[vancouverlori]

Ds is nearly 2, and has co-slept with us from day 1. Here's what we're doing now:
Bed: A double and a twin mattress side by side on the floor, he knows the twin is "his" but he doesn't usually sleep in it because it's too small for night nursing and I'm used to the other blanket (for tucking behind me).
Routine: bath, play, PJ's, a snack if he didn't eat much dinner, a story if he sits on the potty, and nurse in the bed.
He doesn't fall asleep nursing - seldom has since about 3 weeks - he pulls off and rolls over or asks for the other side. Once he's had 2 "sides", I now tell him that there's no more and offer to rub his back. If he agrees, I lie on my back and have him lie on me, and gently rub his back a little until his breathing settles. At that point he'll usually say "dodo" (our word for sleep) and roll off me. Then I roll onto my side facing away from him, and he curls up against my back facing away from me.

He has fallen asleep that way since he was about 6 months old. He does the same with MIL at nap-time (she watches him while I work) and with DH on my one night out a week.

The problem: I nearly always fall asleep. If I fight sleep, so does he, so I have to relax. Sometimes I manage to wake up a few hours later (like tonight) and mess around on the computer for a couple hours, but I don't get anything else done. I work full time, and I have an older DD, so this is really cramping my style! I don't get to do any housework, I don't get to read to DD and put her to sleep and I hardly get any talk/cuddle/movie time with DH.

My questions:
1. Am I alone? Or is this normal for co-sleeping?
2. What do you do to cope? Are there any tricks to keep yourself awake?
3. Any suggestions for getting a 2-yo to learn to fall asleep on his own? NCSS is not going to be much use at this point, and I don't think that Pantley has yet published the follow-up version for toddlers.

I don't have a problem with night waking (usually!), it's just that getting to sleep thing that's driving me bonkers.
-Lori

 

[Harper]

Hi Lori. Your situation sounds similar to ours but I don't fall asleep but my dh always does. I am too anxious for that one hour a day I have to myself to fall asleep. Can your dh wake you up? This is waht I do for my dh. I give him about 30 minutes and then I quietly go in the room and wake him up. By this time dd is usually sound asleep and he can get up and leave the room. I can go in sooner than 30 minutes if I hear my dh start to snore!!

As far as falling asleep on her own, we haven't really tried it at night. We usually play with her and read her books and then turn out the light and dh lies down with her and she plays with his hair and sucks her thumb until she falls asleep. (She weaned a couple of months ago.) He really enjoys this time with her so we haven't felt the need to change it. She is with an au pair during the day and she falls asleep by herself with her. They read books and when dd starts to look sleep, the au pair tells her it is time to sleep and she rolls over and falls asleep.

Good luck.

 

[boongirl]

This is me also. What I've been doing is reading in bed. I give dd a book and tell her she can either go to sleep or read her book (I read it once to her). She will roll around and read it and then go to sleep after about a half hour and then I can either read some more or get up. Or, I have occasionally been putting a dvd in and watching that with her until she falls asleep (a kid's dvd). I just hate lying in bed very still. I am not sure what to do either. On occasion, she wil nurse to sleep early. Then, I get to watch tv.

Maybe this is just a transition age?

 

[Mama Esq.]

Your situation sounds very familiar. My DS is also almost two. If all goes well at night, he nurses to sleep in our bed and I am able to sneak out after about 30 to 45 minutes (usually by 8:00). Other nights, he will not let me unlatch him and still other nights I fall asleep. Like you, I really crave that hour a night or so to unwind, read, watch tv, alone time with DH, fold laundry, whatever. Some nights he will stay asleep for a couple of hours, but still other nights (like lately

) he has me going back and forth until I finally give in and just stay in bed. The whole process is really daunting sometimes, especially since I am the only one he wants at night. Backrubs by dad are not good enough. On the other hand, during the day his nanny is able to get him to sleep by simply telling him it is nap time (although he naps in his car seat in the kitchen and not in bed, which might be the difference). I would love to be able to figure out how to read in bed, but I do not think it is possible to do in the dark and laying on my side!