How, When, & Why did you wean DC from the family bed?
I'm really interested in your stories since my concern is DS will never sleep on his own (I know he will but the thought does cross my mind often). So...
How, When, & Why did you wean DC from the family bed?
^_^:
How...we started putting him (while asleep) in his crib in our room for the first part of night...maybe around 11 months? He wasn't ready for it before then. That then transitioned to larger chunks of the night in his crib. Then we bought him a twin bed a few months ago (he is 21 months now) for his own room, and started with naps only in there, since he had been taking naps on his own (after nursing to sleep) in the crib. After he seemed used to this, which surprisingly was a super easy adjustment, we started with part of the night in his bed. That gradually moved to dh sleeping on the floor in ds's room and crawling into bed if needed. Then dh would bring ds into our bed (which I had to myself...heaven!!) around 3 am to nurse. Eventually ds didn't need this anymore. And last night, dh slept in the hallway and ds slept in his own bed by himself and put himself back to sleep easily the 3 times he woke!! He slept from 8:30 pm to 6:15 am! And this was a kid who needed to be held while sleeping as an infant, and would nurse sometimes 12 times or more a night when he was 10 months old!! I never thought this would happen, so I understand your concerns. But it will. Ds is obviously ready now and he would not have been before. So that's the how and when. Why? Because I'm pregnant and we are going to be starting it all over again in 3 months! Good Lord!! I really didn't want to be cosleeping with two kiddos, or nursing two at night. HTH.
^_^:
My dd is 2.5 and still in our bed. She will move to her own bed when she asks to.
-Angela
^_^:
My DD ( 34 mos.) slept with us since day one & then around 18 mos. or so she gradually started to sleep on a travel bed next to our bed. She did OK and sort of was in & out of our bed for a while.
We moved to a new, bigger house when she was around 2 and a half & she was excited having her own room. We bought her a futon & she picked out some sheets & a comforter. We were amazed at how easily she adjusted to sleeping in her own room. We bought some pretty pink book shelves & she was in heaven!
Sometimes when she is sick she will often sleep with us but pretty much she is enjoying her own space.
Now our cat is back in bed us... LOL...:lol
Good Luck!
^_^:
We didn't wean him. At 2 months past his 2nd birthday he asked to sleep in the bed in "his" room. He had never slept in there ever. We had never even tried to have him sleep in there. We had a full size bed in there we used as a guest bed. I was shocked that he asked. So, we started out with him sleeping in there with DH (and I continued to sleeep with dd in our bed). I just could not stand the thought of him sleeping in there all by himself. After about 5 months like that it became apparent to me that he really slept better when alone in the bed. He would sleep so well and so soundly from bedtime until later when DH went to bed then he often slept restless and would wake frequently. So, we started trying having DH sleep back in our bed and it worked really well. I guess I realized we should have done that part sooner. I still don't like it that he is that room all by himself even though we can hear his breathing over the monitor. Some nights he wakes up and wants to sleep with us, other times he wants one of us to sleep with him, but most nights he sleeps in his own bed by himself and it has been almost exactly one year now!
^_^:
We did it really gradually. We all slept really well together until around 9 months, and then we hit a rough spot, so we made some changes. Then we'd hit another rough spot, and make some changes, and eventually DD was sleeping alone. We never intended that, but it just kinda happened as we reacted to the different situations that came up as DD grew.
At 9 months we set up a sidecarred crib and started putting her in it once she was soundly asleep. That gave us more room because we'd been too crowded and were waking each other up.
At 12 months we put the fourth rail on the crib, because DD was climbing all over us in the middle of the night wanting to play. She was perfectly happy to play alone in there as long as we were nearby, and we could sleep through it.
About a month later, I moved the crib away from the bed across the room because I had a cold and my nose-blowing was waking her up. She was happy that way, so we left it alone. It was around this time that I experimented with putting her down still awake, and found that she would go to sleep on her own if I just sat nearby. THAT was a surprise!
Around 15 months, she started sleeping really lightly and waking up every time one of us so much as moved or whispered or sniffled. DH and I spent a night sleeping in the family room, and found out that we could hear DD just fine when she woke, but that she woke much less often and seemed better-rested when we weren't there, so we moved ourselves out of the room and into another room and left DD with the old bedroom. I figured that was better than giving her a new room, since she'd still be in her own surroundings. We put a twin bed in there so that one of us could still sleep with her if necessary, and we still do sometimes.
