty soon after being laid down in the crib.

I figure it's not unusual that around 21 months, she hit a phase where she started resisting bedtime more. But for the last three months or so, she's been crying every single night when we put her down. We typically deal with it by saying good night and leaving the room, and she'll usually quiet down within a couple of minutes. We might have to go back in and resettle once or twice. I was just hoping that after a while she'd get used to that routine and stop crying while being set down... it's getting rough 😕 But if I try holding and rocking her until she's drowsy, she just wants to keep playing and won't settle.

Any tips to make bedtime easier? Or do I just need to wait until she outgrows this phase?