transitioning bedsharing to toddler bed- advise?

Amaryllis619 · September 2012

Hi Gals,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post, so i hope this is the right place. Sorry it's sort of long....

My DH and I bedshared with our lil punkin until just a few weeks ago. Since we have another LO on the way, and we've just moved into a new house with enough room for DD to have her own room, we decided to start transitioning her to her own toddler bed. The problem: she won't fall asleep in there without one of us laying with her. I've tried keeping her bedtime routine the same, bath/books/quiet time in her room, and she does fine until i kiss her goodnight and leave. I have a twilight ladybug that she likes, but i think i'm going to get her another "nightlight" because i wonder if she's scared of being in her new room in the dark alone?

Last night she screamed and cried for about two hours before finally falling asleep. Everytime she came down the hall and into our room, we gave her a hug and a kiss and carried her back to her room and laid her on her bed.

We are both exhausted and frustrated about what is the best way to handle this? I don't want her to think she's being "punished" or that the baby is replacing her, I just want her to start sleeping in her own room at night. Thoughts/advise?

We also want to start weaning her from the pacifier, but with all the new things happening in her life right now, I'm trying to only make small changes one at a time, so this one's been put on the back burner until we can figure out how to get everyone the sleep they need.

any help is appreciated!

kcisthebombdotcom · September 2012

Couple of ideas:

Let her fall asleep with you snuggled in your bed, then move her at night. This worked for a while for us. I've always heard that kids will wake up in their own room afraid, but it wasn't the case for us.

Try a full sized bed instead of a toddler bed. You can lie down with her for a few minutes before she doses off.

Make moving to her own room a big deal. Tell her she's going to be a big girl and sleep all by herself. Let her pick out her own bedding and a new toy only for bedtime. Tell her she can snuggle her special toy and she's not alone when he's there.

GL!

ncbelle · September 2012

Why not just sit with her until she falls asleep? If that's not something you want to do long term, you can slowly move further from her towards the door until you are out of the door. Or do the whole "I need to go X and will be back in a few minutes" and slowly lengthen the amount of time you are away.

I sit with my kids as they fall asleep. Usually it's only 10-20 minutes after lights out; I just sit in the corner and read or iPad until they are out.

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transitioning bedsharing to toddler bed- advise?

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