My son wakes up several times during the night and is either cranky or overly excited during the day. That’s why we started sleep therapy, but I want to get it right without it becoming a burden for him. I’m worried that he’ll resist or end up sleeping worse. Does anyone have any advice to make this process easier for him?
Ugh, sleep struggles are so tough. My little one was waking up every 2, 3 hours until almost 2.5, and I was running on fumes. We tried everything, white noise, blackout curtains, earlier bedtime, later bedtime, all of it. What finally helped was really sticking to a super consistent routine, even when it felt like it wasn’t working at first.
We also did a sleep chart (just stickers, nothing fancy) and let him pick a little reward if he stayed in bed all night. The first few nights were rough, but by the end of the week, he was sleeping better. I won’t lie, there were some setbacks, but it made a difference.
That said, every kid is different. I think the key is making changes gradually. If he’s used to you rocking him or laying with him, try reducing it little by little instead of stopping cold turkey. Wishing you lots of sleep soon! 
My son went through something similar at that age, and what really helped was tweaking his nap schedule. He was taking a long nap during the day, and it was totally messing up his night sleep. Once we cut it down by 15, 20 min at a time, he started sleeping longer stretches at night.
Also, I don’t know if you’ve tried a weighted blanket, but it worked wonders for us. It gave him that cozy, tucked, in feeling without needing me to hold him all night. If you haven’t already, maybe track his sleep patterns for a few days to see if there’s a pattern, like if he wakes up more when he naps longer or eats something different before bed.
Sleep therapy is a great step, and I think if you stay patient and flexible, it’ll get better!
I know it feels like this will last forever, but I swear, one day you’ll wake up and realize your kid slept through the night and you didn’t even notice! It’s so hard while you’re in it, but you’re already doing great by being proactive.
Sleep therapy was a game, changer for my friend’s toddler, and after a few weeks of consistency, she saw major improvements. Every little step forward counts, even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment. Hang in there! 
Have you tried wake windows? That was a lifesaver for us. Basically, making sure your little one is awake for the right amount of time before naps and bedtime can make a huge difference. At 2 years old, most kids need about 5, 6 hours of wake time before bed, so if he’s going down too early or too late, it could be messing with his sleep cycles.
Another thing that really helped was a super predictable wind down routine. We did the same exact things every night, bath, quiet play (no screens!), books, cuddles, then into bed with a sound machine. At first, he still woke up a lot, but after a couple of weeks, his body started recognizing the signals that it was time to sleep.
I totally get your worry about it becoming stressful for him. Maybe frame it as a fun big kid challenge instead of something he has to do. We called it “mission sleep and made up a silly story about our son being a sleep superhero. Whatever works, right? 
You got this!
I went through this with my son now 6 and I can promise you that it gets better. But man, when you’re in the situation, it feels like it never will. 
One thing that made a huge difference for us was giving them some control over bedtime. We let them choose between two pajamas, two books, and even let them choose a sleep buddy a stuffed animal they would sleep with. Giving them those little options helped make bedtime feel less like a battle.
The other thing? We stopped running to them as soon as they woke up. It felt unnatural at first, but once we gave them a few minutes to fall back to sleep on their own, they actually started falling back to sleep more often.
You’re already doing the right thing by being aware of how this process affects him. Just know that it takes time and some nights will be worse before they get better. But they will get better!