^_^:
and we sleep on a couch in the living-room. Does that count? LOL
A week ago, me and dh, we came down with a cold, coughing and sneezing :fever: all night and waking up ds. So we decided to sleep in the living-room.
Ds surprised us by sleeping alone through the night, so for the past 4 nights one of us lays down with him until he falls asleep, then we go back to the living-room. I don't know if it will last, but it was a nice Christmas present.
Ds will be 2 in February.
^_^:
gradually.... :)
We have a twin bed for dd in our room. After she was 18 mo. or so we would move her to the twin when we wanted time in our bed.... :wink We also read books in her bed, then we progressed to naps in her bed. When she started going to sleep in her bed at night, she would just come over to our bed if she woke up at night.
Before my son was born, I had her sleeping through the night in her bed. If she woke up I'd just take her to her bed, talk to her a little and rub her back a minute. I shouldn't have tried so hard! As soon as we added a new baby to the household, dd was right back in the bed with all of us!:dizzy: We let her do that for awhile, then it was just too darn crowded. So now dd sleeps in her bed and if she wakes up, dh talks to her and takes her back to her bed. We always tell her she's welcome in our bed as soon as it's light out- and we'll be happy to read her some stories in our bed. :love
I like having her in our room. I liked having her in our bed until about 18 mo. She really moved to her own bed pretty easily by age 2. Someday she'll have her own room, when we refinish one of the other bedrooms for her. We never had any tears or trauma over sleeping arrangements- that was nice.
^_^:
I moved dd to a toddler bed when she was around 2 1/2. Her and I move around a TON in our sleep (kicking, flailing of limbs etc) so it got to the point where there just wasn't enough room for both of us to carry on our circus act while we slept. She was literally fine right from the first night (people never believe this!). My SO and I put together the bed in her room, I had a quick conversation with her about how we both move around way too much and we'd both get a better sleep if we had more room, and that I'd always be in either the living room or my bedroom if she needed me. She has never come into bed with us since I moved her, not because I don't let her, she's never asked. When she wakes up from a bad dream or is sick and needs me, I go and tend to her in her room and just goes back to sleep. Now, getting her to sleep in the first place is a completely different issue, but non related to sleeping arrangements :)
I slept in bed with my mom until I was nine, and then just decided it was time to get my own bed one day, but my mom and I didn't have the nightly aerobics problems that dd and I had :)
^_^:
Veeeeeeerrrrrrry slowly. In fact, we're still in process. :)
DD is 21mo and will be 26mo when the new babe arrives. A few months ago we night weaned (no night supply, painful night nursing, unhappy babe) by moving dd to DH's side of the family bed. We currently have a queen mattress with a twin mattress next to it (the twin is technically dd's bed). We don't know how dd will react to the new babe so we're planning a few options. Probably a month or two before the new one arrives we'll move the queen mattress back onto it's frame (it's getting hard for me to get up and down already) but leave dd's twin on the floor. That will provide a little seperation without being too "serious". (our bedframe isn't high, and it's a solid platform style). Then when the new one arrives I'll probably move into the guest room with the little one for a few weeks (during the all night poop nurse fest phase). After that we'll all be back in the family bedroom and we'll just see where dd wants to take it from there. If she wants more space then the babe and I will stay in the guest room for a while (the family bedroom is technically dd's room). But if the new babe doesn't bother her (and vice versa) then we wont push anything.
^_^:
I am slowly working on this, without much luck so far. I am fine with ds cosleeping right now, but hope to have him in his bed by the time I am pregnant with the next (several months from now). He's 13 months right now, and I do have a twin mattress by our king size (which we got for cosleeping) bed. We have the king on twin boxsprings on the floor, and the twin mattress is just on the floor (so I don't have to worry about him getting up from there and escaping when he wakes from naps). My plan was (and still is, I think) is when he is sleeping down there by himself for long periods of time, then I will start moving him to his own room. I am hoping that will happen by the time he's around 18-20 months. I do love him sleeping with us, but it's been getting rough with him waking me frequently to night-nurse. I think he's teething or having a growth spurt right now, and I wouldn't ever deny him. I think at some point this will get easier. :D
So, I am extremely interested to see what others have to say. :) I know some people are great at cosleeping for years, I don't think I have that in me. I get stuck in between dh and ds with no where to go every night, and wake up craving more sleep. :)
^_^:
All four of us sleep together and I love it! DS will have his own room soon, but we aren't kicking him out of the family bed just yet.
^_^:
All 4 of us (and next Summer all 5 of us) sleep in the same bed (King + Queen combo). When the kids are ready and ask, they will move.
