36 answers

Sleeping in Our Bed Still.....

Anyone else have there two and a half year old sleeping in there bed? Anyone have any pionters to get her out....I am not into the whole letting her cry in her room. She is used to me laying down with her and singing her to sleep or watching a show then telling her a story...But I hold her. Im not into making her just be alone....any ideas?

What can I do next?

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Hi M.,
I have a 3 1/2 year old still sleeping in my bed. I was worried about it for a while but now I realize that she won't want to be there forever and is starting to talk about sleeping in her own bed without us because she is a big girl...hasn't happened yet, but it is on her mind. So, I wish I had great advice for transitioning her out but I think that she may just transition herself out. Good luck to you.

1 mom found this helpful

There's a good book called "the No Cry Sleep Solution" that lays several choices out very well. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Every parent has different ways of putting their children to sleep. One friend co-sleeped with her children. She would have them fall asleep in their bed and when they were asleep she would get back up and finish her day(bedtime was 7:30pm). At 6 her daughter sleeps in her own bed on her own.

I put my daughter to sleep in her crib. I rocked her, read books and had a wonderful lullaby CD playing. She went to bed drowsy, but on her own. Crying did happen, but it was short lived. She's almost 6 and does well in her own bed. When we go on vacation or have guests stay. It is hard to get back into a routine bedtime schedule. So, sleeping with mom, dad or grandma does still happen on occasion. But we go back to the regular reading and music. Taking a bath before bed really helps to calm things down. Good luck.

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Actually it is wild and unusual that the 8 month old sleeps alone and totally normal that the 2 year old wants to be with you. Think about it....do you rather sleep alone or with some one. Most people rather not sleep alone, this includes small children.

They DO eventually wean from sleeping with you everynight. I have a 2year old who sleeps with us every night, but she is nursing through the night so needs to be there....if she was not I would get little done in the daylight hours as she would have to make up for then.

I also have an almost 11 year old who still especially when his dad is gone comes into our room and either sleeps on the floor or at the end of the bed. He usually sleeps alone ok if I read to him @ night to help him go to bed. My 8 year old daughter also can sleep alone, but usually needs stories too. I read to one of them @ a time to get them to sleep, or if I am getting them to bed too late I have one go into the other's room and sleep on a fold up futon and read to them both.

If I need a little time with out a child in the bed with me ( almost all of us do) I just nurse her while reading to her sibling and leave her with them until she wakes for her next nursing and then bring her to bed with me.

They do wean off of sleeping with you and they still will likely want to still sleep with you on occasion even after they are much older if you allow it. They seem to want to when their dad is on business trips they feel safer, and when we travel.

Let your little girl wean from it naturally and when you need time on your own help her go to sleep in her own room. I think if we keep our beds open to our kids they will not end up in some one else's until they are really old enough and in a comitted relationship, but if we do not as they get older they may crave that closeness and find it in less safe places.

2 moms found this helpful

Good. Go with your gut and don't let her cry it out. Our daughter (almost three) is transitioning to her own bed. We co-slept with her and when I got pregnant with my second (due in a few days) we got our daughter her own bed and made it an "exciting" thing. My husband will lie with her and read her books and get her to sleep. But we welcome her in to our bed when she needs to come back. It's a process, a transition, not a cold turkey thing. Most of the time she sleeps through until early morning and then crawls in bed with us for another hour or so of sleep. Occasionally she wakes in the middle of the night and comes in with us. This has worked for us and she doesn't seem to feel abandoned or ousted from our bed. Keep working on it and don't expect change to happen too fast. Oh, and screen time (Television or videos) too close to bed can tend to wind up a child, even if the content is relaxed. Try sticking with just books or telling stories. Also, considering that she has a new sibling (8 months is still new!) she may just need that extra alone time with you as a security measure. Let her have it when she needs it, she will get her needs met, then feel confident to move on. Remember, until they are three, their needs and their wants are the SAME THING. You can't spoil a child by tending to the growth of their spirit... spoiling means leaving something on a shelf to rot. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter sleeps in our bed still. She is 4. We have traveled quite a bit and moved at a crucial time, so I understand why. When she was only 2 and a half, I too did not want her to cry all night, but did it anyway She had a crib tent, so I knew that she was safe. She cried for 2 to 3 nights tops and then it was over. Then we changed the environment, we moved and she got an "inspiriational" big girl bed. The sleeping in her own bed changed forever. Once she turned 3 and was not afraid to walk around to find me, it wouldn't matter what tactic I chose, I couldn't keep her in her bed. Now the only solution that I know of is to lock the doorr. I feel unsafe with locking any doors in case of an emergency so now I let my 4 year old sleep with me. She will grow out of it, but now it is on her terms. I don't really mind it, but if you want your daughter to sleep on her own, now is the time.Although horrible to listen to, the crying does not do any damage and sets boundaries. Your baby will still love you in the AM. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful

