My son is 18 months old and is and still likes to sleep in my bed. Help!?

Question

He will start in his crib at night but wakes up in the middle of the night and will not go back to sleep until he is in bed with my husband and I. Any suggestion to help this?

Answer 1

Here's my thought I had the same problem with my son it started when he was teething then he wouldnt sleep in his own bed. We tried to make him, only made our nights more miserable. We bought him a car bed which helped then we would lay with him in his bed and made it a huge deal how cool it was, then when he was asleep we would go to our bed, Some nights he will come in our bed, but at least he starts in his own bed. We moved recently and he's scared of his bed so he sleeps with us , we just move him to his own bed once hes asleep it doesnt take long, then if hes back in the morning its okay... My thoughts are there only little for so long when hes 7 or 8 hes not going to want to sleep with us, so im going to enjoy it for awhile....But everyones diffrent , I also have a little girl and we made her sleep in her own bed from the start and she hates sleeping with us. She doesnt even like to snuggle , so I dont know whats better?

Answer 2

First of all, he shouldn't ever be sleeping in the bed with you. He needs to learn how to put himself back to sleep himself. Now it has gotten into a habit with him and it will be hard to stop. What I think you should do is when you hear him cry when he wakes, go in lie him back down and rub his back for a little then leave the room. If he doesn't lay down then just give him a hug while he is still in the cirb. Go back into the room every 10 minutes if he continues to cry. He will stop crying but it make take some time so do it on the weekend when you don't have to get up early the next day. It is okay to let a child cry even though it hurts us to hear it. He should still be tried and cry himself back to sleep. The only good way to do this is to do it cold turkey, after a week or two he should be able to get himself back to sleep hopefully.

Answer 3

Take it from me, my mother didnt get me out her bed until I was 12! He's still a baby so teaching him who the parents are are still fairly easy. I know he may cry at night for you but your just going to have to ignore it. What you could probably do is make it interesting for him to be in his crib at night. Give him a night light or a teddy bear. Make his crib a comfort zone for him. Also, you could probably place something of yours or your husbands that smells like you(a pillow, shirt, anything he cant harm himself with) this way when he falls asleep its like your in the crib with him. Please be aware that this will take some time for him to adjust, he is still a baby but this is the age where their personalities are structuring and showing through. So he may feel independent one moment and babyish the next. But take your time and dont whatever you and your husband decide to do back down from him. That'll just show him he can get his way whenever he pushes a little bit and then you'll have a whole other problem on your hands.

Answer 4

He really never should have been in your bed to begin with. I'm not trying to judge you but it is unsafe for him. No wyou need to play hardball. Shut the monitor off. When he cries ignore him for 15 min stints. You can go into his room but do not take him out of the crib. Going into his room shows him that you are not abandoning him but by not taking him out of the crib he knows he will have to stay there. It will be hard at first and take a few nights. Plan on doing in on a day when you have nothing to do the next day (you won't sleep much the first few nights).

Answer 5

Keep him out of your bed!!

There is a sleep training ritual that worked for my daughter. If he cries, you go in there and tell him to go back to sleep while gently touching his head or arm. Then leave. Do not pick him up or linger too long...not more than 30 seconds. Do not turn the light on either. If he continues to cry, let him cry for 2 minutes, then go back in and do the same thing. Next time, let him cry for 4 minutes, then repeat the process. Keep it up for as long as it takes, increasing the time between visits by 2 minutes each time. By doing this, you will be letting him know that you are there and you hear him, but it's not play time and he needs to go to sleep.

It takes some patients and you need to stick to it, but he will eventually learn to put himself back to sleep when he wakes up.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Oh my goodness! I have the EXACT same problem with my daughter who is almost 18 months old. My husband has been sleeping in the spare room for 6 months now! Yes I know its not great for the marriage, but if I get more than 4-5 hours of straight sleep....so be it!!! We both work full time and I NEED MY SLEEP!!! Good luck luv. I will have to get some tips from your answers!!!!

Belinda ......melb/australia

Answer 7

Good Luck! My daughter just turned 4 and is still sleeping on a blanket on the floor in our bedroom every night. She won't sleep in her room and we have tried all the answers everyone else wrote....I guess one day, they all will grow out of that.

Answer 8

that is called normal.
the only way to change it is go back to his bed with him when he wakes up (yes you have to get out of bed)
and it's best to stay there with him until he is asleep again.
ah, the sacrifices of being a parent.

Answer 9

enable him cry. that's ok for him to cry and in case you save giving in then he's accustomed to what to do to get his way meaning he has the skill. some nights of crying himself to sleep can grant him a greater valuable attitude. i understand that he can probable cry for a protracted time yet you should be greater obdurate than he's.

Answer 10

They can pretty much only grow out of it. You really shouldnt have put him in there when he was a new baby at all. He shouldve been in his cot right from the start. i bet you wont make that mistake with the next one! LOL