Never Slept by Herself

There is some great information about co-sleeping AND about PPD on this site:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/index.php

I personally slept with my daughter until she was 3 and we moved her to a big-girl bed in the same room with me for another year and then to her own room. Is it possible for her to room in with her big sis?

Hope this helps!
M.

I have some ideas but only co-slept for about 4 months so haven't exactly gone through this. One idea it to put a twin bed in her room with rails and fall asleep with her and then leave the room (as a transition)(although she could wake up a be scared), or you could start with naps only and ease her into her crib at nap time only. Then you could work on night time. Regardless of the method you use I think as long as it is slow and steady she will adapt well. Also think about introducing a snuggly/lovey or blanket as a security item, instead of mommy. Good luck and I am sure she will adapt well.

This is a tough one! My oldest pretty much slept with us until she was 2 (and even now, at 3, she doesn't want her bed, but will sleep on the couch). My 22 month old slept with us until she was 15 months. She was a REALLY restless sleeper and wanted to climb up on my chest to fall asleep. But, at 4.5 months pregnant, it became un-doable for me.
I've never been a fan of the "cry it out" method. But, it worked for her. The first night we put her in the crib, she YELLED for 45 minutes before falling asleep. The next night it was 7 minutes. The 3rd night it was 5. She actually began to LIKE her bed and would go right down.
It did take a while longer to get her to take naps in her crib.
It's really hard, but WELL worth it.

Good luck!!

I also stopped co-sleeping at about 4 months, so I'm not sure how to proceed at a little bit older age. One thing I've heard is a great help with the older kids is to make the transition slowly. That is, first move both of you into her bedroom to sleep for a couple of nights. Then slowly start separating yourself from her moving further and further across the room until you are sleeping right outside her door with the door open. I don't have any personal experience with this method, but I think it's what I would try if I were in your shoes. Best of luck to you. Sleep is the most important thing to me, and I know how hard it is to manage without it! Just remember that soon you will both be sleeping on your own again. It's just a transition and a phase to get through. I hope it moves quickly and easily for both of you!