How Did YOU Cope When You Stopped Co-Sleeping?

[fionas]

My DD is six months old and sleeps in our room in her cot. DP and I are both happy with that arrangement and I have no plans to move her into her own room anytime soon especially as we need to have her room underpinned and then wait for six months before replastering.

So she will be at least a year old before she can be put into her room.

She's a very easygoing baby who's an excellent sleeper and I'm sure she'll handle a new situation with aplomb.

I'm more worried about how I will cope. I just can't imagine her sleeping in a different room. My mum had my sister in her room until she was three - I nearly fell off my chair when she told me, thinking that was WAY too old but now I'm thinking I can imagine wanting to do the same.

My question for the people who have co-slept with their baby in the same room, is at what age did you feel comfortable moving them and how did you cope? Did it take long to get used to your DS or DD being in a different room? Did you wake up worried?

[~Saram~]

Give up co-sleeping... Can you do that. Just kidding. We cosleep with my DD (she starts the night off in her cot and joins us about 2am) and most mornings my DS climbs in at about 5am and it is just beautiful to wake up to each morning.

Waking up worried - I still wake up to check on my son, I think I will until he leaves home. And yes when he started sleeping through the night in his own room I did miss it but the morning snuggles make up for it

[smiles4u]

Hi Fiona,

... DP & I loved our daughter in her cot in our room so much that we decided rather then put pressure on ourselves & stress ourselves about it as 2 wen do wen put her cot in2 her beautiful nursery that we decided 2 do it wen 'We felt ready'.

So, we felt ready wen she ws about 19mths old (she is now 22mths)

Yeh, I av moments wen I miss her smiley face lookin at me from her cot in the mornings wen I awake BUT I love knowin WE enjoyed her in our room for the time that we did

And YES, I found it hard in the beginning to not go & check on her in HER nursery durin the nite. I think durin the 1st fortnite I wld check on her anythin up 2 3 times a nite. But I felt beta 4 it !!

She had no prob in her transition 2 her nursery as I guess she jst thought it's her same cot & the dark room is jst the same atmosphere. When she awakes in the morns her nursery is a very cheery room wt her fav things 2 look about at. So, she doesn't look bothered at all that it is a different room & besides she knows she sees me very soon afta she wakes up in the morn

... Do wat U feel comfortable wt & don't let others influence U otherwise This is your time 2 ENJOY your baby the way U BOTH want & even need 2

[2CheekyMonkeys]

my DD slept on me or in the bed with me until about 17 months, so when she went in her own room i found it hard to get to sleep myself. they talk about cues for the babies well my baby turned out to be MY sleep cue! :-) it only took about 3 or 4 nights to get used to it though. and yes i was worried about her being in the other room so far away from me but within a week i just seemed to stop thinking about it.

[Astrid]

DD has only just moved out our our room at just over 2 1/2. Probably a bit delayed, but our recent reno's and moving it was just not practical. She seems to be quite ready for it, but we are all still adjusting. One part of me feels so relieved to have our bedroom back, but the other part really misses her. On cold nights it was nice to have her up against my back and it was good knowing she was ok without having to get up and check on her.

[Ezz]

I'm struggling with this at the moment. DS is really too big for the bassinette (he's almost 8kg now & it's supposed to have a weight limit of 5.9kg ). But I just can't bring myself to put him in his cot in the other room. He sleeps in the cot during the day (because his room is air-conditioned - mine isn't), but at night I like to have him in with us.

[Juliette]

Hi Fiona,

Just do things as you and DD feel ready would be my advice. Hannah co-slept with us (mostly, apart from a short stint after we went to sleep school - then I just brought her back in with us because it just didn't feel right) until she was about 18 months, then wanted to try her own room for a little while, and has ended up back in our bed with us (she's 3 in May). Now that Sammy has arrived, he sleeps in a bassinette next to me, and we'll move him into a portacot beside the bed when he grows out of that. So we're all in together at the moment! For the most part, DH and I love it. She gets a bit wriggly and annoying at times, but they're only little for such a short time and I don't want to miss any of it! Particularly as I'll be going back to work in June/July-ish and DH will get to stay at home with them!

I did find it difficult when Hannah moved into her own room at first, but it helped to know that this was something she wanted to do. Now that she's back in with us, I figure she'll let us know when she's ready to go back to her own room. It's unlikely she'll still be there as a teenager!!!!