A question for moms who co-sleep/have co-slept?

Question

and who have co-slept until their child indicated they were ready for their own bed. How did you know they were ready? Specifically, what were the signs?

Answer 1

hmmm...I'm not sure if there were any specific signs. For me it was more I'm pregnant and need to make room for the new baby! With my first I started by putting a mattress on the floor of my room and when she was sleeping all night in that I moved her into her own bed in her room. She would come in to my bed once in a while but eventually started sleeping the night in her room. With my second I set the crib up side car to my bed with the front rail taken off (toddler bed) and she would usually sleep all night in there. She was about a year and a half when I found out i was pregnant with #3. In the hopes of an easy transition we bought bunkbeds for the girls. She now sleeps the majority of the night in her bed in her room but still will come into our bed some mornings. The baby is now 4 months old and sleeps the first half of the night in the crib next to my bed and when she wakes up I bring her in with me.
I imagine every child is different but if you are patient and take it slowly it will happen! When people make co-sleeping comments to me I just shrug it off. As far as I'm concerned they are only going to be little once and it goes by far to quickly and I'm fairly confident that I won't be sharing a bed in there dorm rooms one day!

Answer 2

My son is 4 and has slept with me since he was born (in a bassinet at first). He started sleeping in his bed sometimes when he was about 3. He splits his time about half between my bed and his. I started putting him in his bed once he fell asleep and that got him used to waking up in his own bed. So, in answer to the question he isn't showing many "I'm ready" signs. Honestly, my efforts are not going as well as I hoped but I don't really mind. I love snuggling with him and I figure these days are numbered.

Answer 3

Well, for my 3 year old, when he was getting ready for bed one night he said he wanted to sleep in his room. So he just laid down on his bed in the room and slept. He has been sleeping there since. We didn't encourage it or anything, just up and decided he wanted to sleep in there. Took us by surprise and kinda made us sad.
Our 1 year old sleeps in our bed with us and we plan on doing the same. When he tells us he no longer wants to be in bed with us, that is when he will move.

Answer 4

I co-slept with my daughter from day 1. When she was about 2, I set up her room with a twin bed and told her that she could sleep in her bed whenever she felt ready. A week or so after her 4th birthday, she announced that she was going to sleep in her bed. At first, I laid down with her until she fell asleep. Now, she falls asleep on her own. She comes back into my bed occasionally, but mostly sleeps in her own room.

Answer 5

My son did/does co-sleep. I DID encourage going to his own bed, but I don't insist on it. I started thinking it was time when he was waking many times a night to nurse still, at 16 mos. It didn't work. So, what I do/have done is nurse him to sleep and put him in his bed. When/if he wakes, he comes to our bed. He is 29 months now, and he sometimes sleeps all night in his bed, and sometimes comes to ours early in the night. I found that he sleeps quite a while in the morning if I can sneak out of bed, and that was another thing that made me think maybe he would sleep better on his own. Now, on nights when he is just up too late for my liking, I take him in my bed and nurse to sleep, then roll over. He sleeps all night.

Answer 6

I co slept with my son til he was about 4 months and then he started rolling and kicking me so then I knew he was ready for his own sleep space.

Answer 7

Our son started to wake up because he needed more space in the bed. He was 2. He helped us to decorate his room, we put a mini aquarium in there for him, put a mattress on the floor next to our bed and after 6 months moved him to his own bed. He was fine thereafter. From time to time, he would pop in, but it was further and further apart as he grew older. He is 11 now. Our baby is 15 months old and has never spent the night alone yet.

Answer 8

I co slept with my youngest, because he was breastfed, and it was easiest on both of us. When he was a little over a year, I decided it was time for him to go into his crib... we put his crib in our room, and then we started putting him to sleep in our bed and moving him to the crib. It worked well, because he was falling asleep next to us, but waking up on his own... got him used to his crib. Next is his toddler bed.

Answer 9

My 2 girls slept with me until they were each one. I made this decision on my own but it was hard for them. And now I have my son sleeping with.

Answer 10

I have two children who sleep in bed with me and my husband. Both girls ,ages 5 yrs and 17 months. So to answer your question about how do you know when they're ready for their own bed, my 5 yr old still wont sleep in her bed in my house. At her real fathers house she has no choice since her dad's bed isnt big enough. We have a king size bed here so there's plenty of room for the 4 of us. I wish I could have had the kids who love their bassinets and cribs but neither one wanted anything to do with them . It was either fight all night with getting them to sleep when they were newborns or go the easy route and let them sleep in bed with me so we could all get some well deserved sleep. I would love to have both of them sleeping in their own beds, and in their own rooms so hubby and I could have much needed alone time but what it comes down to is we need our sleep, so in our bed they go. I don't complain anymore. While it's soo hard to even think about getting them to sleep in their own beds it's much easier to let them sleep with us. Both of them sleep better when in bed with us. I dont know if it's because they are used to it or what. I know plenty of moms who's kids need lots of space when sleeping so they do well in their own beds . But mine sleep much better when cuddled next to me or my hubby. .