Easiest way to transition from co-sleeping 100% of the time to his own bed?

ElizabethS · #1 April 21st, 2011, 04:25 PM

Anyone have any tips on switching Ethan from co-sleeping (snuggled up next to me) to sleeping on his own in his own bed? He's huge and he's wriggling and kicking and uncomfortable all night long...and I am too! He's still waking up 3-4 times a night to eat. This is insane.

I NEED to get some sleep. BAD. I'm going to work full time and waking up several times a night with him and even when he IS sleeping he's moving constantly and waking me up. I sleep in 20 minute stretches. Enough to make anybody crazy.

With my first I kicked him out of bed at 10 months. I put him in his crib and did a "gentler" version of CIO. I patted him to sleep the first night, the next night I sat next to him but didn't touch him, then moved 2 feet away the following night etc. But he still screamed BLOODY MURDER. Sometimes for upwards of 2 hours. It was traumatic for all of us and I SWORE I wouldn't do CIO with any of my others.

My daughter started sleeping in her crib at 5 months. She was uncomfortable sleeping next to me and I tried her in her crib and she's slept through the night since! So she was easy!

So what the heck do I do with a VERY spoiled Ethan?!?!?!?

Vincent'sMommy · #2 April 21st, 2011, 04:37 PM

I don't have any advice really. We're doing about half and half now since we moved his crib into our bedroom. On a typical night he will fall asleep on me then I'll put him in his crib and he'll sleep there maybe 6 hours but he will wake up crying a couple times. I'll get up and find his paci or put him on his tummy then go back to sleep. After a while if he seems like he won't settle down I'll take him into our bed for a bit or I'll take him to sleep on the couch with me.

Hollybear · #3 April 21st, 2011, 04:58 PM

I have the opposite problem, I want her in bed MORE than she will stay LOL

Do you put him down for naps in his crib? That was when Sophie really "changed", when she started having GOOD regular naps in her crib....maybe around 6-7 months?

Jule'sMomInOR · #4 April 21st, 2011, 06:43 PM

I don't know. I haven't done it yet and probably won't for a while. You could try posting on the AP board because there are lots of co-sleepers on there. Good luck!

Daffodil · #5 April 21st, 2011, 07:05 PM

I'm curious as well...I don't know when we will be transitioning her, but I want to do it the least painful way possible...

preciousgiftsmama · #6 April 21st, 2011, 07:06 PM

Sorry I have no advice either....my 5 y/o still co-sleeps with us

and I know Ty will co-sleep for years with us also. Luckily for us, we all sleep pretty good this way. Good luck and KUP with any great ideas on the transition!

Daffodil · #7 April 21st, 2011, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by preciousgiftsmama

Sorry I have no advice either....my 5 y/o still co-sleeps with us

and I know Ty will co-sleep for years with us also. Luckily for us, we all sleep pretty good this way. Good luck and KUP with any great ideas on the transition!

One of the technicians I work with still cosleeps with her 8 year old daughter. She's a single mom... before I coslept, I would have thought that was super weird, but now I don't (although I'm hoping my daughter sleeps in her own room "soon", whenever that will be!)

Karlie · #8 April 22nd, 2011, 04:32 AM

I moved Luca to his own room at 7 months for the same reasons you're describing. I love sleeping with my babies, but Luca didn't love sleeping with me and rolled around uncomfortable all night. I still rock him to sleep everynight and put him into bed while he is asleep. I know that's a big no no, but he does sleep through the night sometimes so I know he can put himself back to sleep even though I've never done any sleep training. (When he doesn't sleep through the night it's generally because of his respiratory problems).

Noah I moved at 14 months and I let him cry for up to 20 minutes. If he cried for any longer than that I would go in and pat him to sleep but not get him out of the crib. I guess the message with that is that they need to learn to put themselves to sleep but you're not abandoning them either. It took 3 nights and then he would say goodnight and go to bed himself and sleep through all night, every night. I hate hearing my babies cry, but it was the only thing that worked with Noah and I was sick of waking up to breastfeed a 14month old every 45 minutes all through the night.

sfarrow3 · #9 April 22nd, 2011, 06:45 AM

I have no advice either! sorry.. Caden was sleeping in his own crib at 3 months and London at 4 months, but Im thinking of you..because it's HARD work. Caden just recently regressed so Im dealing with him staying in his room and try to ignore the monsters and aliens that visit frequently! hahahaha

#10 April 22nd, 2011, 07:17 AM

Sorry I dont have any advice either. Kaitlyn was a crib sleeper from birth on, and Kaileigh has been a crib sleeper beginning from about about 2 months, prior to that she slept in a swing or a pack and play in our room. Transition was so much easier at a young age. I hope you can figure out the best way to do it so you can get more rest.

AndiNW · #11 April 22nd, 2011, 07:53 AM

I think the easiest transition would be to start having naps in his crib. If he gets used to short periods of sleep there it might make it easier at night. You could always start by putting him down in his crib and see what happens.

We are part-time co-sleepers here. Wyatt always starts out in his crib, but always ends up in our bed at some point during the night. I've given up. Every night I put him down I secretly hope it will be the night he stays there all night, but it doesn't happen. Anywhere between 2 and 5 am he starts crying and I just bring him in with us. We are all sleeping well, so for now it's working.

Vincent'sMommy · #12 April 22nd, 2011, 08:05 AM

Do you have room to sidecar his crib? I probably would if we did but I have settle for it being in the same room.

ElizabethS · #13 April 22nd, 2011, 07:17 PM

We have a pack n play in our room next to our bed..his crib is down the hall and hard to take apart. I'm going to try getting him to sleep and then laying him in the pack n play. When he wakes up though I do so bad waking up at night that I'll do whatever is easiest...and I know he'll end up back in bed with us. The longest he's ever slept in his pack n play is 15 minutes

Lilly Bella · #14 April 22nd, 2011, 07:40 PM

in order to do this with as little crying as possible (i'm pretty anti crying and self soothing) you will have to lose to sleep to gain some. here's what you need to do (keep in mind i haven't actually done this with makenna yet because of the whole 'you have to lose sleep to gain sleep' thing

but if you can tough it out for a few days and follow this ABSOLUTELY WITH NO GIVING IN then it WILL work. It will NOT work if you give in or don't follow it. I hate when people say oh i tried it, it didn't work when in reality they didn't really follow it or only did it half ***

anyway.

you have to establish a bedtime routine that you follow every.single.night. bath, followed by massage, diaper, jammies, bedtime story in the same place, rocking/nursing/bottle whatever he likes, once asleep, lay him in his crib. if he wakes up, nurse/rock back to sleep, once asleep, lay him in his crib. if he wakes up, repeat until he stays asleep. if he wakes up in the middle of the night you can 2 things: bring him back to your bed for the remainder or rock/nurse back to sleep and put him back in his crib (and if he wakes up upon laying him down, repeat) you can set a certain time in your head where if he wakes up BEFORE 4 am I will nurse/rock (I can't remember if you are breastfeeding so sorry!) back to sleep and lay him in his crib. if it's AFTER 4 am I will bring him back to my bed. and you have to do this EVERY NIGHT and after a few nights if followed correctly, he will start sleeping longer. and after a week or 2, he should begin to accept his crib as "sleep time" and will no longer wake up upon laying down. and after a month or so he should be sleeping nearly through the night.