Good job on the co-sleeping!! I bet she is a happy, secure child! That is awesome that she goes to sleep so loved every night. Is she excited about being a "Big Girl"? Have you tried making the going out and picking out her own "Big Girl" bed a big deal? Sometimes that works. And you can tell her that she can put it in your room for now if that will make her feel better at first and when she feels ready, she can move into her "Big Girl" room. They make those really cool little foam couches that fold out into beds as well. My niece loved her so much, my brother just put that in their room, and she moved from the bed onto that. She liked being able to pull it out every night into a bed. So those are my suggestions. I have heard people have experience with the mattress in their room, or letting them pick out their 'big kid' bed. I am going to try putting a mattress next to ours on the same level for a while (she still nurses quite few times during the night), and slowly moving it away as she starts sleeping through the night.
I gotta go put my little girl (14 months) to sleep in our bed. Helps me go to bed "early" too. We love co-sleeping, and my daughter is so happy for it!!

1 mom found this helpful

Yes, my 2 year old is still in our bed with no signs of moving out, and I suspect she will still be there when the new baby arrives in July! In fact, she tells me that the baby will sleep right between us so we can all cuddle together. Aw, how could I ask her to move out after that!

Most of the two year olds we play with are still in their parents beds for most or all of the night. So first of all, don't worry about it- it's pretty normal and just fine to "parent" her to sleep still. Just think about how fast this time will go and how much you'll miss it when she's a teenager and you ave no idea where she is at night! :)

Anyway, what I have heard from people who have made this transition- some ideas were to start the bedtime routine in her own bed, then gradually put her to bed in there. I'm imagining I might end up sleeping in my daughter's bed when the time comes and then gradually weaning myself out of HER bed instead of the other way around. Not really sure yet though, so not much help, just wanted to give you some support! And good for you for not letting her cry it out- that would really break her trust in you. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

There's a good book called "the No Cry Sleep Solution" that lays several choices out very well. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

I honestly wish I could give the perfect answer that will peacefully transition your daughter from your bed into hers, but I don't believe it exists. I moved all three of our children into their own beds at six months because I figured it would be an easier transition before they got mobile. I really believe that if you're not ready, able or willing to stand firm and make her sleep in her own bed, she'll be in your bed for several years to come. (And your younger daughter will be joining you as soon as she's old enough to figure out where big sister sleeps. Maybe you could by a bigger bed to accommodate all of you until she decides she's ready? Or maybe you could start sleeping in your daughter's room? This might peak her curiousity enough that she won't get upset and will join you. When she falls asleep, you can go an hop into your own bed. I know a number of other moms have posted questions about this in recent months - maybe some of their responses would be more helpful?

1 mom found this helpful

Hi there. My daughter is soon to be three. She still sometimes sleeps with us but also has her own bed and has no problems sleeping in it. We hung some special decorations above her bed so that when so looks up she sees them, in her case she has the mobile i made her when she was a babe and a giant butterfly. Then we tried to make bed time fun. Try to make her laugh a lot in the prep phase (try to put her diaper on her head or pretend I don't know how her jammies go on, any thing that cracks her up but doesn't wind her up). Then we read her to sleep with her in her own space. So us beside the bed in a chair and her with her stuffed animal in bed. We read longer stories that may be a bit beyond her comprehension in soothing rythmn and don't let her get distracted by pictures. After a while I didn't need to do any of it anymore. She puts on her own jammies and puts her self in bed. There was never any issue with the scenario so now it is the natural routine. Hope it helps!

1 mom found this helpful

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