Attachment Parenting

Sleep Advice Needed

Hi Ladies, I need some advice/opinions on our sleeping situation. Currently we co-sleep and lately she is tossing and turning in bed, I am starting to think that she would benefit from having her own sleep space aka the crib. She is not getting quality sleep which is making her fussy during the day and that isn't fair to her.

My questions are how do/did you know it was time to end co-sleeping? And most importantly how do you go about the transition? She does/will not take a bottle or pacifier, wants nothing to do with a lovie, and cio is not for us.

Thanks for your advice!

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Re: Sleep Advice Needed

  • Our transition to the crib with our first was gradual (with number two she's always been an amazing sleeper and never was interested in co-sleeping). We started out by putting him in the crib for naps. We would wait until he was asleep and then put him down in the crib, we'd been putting him down in a moses basket or something before that. Once he was used to napping in the crib and felt safe in there we started putting him there at bedtime. Prior to that we'd been just letting him sleep on us or in the moses basket until we went to bed. 

    We would put him in the crib at bedtime the same way we did for naps, rock/nurse him to sleep and then put him down. He slept in there for increasing amounts of time until first waking and then came to our bed. After a while of that we started rocking/nursing in a chair and putting him back in bed at least once/night and gradually increased the percentage of the night he stayed in the crib. I'd say the whole process took from about 2 months (when we started crib naps) until 12 months or so when he was in his bed full time.

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  • Sleep has been a battle for us since day 1, we ended up cosleeping just to get some sleep and I grew to love it, sad it seems like it might be ending.

    During the day she takes 2 naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They range from an hour to 2 hours - she is a very light sleeper. She recently cut out her 3rd nap right before dinner which is why I think going to bed has become more challenging bc she is over tired.

    She has never slept in her crib no matter what/how I tried. I have even contemplated about climbing in there with her to show her its not bad thankfully, i am tiny). She is watched during the day by her grandmother and aunts who hold her while she sleeps, when I am home I lay with her in bed while she/we nap.

    Fingers crossed that this will go better than I think.

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  • I've seen a lot of people recommend a mattress on the floor of your room.  Lay down next to her and get her to sleep the usual way, then slowly move away and up to your own bed.  My DD naps in our bed and at first I had to be very slow and careful with moving away, but now she's fine with it and knows that I'm leaving, but just turns over on her side and goes to sleep after she's done nursing.
  • DD has, over the two years of her life, gone through a number of transitions, including the "flopping like a fish" transition (that she still sometimes does, particularly if I need to MOTN diaper change).  We've stayed in bed, because it seemed like it was an issue with her body and sleeping, not an issue of her wanting to be in her own space.  But we also, at 12mo, put our old mattress on the floor next to our bed, so it can be just her and me on a queen, and occasionally, I can sleep in the big bed and it's just her on the queen.
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