thinking about moving 9m to a crib

[curious&eager]

Our 9m old sleeps pretty well. He sleeps from 10:30pm to 9:30am waking up 2-3 times during the night for milky snacks.

But, DH and I don't sleep well next to him anymore because he does this sleep, crawl, sleep, crawl. Usually if he's hungry, his sleep, crawl routine will hit me pretty quick. But, sometimes he heads south on the bed and can fall off without us hearing him.

If it were just that he could fall off, we'd lower the bed. But, he'll do this sleep crawl routine a couple times a night and it's enough to wake us up and make us worry about him. Baby is still basically asleep, but we are basically awake.

He also falls asleep eating pretty quickly, so I wonder if he weren't next to me, he may not even wake enough to ask for food if he were in a crib. He eats well during the day and the night meals are so small.

So, I'm considering moving him to a crib. But, I can't quite do it. I see that it may be better for all of us, but I'm afraid I would miss him too much and not be able to sleep. We can't fit the crib in our room and don't have money to spend on a pack an play for the transition time or else I would keep him in our room first and I think that would work. Maybe I'll just have to come up with the money for a pack n play.

I love having him next to us and peeking at him in the night and knowing that he is safe and comfy. So, I'm struggling with this.

[Novus]

DS is in a crib for part of the night for this exact reason--he moves and rolls and stretches and stays asleep through it, but I'm wide awake. Maybe you could have him in the crib for the first part of the night and then bring him to bed with you so you'd get some uninterrupted sleep? Or I know you said you don't have room for the crib in your room, but maybe just the crib mattress on the floor? That way, he'd still be close to you, plus it would be okay if he crawled off. Plus, if you could lower your bed too, it might just give you guys a little bit more room to spread out, but still let you be in the same sleep space.

[curious&eager]

Just want to whine. It's been so hard moving him to the crib. We've done 3 nights so far and I let DH sleep with him because I thought DS would sleep and DH can put him back to sleep easier than I can if DS wakes up for more than just food.

Well, DS's woken up a bunch and I am miserably tired. I want to give up on this crib thing, but I also want a better nights sleep. I cannot sleep with anyone laying on me, I move too much. But, that is my LO favorite position in the bed is he cute little head next laying on my belly.

I'm going to sleep next to his crib tonight and hope that maybe DH was just waking him up with his super loud snoring and maybe tonight will be better.

Or, maybe it won't. That's why I'm on here whinning now because I'm tired and majority of my friends have never co-sleep and they do not understand why I miss DS so much in the night and he misses me.

[odoole]

Just a thought maybe you can find a Mini crib or pack and play or something like that cheap on Craigslist or that recycling website (can't think of the name of it right now). That's where I find all my stuff and many times people just want to give them away for free - I know that's what I'll be doing when we're done with our stuff.

[rhiasmum]

Freecycle - it's a yahoo group. Baby things are listed on there all the time. Good luck!

[mom2e]

Could you put a mattress on the floor and sleep next to him or slide off when necessary? That way you don't have to worry about him falling off.

[pianojazzgirl]

Honestly, from what you've described I'd probably just bring him back in your bed, lower the bed so you don't have to worry so much, and ride out this night-crawling phase (it is such a common phase for this age and will end!). Also (and this might not work for you and your dh but I will throw it out there) what worked for me and my dh when sleep got difficult was to have dh sleep in the guest bedroom, leaving ds and me in the queen-sized bed. Having the extra space really helped all of us get more sleep.