I start dd off in her cot, then she comes to bed whenever she wakes after we have gone to bed. But dh and I have a deal about bad nights. When dd has a bad night, and there has been little sleep, he gets up with her when she wakes early and I get the bed to myself to have a sleep, whether it be 10mins or an hour all depending on how much time we have to spare. Having the bed to myself for just that little bit of time, to stretch out, sleep in a position tha is actually comfortable and to have doona. I dont know if that will help, but it saves me here some days.