My son went from being amazing at sleeping to being a nightmare !

He's nearly 2 and he just randomly decided he hated his cot because he probably felt trapped with all the bars around so I've turned it into a cot bed with the bar taken off one side and he got abit better.

I have to lay on the floor next to him and lay my arm out for him to rest on for him to be encouraged to go to bed on his "own". He then after an hour and a half of waiting..... Decides to finally lay down long enough for him to sleep so then I pull my arm away and leave.

Is there anything else I can try to get him to sleep in his room alone again?

I'm a single parent, this is my first kid and I know nothing about toddlers so this is all new to me and then on the evening he has a tantrum around midnight when he wakes up for half an hour and then falls asleep again.

EDIT!!!

These are the things I've tried.

- I tried reading him a bedtime story but he grabbed the book and it actually woke him up more.

-given him milk, but the sight of the bottle makes him cry now for some reason so I scrapped that idea.

- closing the door and letting him cry it out ... Didn't work he cried for nearly half an hour

- sleeping in the cot with him, didn't work he just got confused.

- praying .. he usually knew that when I prayed it meant bedtime so he would sleep now he cries.

- playing music... Wakes him up.

- given him the choice to turn the light on and draw the curtains on his own to prepare for bedtime... Doesn't work.