More Topical:
How, When, & Why did you wean DC from the family bed?
^_^:
How...we started putting him (while asleep) in his crib in our room for the first part of night...maybe around 11 months? He wasn't ready for it before then. That then transitioned to larger chunks of the night in his crib. Then we bought him a twin bed a few months ago (he is 21 months now) for his own room, and started with naps only in there, since he had been taking naps on his own (after nursing to sleep) in the crib. After he seemed used to this, which surprisingly was a super easy adjustment, we started with part of the night in his bed. That gradually moved to dh sleeping on the floor in ds's room and crawling into bed if needed. Then dh would bring ds into our bed (which I had to myself...heaven!!) around 3 am to nurse. Eventually ds didn't need this anymore. And last night, dh slept in the hallway and ds slept in his own bed by himself and put himself back to sleep easily the 3 times he woke!! He slept from 8:30 pm to 6:15 am! And this was a kid who needed to be held while sleeping as an infant, and would nurse sometimes 12 times or more a night when he was 10 months old!! I never thought this would happen, so I understand your concerns. But it will. Ds is obviously ready now and he would not have been before. So that's the how and when. Why? Because I'm pregnant and we are going to be starting it all over again in 3 months! Good Lord!! I really didn't want to be cosleeping with two kiddos, or nursing two at night. HTH.
^_^:
My dd is 2.5 and still in our bed. She will move to her own bed when she asks to.
-Angela
^_^:
My DD ( 34 mos.) slept with us since day one & then around 18 mos. or so she gradually started to sleep on a travel bed next to our bed. She did OK and sort of was in & out of our bed for a while.
We moved to a new, bigger house when she was around 2 and a half & she was excited having her own room. We bought her a futon & she picked out some sheets & a comforter. We were amazed at how easily she adjusted to sleeping in her own room. We bought some pretty pink book shelves & she was in heaven!
Sometimes when she is sick she will often sleep with us but pretty much she is enjoying her own space.
Now our cat is back in bed us... LOL...:lol
Good Luck!
^_^:
We didn't wean him. At 2 months past his 2nd birthday he asked to sleep in the bed in "his" room. He had never slept in there ever. We had never even tried to have him sleep in there. We had a full size bed in there we used as a guest bed. I was shocked that he asked. So, we started out with him sleeping in there with DH (and I continued to sleeep with dd in our bed). I just could not stand the thought of him sleeping in there all by himself. After about 5 months like that it became apparent to me that he really slept better when alone in the bed. He would sleep so well and so soundly from bedtime until later when DH went to bed then he often slept restless and would wake frequently. So, we started trying having DH sleep back in our bed and it worked really well. I guess I realized we should have done that part sooner. I still don't like it that he is that room all by himself even though we can hear his breathing over the monitor. Some nights he wakes up and wants to sleep with us, other times he wants one of us to sleep with him, but most nights he sleeps in his own bed by himself and it has been almost exactly one year now!
^_^:
We did it really gradually. We all slept really well together until around 9 months, and then we hit a rough spot, so we made some changes. Then we'd hit another rough spot, and make some changes, and eventually DD was sleeping alone. We never intended that, but it just kinda happened as we reacted to the different situations that came up as DD grew.
At 9 months we set up a sidecarred crib and started putting her in it once she was soundly asleep. That gave us more room because we'd been too crowded and were waking each other up.
At 12 months we put the fourth rail on the crib, because DD was climbing all over us in the middle of the night wanting to play. She was perfectly happy to play alone in there as long as we were nearby, and we could sleep through it.
About a month later, I moved the crib away from the bed across the room because I had a cold and my nose-blowing was waking her up. She was happy that way, so we left it alone. It was around this time that I experimented with putting her down still awake, and found that she would go to sleep on her own if I just sat nearby. THAT was a surprise!
Around 15 months, she started sleeping really lightly and waking up every time one of us so much as moved or whispered or sniffled. DH and I spent a night sleeping in the family room, and found out that we could hear DD just fine when she woke, but that she woke much less often and seemed better-rested when we weren't there, so we moved ourselves out of the room and into another room and left DD with the old bedroom. I figured that was better than giving her a new room, since she'd still be in her own surroundings. We put a twin bed in there so that one of us could still sleep with her if necessary, and we still do sometimes.
^_^:
and we sleep on a couch in the living-room. Does that count? LOL
A week ago, me and dh, we came down with a cold, coughing and sneezing :fever: all night and waking up ds. So we decided to sleep in the living-room.
