[crazymom]

This might be a little long winded, but I would like some advice in this department.....My husband and I have a 2 y/o daughter. I also have two other children from a previous marriage and he has a son from a previous marriage....When we moved in together the house was only big enough for us to have the "nursery" in our room...I got a crib and a few shelves for clothes, etc. and we made it work....Well - I also breastfeed and found it easy to just push the crib up to our bed and let her co-sleep with us most of the time. She did very little sleeping in her crib and it was sold when she was about a year old to make more room in the room. Well - when she was about a year or so old our bed became too small for all of us and she literally kicked her dad out of the bed and he started sleeping in his son's room who is with us rarely overnight. and on the weekends his son is here my dh moves to the couch...Well, we are now in the process of building an addition on to our house with a master bedroom/bath and a room for our 2 y/o daughter. My husband is of course ALL for it and can't wait to have his bed back. I on the other hand am a little nervous of how our daughter is going to react to it... She has slept beside me since the day she was born and I think it is going to be difficult on us both when she has her own room. I don't even know if she is going to want to sleep in it at all -- I can see her taking daytime naps in there, but I think nighttime is going to be completely different. I really don't have a problem with co-sleeping until a child is ready, on their own, to go to their own bed, but my husband thinks she is definitely old enough. What is going to be the best way to transition her to her own room and have it be a fun place to go and not some scary "I have to be all by myself" place to be feared. I want her to like her new space and be happy in it.....any advice would be greatly appreciated and I am sorry for such a long post....Thanks!Dottie

 

[Heffernhyphen]

Now, why does she have to move out exactly? I missed that part. Is it just so your dh can have more room? If so, you could get a bigger bed, or attach a co-sleeper bed, or make her a cozy spot on the floor at the side of your bed so you could still have contact at night. I wouldn't make a drastic move like going from Mommy's side to a strange, new room. That would almost certainly be scary for her, don't you think? My advice: Get a King sized bed and remind your husband that the day is approaching when she'll have her own apartment . . . cherish her while you can.

 

[onlyboys]

I second the bigger bed suggestion. It made all the difference for my cosleeping relationship. If you do think that you need to wean her from your bed, then I'd suggest you do it like you would wean from the breast, gently, peacefully, and with great love. Help her figure out her space slowly. I'd start with a bed attached to yours, etc.

Two is a little young, in my experience, to transition out of the family bed. If you wait until she's ready, then you'd be better serving her needs as well as making it easier on both of you.

And, as far as her kicking your husband out of bed, if your husband wants to sleep in your bed, then he should. She shouldn't get to make those decisions for you two. Perhaps if your husband could see that he can share sleep with both of you, he'd feel differently about her cosleeping.

Good luck to you!