Let's talk about co-sleeping

melmax

I co-sleep with Lila, bc frankly I like it, she was sleeping horribly (waking every hour and 45 minutes) and now she sleeps much better. I co-slept with dd#1 too, but I moved her to her crib around 3-4 months, b/c I was afraid of starting habits.

I have no desire to move her into her crib like I did with Ava. 1-because this is my last baby and I'm trying to savor every moment, and also b/c I am afraid she'll revert back into waking every 2 hours, and I'm just so tired (b/c dd#1 wakes me up twice a night too). 

When did you co-sleep until? If you co-slept longer than 3 mos. or so, was it hard to get your DC into the crib and sleep on their own? did they sleep okay once they were on their own?

~Kat~

We coslept until about 18 months, maybe a little less. It wasn't too bad getting him to sleep in his own bed simply because he was old enough that we could explain to him what was going on. There was a little crying, but not nearly as much as there would have been at 4 months or so. Also, he wasn't eating at night anymore, so that made it easier.

Chrisy-Wyobride

I co-slept w/ DD#1 until she was over a year old--up until past 3 she was still coming into our bed at some point during the night.  She never really stayed in the crib & certainly not all night.  It got really old so I was determined to deal w/ #2 differently.  DD#2 co-slept until around 8mo.  My back just couldn't take it anymore & she was nursing through a lot of the night.  It got very rough on me.  She did OK w/ the transition.  DD#3 co-slept only a couple months before my back couldn't take it anymore.  She slept great in the crib until a couple weeks ago--now she has good days & bad.  Last night was very hard...she's awake a lot right now & it's hard on me since I can't nap at all.  

Angela814

Annalise still comes into our bed at night. She either starts out in bed with us and sttn, or she starts in her bed and comes into bed with us around 2-3am. I'm not sure which way is better. I get woken up briefly when she comes into our bed, but if she sleeps with us all night, I get woken up as she scoots around and almost kicks me off the bed.

CleoKitty

Like you, I co-slept simply because I liked it. And it made much easier to get sleep while BFing half of the night.

With ds we just let him sleep with us for as long as he wanted. He slept in our bed until around 18 months then started sleeping in a toddler bed for a few months, then back in our bed, then back to his own bed, etc. He's always gone back and forth. He's now 5 and honestly, he would still prefer to sleep with us every night if we'd let him. He just isn't a kid that likes to sleep alone. He can and does sleep perfectly fine by himself, but it's not really his preference.

With dd we also co-slept and really did absolutely nothing different, but around 12-13 months it just became really apparent that she didn't want to sleep in our bed so we moved her own bed. Unlike ds, she sleeps much, much better by herself and clearly prefers it. She still will occasionally end up in our bed, but it's not particularly often and is certainly the exception to the rule. She generally sleeps in her own bed and will come into our bed to cuddle for maybe 20-30 minutes in the morning before we all get up.

Like I said, we really did nothing different with either kid. We just ended up with one that prefers to sleep with someone else and another kid who clearly likes sleeping alone. I think it's just their personalities. 

DandelionMom

I co-slept with the older girls until right around their first birthday.  Then I transitioned them to a sidecar crib, then a free-standing crib, then to their own room.  Gracie took a bit longer and then came back to our bed for a couple months.  She reliably spent the night in her own room around 18-20 months old. 

MelandJeff

Angela814:

Annalise still comes into our bed at night. She either starts out in bed with us and sttn, or she starts in her bed and comes into bed with us around 2-3am. I'm not sure which way is better. I get woken up briefly when she comes into our bed, but if she sleeps with us all night, I get woken up as she scoots around and almost kicks me off the bed.

This is us. Exactly. And, as much as I love snuggling, it is time the kid moved to his own bed permanently. I fear he will be sleeping with us until he is 18

Kapalua

I co slept with N until about 6 months and then started putting him in his crib in his room.  I would bring him in to bed with us when he woke in the night...so I guess we were 50/50 at that point until he started sleeping through.  He still likes to sneak in some nights...I try not to let him and he's usually okay with me taking him back to bed.  Sometimes he's so stealthy that I don't even wake up to realize he's doing it!  It doesn't happen all that often so whatever.

I'm doing the same with E.  She starts out in her crib and I bring her to bed at whatever point in the night she wakes up. 

I haven't found the transitions to be painful at all.