Co-sleeping the pro's and con's by Jodie

After 2 and a half years of our daughter sleeping in our bed enough was enough, I know it's not for everyone but for us co-sleeping was the only way our daughter would sleep. Since early on as if she wasn't attached to my boob she didn't want to know (she wouldn't take a dummy either). Anyway we have enjoyed the extra cuddles and the closeness it's brought us but now she is a lot bigger and we just want our space back. She has always had her own place to sleep - Moses basket, cot, cot bed but she has never stayed asleep in it for more than half an hour. About 6 months ago we tried to get her to sleep in her own bed, we bought her special Peppa Pig bedding but she would start to drop off and then realise where she was and fully wake and cry, she would then take my hand and cry to be brought into our bed. After a few sleepless nights and my husband crashing the car due to the lack of sleep (no one was hurt thankfully) we decided to wait until my husband had a good amount of time off work.

Christmas was the perfect time as he had a couple of weeks off so project 'Get The Toddler To Sleep In Her Own Bed' commenced. Surprisingly it's going very well, I think it's a lot about timing as she is ready for her own space too. She hasn't managed a full night in there yet but I wasn't expecting miracles straight away. She lasts anywhere between 12-4am so we are on track. It feels so good to sleep comfortably again and not have to have one arm freezing out of the cover. It's also very important for us to get our intimacy back that we lost. I know a lot of people think that we are crazy for bed sharing but it was a last resort and has worked well for our family. I'm still breastfeeding her and that's all she will have to go to sleep she refuses all cows milk so I felt like that played a big part in it. Things that have helped so far -

• Don't rush things, if they aren't ready wait a bit and try again.
• A black out blind is your best friend.
• So is a video monitor. I surprisingly felt very lost without her and wondered if part of it was my needs for keeping her in our bed for so long. I missed her and worried if she was constantly still breathing and that nothing was around to suffocate her (it felt like having a newborn again). So a video monitor has really helped to set both of our minds at rest especially now that she is older and can climb things.
• A nightlight, due to the blackout blind her room really is pitch black and if she cried in the night I can't see a thing so instead of putting the big bright light on waking everyone up it's good to have the night light as it's a lot gentler on our eyes and she won't get woke up so much, so in theory she will go back to sleep faster?

 

So we aren't out of the woods yet and I know that we still have a long way to go but I am happy with our progress so far. Do you have any tips for getting a toddler to sleep in there own bed? Please share in the comment box below. - Jodie x www.wiganmum.com