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what did you do with your toddler?

757 views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  Nightwish 
#1 ·
So Im 28 weeks pregnant and dd is 20 months and she was bed-sharing since birth until we got her a bed about a month ago and right now the mattress is on the floor next to our bed. I night weaned her about 2 months ago but she still nurses to sleep initially and i do that on her mattress. She's always been a horrible sleeper(15+ wake-ups!) but just in the past week she has started to wake up only one time which is awesome but she climbs into bed with dh and me and thats the only way she goes back to sleep. I tired patting her back, soothing her ectin her own bed but she's hysterical and I'm afraid to mess up a good thing bc 1 wake up is miraculous right now, but I don't want her climbing in my bed when there is going to be a newborn there this April. Of course its dangerous.

I'm sorry if this is all over the place... I'm trying to sort out my thoughts.

The main things I would love advice for from you lovely wise women of 2+ kids is...

1) should I move dd out of our room before the new baby is born? Since she is a light sleeper (even with white noise) I am worried of the new little one waking her up constantly. And I'm also worried of dd climbing in bed with us like I stated already. But I'm not sure if she's ready for her own room...maybe she is. I'm not sure if I'm ready for her to be in her own room hehe.

2) I want to stop nursing her to sleep because that is something that just has me burnt out and I know I can't keep up with it. She's never let dh put her to bed but that is something we want to transition to so any advice or tips on that would be much appreciated! I should mention that I also nurse her to sleep for her 2 naps so it would need to change for all those timea. Since night weaning I know that she is capable of falling asleeping without "nursies" as she falls back asleep all the time. I just don't know how to get her to understand for sleep initially bc she is sooooo adamant about having it and in the past we tried having dh put her to sleep but she cried so hard in his arms that she was almost hyperventilating.:/

Ok I think that is all for now. Thank you ladies for any and all help!!
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#2 ·
That sounds hard, mama.
I wouldn't move her out of the room.
If need be, you could move her and your spouse to a different room.
When our second one came, we spent about the first six months doing musical beds, with our older child with my partner, and me with the infant.
After a while, we all ended up back in the same bedroom, with dd on a twin mattress at the foot of our bed.
I'm sure she'd still love to sleep with one of her parents, and when baby comes, having her dad with her will help her deal with her conflicted feelings about you giving so much attention to her new sibling.
What about audiostories? Music? Would that help her fall asleep?
Is she tired enough?
Does she still nap?
If so, I'd cut it out.
I'd make sure that she has as much time as is possible to run around and play hard before the end of the day.
As for nursing to sleep, you could try shortening it, and then making sure she's popped off and in her own bed before she's totally asleep.
Good luck!
 
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