Transition to own room is really hard. Help!

[mrsdocmartin]

So DS who is almost 3 wants to sleep in his own bed in his "big boy room". Until about a month or 2 ago we coslept. The problem is, that I lay next to him until he is asleep and then at least 2 or 3 times each night, he wakes and calls for me to come back and get him back to sleep. How can I help him to self soothe a little in the night??

[HappyTomato]

I went through this with my 5 year old. It took a while but getting him to fall asleep independently at bedtime seemed to be the key for us. We'd do bath, books, prayers, tuck in and I'd leave. I had to tuck him back in quite a bit in the beginning but now its not an issue. Once he was able to fall asleep on his own, he was able to sleep all night without needing me.

[lunarlady]

I agree that the key to our success was leaving before DD was all the way asleep. Otherwise she would wake and be upset to find me gone. What worked for me was telling DD I had to go do something, but I might come back later. My standard phrases were:
"I've got to go put the dinner leftovers away."
"Mommy needs to do the dishes/laundry." (Had to be something she not fun. Feed the cat/dog was a bad choice, because that sounded like more fun then sleep.)
"I need to go tuck daddy in too. He's waiting for his night night time."
"I need to brush my teeth, put on my jammies, and read myself a story."

I always ended with "goodnight. Sweet dreams. I'll see you in the morning."

Eventually we got to the point where she was used to me leaving and didn't need a reason. It will be hard at first, but stick to it. I think it took about a month for her to really get used to me leaving. Oh, and for the first week or whatnot, make sure you actually go do what you say because they might come to investigate.

[fireHC11]

Originally Posted by lunarlady

"I need to go tuck daddy in too. He's waiting for his night night time."
"I need to brush my teeth, put on my jammies, and read myself a story."

These are great! Ha ha, go tuck daddy in.... he's been asleep for hours!

[mrsdocmartin]

Hmm, it might be worth a try.Thanks mamas. My only concern with this is that DS sometimes takes a really long time to fall asleep. Anyone else have other thoughts??