A New Baby in the House: Toddler Reaction

My son has been a good sleeper since he was born. I was very deliberate about his sleep- routine, making sure he got enough, etc. When my third child was born... he began to act out during sleep times- naps, bedtime. He would get up immediately after being put down- not something we had ever dealt with before. For a couple days I would try comforting him (feeling sorry for him being displaced somewhat by the new baby); I'd take him back to bed when he got up... Nothing worked and it got worse- he skipped a nap, went to sleep too late... All things that I couldn't deal with with a newborn and lack of sleep myself. One night I took him back to bed 84 times from 7pm to 8:45 pm. I gave him no attention but taking him back to his bed. The idea was not to give him positive or negative attention. This ended up turning into a game for him. So, I ended up holding his door closed so he couldn't get out. He cried for 20 minutes and then went to sleep for the night. I did this for his nap and bedtime the next day- he cried for five minutes each time and then went to sleep. The next day, he just checked that he couldn't get out and went to sleep. This solved our sleep problem.

Later, I read that I could have kept trying the "taking him back" approach and after a few days he would have stayed in bed. I don't think that would have worked in our situation: tired mom, breastfeeding, overtired toddler...