Sleep Issues with my almost 3 year old... HELP!

My DS has been an AMAZING sleeper... until the past month. He will be three in March and ever since the end of December, staying in bed has become an issue. He usually goes down very easily (we've had the same routine forever) at about 7pm. Some nights, after an hour or two, he wakes up, gets out of bed, and cries in the hallway upstairs until either DH or myself gets into bed with him. I've tried to just sit by his bed, sit in the hallway with the door open, and the only thing that has worked is getting into bed with him. It has happened about 7 times in the last month. I don't want to get into a bad habit, and HAVE to deal with ASAP. I am having twins in a couple of months and need help.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much

Re: Sleep Issues with my almost 3 year old... HELP!

A couple things come to mind. First, he could be a little more needy because of the babies on the way.

He could be going to bed too early--DS started going later a little before turning 3. He goes to bed at 9, gets up at 7:30 and naps for 1-2 hours. I'm not sure if DC still naps, if he does and he isn't getting up at 5, I would say his bedtime might be a little too early. Does he seem wound up or tired?

And last but not least, he may be afraid of the dark or just not want to be alone. We started using a night light and leaving dSs door cracked after he turned 2--he wanted me in there with him every night for awhile too. Now we sit with him for about 5 minutes after his books are read and he's in bed, long enough for him to settle down, short enough so he doesn't fall asleep.