Freak me out!!!

We had a really hard time getting Mitchell to bed last night. He was acting tired around 6:30 so I took him and gave him a bath and nursed him down. He got a second wind though and perked right up. I probably should have worked with him then but often it's just been easier to get him up and then try around 9ish when he is more tired. He had had a good afternoon nap anyway. So I started nursing him again around 8:30 and then tried to put him in bed. No go. This went on for a good 45 minutes but he just wouldn't transfer. I then put him in bed (totally rubbing his eyes) and laid on the floor beside him. Another 20-30 minutes at least. He was mad. He settled a bit and continued crying but would not lie down. Drew came in around 9:45 and took over. He got even madder! He finally settled around 10 after some patting, some holding and some shusshing. We went to bed around 12:30 after I had a shower. Not a peep. I woke up all of a sudden at 4:51am and realized he had not woken up! I got out the flashlight and yes he was fine. Pheww. Your mind can do crazy things. Thank you Lord. Of course in the process I woke him up so I took him into bed with me. I then had to wake him up at 6:45 to go downstairs. Go figure.

How can I repeat this process a little earlier in the evening and without the crying and without the panic?