How do you get your co-sleeper to bed before you?

DD2 is 10 months old and co-sleeps. I am happy for her to co-sleep, I like snuggling her little fuzzy head all night and we have an Open Bar policy so she helps herself to the boob overnight and re-settles. BUT, she won't go to bed until I do, which is often not until 11-11.30pm. Occasionally she will fall asleep in my arms on the couch, but if I try to put her to bed to wakes up and cannot be re-settled unless I get into the bed and give her the breast. She then dozes, but wakes as soon as I get out of the bed.

I think Miss P needs more sleep than she is getting and I am exhausted by my Velcro Baby being attached to me from 7.30am to 11.30pm! I would really like to put her to bed around 8-8.30pm and have a couple of hours to spend with DH, get things done or just enjoy not having a tired, grumpy little someone crawl on me!! I would be able to get to bed earlier myself if I could have that couple of hours to get organised.

So, how do you get your co-sleeper to bed??

Pretty much same as you atm, although if she's down for the night, she won't wake up if I put her in bed. DD feeds have a gap of generally 2-4 hours during the day (although it's 1-1.5 at the moment!), and during the night I'll pretty much just let her clusterfeed, every 40 mins to an hour. Usually by about 9ish (give or take) she's out for the night and I'll pop her in bed...although most of the time I'll go to bed then too. DD sleeps through the night, so no worries there. Some nights though she just will not sleep for more that 30 mins unless in my arms or in bed next to me...so those nights, I just resign myself to it and go with it.

Thanks, PZ, it's nice to know I'm not alone!

Anyone else??

Hmm...don't have that problem with DD2. Lucky me this time. She co-sleeps but is in her cot until first wake-up. I always do the same thing though and maybe it's helped her be like that. I take her into my room lie her on the bed in the dark and run my hands over her, kind of like a little massage. It makes her lie still because she likes it. Then I wrap her (which only lasts about 2 seconds anyway but it's about the routine). Then I lie and feed her and when she's asleep move her to her cot. Do you have a night time routine?

With DD1, she wouldn't do that. I couldn't move her without waking her. I used to slowly get up after she was asleep and put a pillow up against her body where I was so it felt like I was still there (sort of from below her shoulder down though so it wasn't near her face).

HTH :)

I breastfeed DS2 to sleep in the big bed all snuggled up together. Then when he’s asleep.... I sneak out.... :hide:

It works 90% of the time. For the other 10% I just think, well he’s just not tired enough yet (he doesn't have a set bedtime) so we just get him up and try again a bit later.

I use Epacris' nip-n-slip method to get DD to sleep during the day, although she rarely naps any more than 30 minutes before waking up. She's onto me in the evening though, and wakes as soon as I get up from the bed, even if she seems to be fast asleep! I do push my pillow up along side her, but I think she still smells that I am gone, clever little thing!!

We are moving to a new house in a few weeks and I think I would like to try to settle her in her cot and then bring her into our bed when she wakes. I am very happy to have her co-sleep all night, but I am really struggling to get things done and have any 'me' time at all. Perhaps when we move would be a good time for a new routine? Although, I suspect she will feel a little insecure and the velcro will be even tighter between us!!

Ah you sound just like me at the moment!! Our little ones are the same age... You dont happen to live in sydney do you LOL! My boy doesn't like going o bed for the night until we do as well, which is too late!! But I am lucky in the sense that he does not wake until 9.30ish so I get the extra time in the morning to make up for the late night with him. Can you make the room really dark in the morning so maybe she will sleep a little later, as it does seem to be a big awake time from so late til so early. I find that if I let the room get too light in the morning my little man wakes up much earlier.

I am in the same boat as you... Most of the time I feed Damian to sleep as this is all he will accept however on occasion it will not work so he will be rocked to sleep in a baby hammock(not sure if u are open to the idea but I got mine from happy hangup which has a website). Like the others, I slip away once he has slept and put a pillow around him. I do admit some days it can take a long time and as he only cat naps (around 30 mins) it doesn't leave much time to myself.

But I have also just moved house and it has been a bit challenging. I wouldn't recommend any changes to the routine then because your bub will appreciate and need anything that is familiar so it's not all too scary. The change is a lot for them and at first i thought he was doing well but then he got a bit more clingy after it probably sunk in that hey he wasn't going back to his usual home. But like you I had thought of trying the cot with the move but it was way too stressful for him and us so we are still trying to do what works.

At 10 months they are getting older and changing so quickly so hopefully in time (sooner than later) they will grow up a bit and require less and less. My boy has become better in the sense that he occasionally sleeps longer during the day and he doesnt wake up once he is asleep like he used to (that used to drive me mad having to resettle every 10 mins!!)

Sorry if this hasnt been much help but I hope I have given you some food for thought and what I can say is I totally sympathize with you!!!

:hugs: good luck whatever you decide! And if you find something that works dont forget to let me in on it LOL ;)


.... Oh and just to add that I *try* not to make DSs bedtime later than 10pm-11pm at least, (but this is not always possible and it used to be like 1am!!!) so what I try to do is once he is down, keep him in the really dark room and when he awakens go straight to feeding him again, minimal interaction and pretend to sleep kinda thing. This sometimes work when he is tired and once he goes through one cycle and goes straight back to sleep after waking he usually will then go down for a few hours.
Hope that helps.


Sent from my iPhone more than likely while I should be doing something else

What works here is if I plan to do boring stuff like housework that evening he doesn't wake when I sneak off and goes down for the night - so I am doing the washing up almost willing him to wake so I can leave it. If I plan on doing anything else slightly fun or interesting he is guaranteed to not want to go to bed until I do! :) So sorry not very practical advice but I would just keep trying and convince yourself you love the extra evening hours together and then he will probably start going to bed earlier just to be contrary.

Ds set his bedtime at 6pm as a newborn meaning I could feed him and put him down really easily, so we just do that. He s in a cot next to the bed until I go to bed and then I move him. He often wakes in the evening though and I have to resettle him by pressing my face to his (so cuuute).

Dd was the same...'nip n slip' haha love it!