help- three in the bed

[mumtomax]

our little one ( who is one) has been sleeping with us and we are trying to move him into his cot but finding it really hard. any suggestions on how we can make this a bit easier?? he doesnt use a dummy, but usually wants to be cuddled to sleep which is getting harder and harder to do

[Colleen]

Hi MumtoMax..

A suggestion Ive heard in the past was a tshirt that youve been wearing, in his cot within nose reach so he can smell you close by iykwim?

Sorry I havent got many other suggestions but im sure some other BB's will

[BellyBelly]

mumtomax, the key to doing it is slowly and gently, with love... if you go cold turkey it can be harder and / or less successful. I keep raving about it but this issue is addressed in detail with some strategies on how to move baby to their own bed, gently, in Pinky McKay's new book, 'Sleeping Like a Baby'. It's due for release July 3rd. Also bear in mind separation anxiety tends to peak at around 12 months, so it's probably a huge comfort to him at the moment. It is also very common for children up to 2-3 to come and jump into mums bed during the night, their sense of security is still a very strong need at this age.

[nikbrad]

How do you go for his naps during the day. Does he start in his cot at night and then wake and move to your bed? If he sleeps in your bed all the time, maybe start with his daytime nap in the cot and see how you go. If you can get him doing that then move onto getting him to sleep at night in his cot and then try settling him in his cot if he wakes during the night? Good luck

[mumtomax]

thanks for all your suggestions. I will give them a go and let you know how i go. thanks again!

[*Efjay*]

Another thing you could try if you have the room is too put the cot up against your bed with the side rail of so that his cot is an extention of yours KWIM? People who do this put it so the cot is wedged between the bed & a wall.
My almost 4 yr old still sleeps with us & my almost 2 yr old sleeps in cot that is in arms reach of my bed. Be interesting when # 3comes along! But we are happy.

If you are happy & DH is happy to let him stay is that big of a deal??

[Ambah]

I did the cot trick that Fiona was talking about... I wanted to gradually get him used to his cot again, but didnt want to force him to have sleep away from us, so we moved the cot in our bedroom, took one of the sides off and had it has an extension of our bed (he was 9 months at the time)... it was another 4 or so months after doing that when we moved Aidyn back into his room.
After he moved back into his room there were still periods when he would spend the night in our bed, and that was fine with us. Now that he is over 2, it happens less and less.