We've shared our bed with DD since the day we brought her home from the hospital. She's 10.5 months old. Both DH and I are ready to transition her to the crib. She has become more restless the older she gets and none of us are sleeping very well anymore. We get an occasional good night, but not often.
I'm just not sure how to go about this. We have a loose bedtime routine. Our evenings almost always look the same unless we are out of the house. We eat dinner together, then she has some free play time before getting a diaper change and PJ's on. Activity in the house settles down shortly before I get her ready for bed. Not as many lights on and DH and I will play on the floor with her or sit down to watch TV while she plays.
I nurse her at bedtime. She doesn't usually fall asleep while nursing anymore, unless we've been out and it's later and she's super tired. Usually, she'll nurse and then just lay her head down on my chest and squirm around for a few minutes before she falls asleep. Then, I'm able to wrap her up in a blanket and lay her down in her crib. She goes to sleep between 7:30-8:00 and typically wakes up once about an hour later. DH is able to put her back to sleep and lay her back down in her crib. She used to sleep from then until at least midnight in her bed, then she'd wake and DH would bring her into bed with us. Lately though, she's been waking at least twice before we go to bed and is awake again shortly after we get into bed (around 10) and gets into bed with us.
We recently tried to just go cold turkey. She nursed and I laid her down drowsy. She'd fall asleep okay as long as she could see me in her room, so I'd stand next to her bed until she dozed off. When she'd go to sleep in her bed, she was actually sleeping longer, until around midnight without that waking about an hour later. We tried for about a week, getting up with her instead of bringing her to bed with us. I'd stand next to her bed until she went back to sleep. Then, she stopped going back to sleep. She wouldn't cry or try to get up, but she would just lay there awake for. ever. So, I tried nursing her back to sleep. She'd go back to sleep but wouldn't let me lay her back down.
So, for now, we're back to the way things were in the beginning and we don't like being there. We're thinking about moving her crib into our room so she knows we're nearby. I'm not sure if this will help, but I'm willing to try it. I've tried variations on the NCSS and it hasn't worked for us. She just will not fall asleep in her bed. I've spent hours next to her bed waiting for her to close her eyes and it doesn't happen. Any suggestions for this transition?? DH and I would like to start trying for another baby this year and really want to have our bed back to ourselves for a little while before starting over again with a newborn.
I'm just not sure how to go about this. We have a loose bedtime routine. Our evenings almost always look the same unless we are out of the house. We eat dinner together, then she has some free play time before getting a diaper change and PJ's on. Activity in the house settles down shortly before I get her ready for bed. Not as many lights on and DH and I will play on the floor with her or sit down to watch TV while she plays.
I nurse her at bedtime. She doesn't usually fall asleep while nursing anymore, unless we've been out and it's later and she's super tired. Usually, she'll nurse and then just lay her head down on my chest and squirm around for a few minutes before she falls asleep. Then, I'm able to wrap her up in a blanket and lay her down in her crib. She goes to sleep between 7:30-8:00 and typically wakes up once about an hour later. DH is able to put her back to sleep and lay her back down in her crib. She used to sleep from then until at least midnight in her bed, then she'd wake and DH would bring her into bed with us. Lately though, she's been waking at least twice before we go to bed and is awake again shortly after we get into bed (around 10) and gets into bed with us.
We recently tried to just go cold turkey. She nursed and I laid her down drowsy. She'd fall asleep okay as long as she could see me in her room, so I'd stand next to her bed until she dozed off. When she'd go to sleep in her bed, she was actually sleeping longer, until around midnight without that waking about an hour later. We tried for about a week, getting up with her instead of bringing her to bed with us. I'd stand next to her bed until she went back to sleep. Then, she stopped going back to sleep. She wouldn't cry or try to get up, but she would just lay there awake for. ever. So, I tried nursing her back to sleep. She'd go back to sleep but wouldn't let me lay her back down.
So, for now, we're back to the way things were in the beginning and we don't like being there. We're thinking about moving her crib into our room so she knows we're nearby. I'm not sure if this will help, but I'm willing to try it. I've tried variations on the NCSS and it hasn't worked for us. She just will not fall asleep in her bed. I've spent hours next to her bed waiting for her to close her eyes and it doesn't happen. Any suggestions for this transition?? DH and I would like to start trying for another baby this year and really want to have our bed back to ourselves for a little while before starting over again with a newborn.