Ds surprised us by sleeping alone through the night, so for the past 4 nights one of us lays down with him until he falls asleep, then we go back to the living-room. I don't know if it will last, but it was a nice Christmas present.
Ds will be 2 in February.
^_^:
gradually.... :)
We have a twin bed for dd in our room. After she was 18 mo. or so we would move her to the twin when we wanted time in our bed.... :wink We also read books in her bed, then we progressed to naps in her bed. When she started going to sleep in her bed at night, she would just come over to our bed if she woke up at night.
Before my son was born, I had her sleeping through the night in her bed. If she woke up I'd just take her to her bed, talk to her a little and rub her back a minute. I shouldn't have tried so hard! As soon as we added a new baby to the household, dd was right back in the bed with all of us!:dizzy: We let her do that for awhile, then it was just too darn crowded. So now dd sleeps in her bed and if she wakes up, dh talks to her and takes her back to her bed. We always tell her she's welcome in our bed as soon as it's light out- and we'll be happy to read her some stories in our bed. :love
I like having her in our room. I liked having her in our bed until about 18 mo. She really moved to her own bed pretty easily by age 2. Someday she'll have her own room, when we refinish one of the other bedrooms for her. We never had any tears or trauma over sleeping arrangements- that was nice.
^_^:
I moved dd to a toddler bed when she was around 2 1/2. Her and I move around a TON in our sleep (kicking, flailing of limbs etc) so it got to the point where there just wasn't enough room for both of us to carry on our circus act while we slept. She was literally fine right from the first night (people never believe this!). My SO and I put together the bed in her room, I had a quick conversation with her about how we both move around way too much and we'd both get a better sleep if we had more room, and that I'd always be in either the living room or my bedroom if she needed me. She has never come into bed with us since I moved her, not because I don't let her, she's never asked. When she wakes up from a bad dream or is sick and needs me, I go and tend to her in her room and just goes back to sleep. Now, getting her to sleep in the first place is a completely different issue, but non related to sleeping arrangements :)
I slept in bed with my mom until I was nine, and then just decided it was time to get my own bed one day, but my mom and I didn't have the nightly aerobics problems that dd and I had :)
^_^:
Veeeeeeerrrrrrry slowly. In fact, we're still in process. :)
DD is 21mo and will be 26mo when the new babe arrives. A few months ago we night weaned (no night supply, painful night nursing, unhappy babe) by moving dd to DH's side of the family bed. We currently have a queen mattress with a twin mattress next to it (the twin is technically dd's bed). We don't know how dd will react to the new babe so we're planning a few options. Probably a month or two before the new one arrives we'll move the queen mattress back onto it's frame (it's getting hard for me to get up and down already) but leave dd's twin on the floor. That will provide a little seperation without being too "serious". (our bedframe isn't high, and it's a solid platform style). Then when the new one arrives I'll probably move into the guest room with the little one for a few weeks (during the all night poop nurse fest phase). After that we'll all be back in the family bedroom and we'll just see where dd wants to take it from there. If she wants more space then the babe and I will stay in the guest room for a while (the family bedroom is technically dd's room). But if the new babe doesn't bother her (and vice versa) then we wont push anything.
^_^:
I am slowly working on this, without much luck so far. I am fine with ds cosleeping right now, but hope to have him in his bed by the time I am pregnant with the next (several months from now). He's 13 months right now, and I do have a twin mattress by our king size (which we got for cosleeping) bed. We have the king on twin boxsprings on the floor, and the twin mattress is just on the floor (so I don't have to worry about him getting up from there and escaping when he wakes from naps). My plan was (and still is, I think) is when he is sleeping down there by himself for long periods of time, then I will start moving him to his own room. I am hoping that will happen by the time he's around 18-20 months. I do love him sleeping with us, but it's been getting rough with him waking me frequently to night-nurse. I think he's teething or having a growth spurt right now, and I wouldn't ever deny him. I think at some point this will get easier. :D
So, I am extremely interested to see what others have to say. :) I know some people are great at cosleeping for years, I don't think I have that in me. I get stuck in between dh and ds with no where to go every night, and wake up craving more sleep. :)
^_^:
All four of us sleep together and I love it! DS will have his own room soon, but we aren't kicking him out of the family bed just yet.
^_^:
All 4 of us (and next Summer all 5 of us) sleep in the same bed (King + Queen combo). When the kids are ready and ask, they will move.
More Topical: