Ok, so my son is 20 months old and has always been a co-sleeper. He has his own toddler bed that he sleeps in ocassionaly but he tosses and turns so much it hasn't worked out very well. I am a single mom with limited space. At the moment we have to share a room. I'm looking for a way to ween his at night without just letting him cry it out. I ideally would like to get him in his own bed too. My mom says there are books out there about weening in a "family bed" but I'm wondering if anyone has read one and if iut worked for them. Any reccommendations are greatly appriciated! Thanks a million!
YES! The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg (there is a toddler version). I read every sleep book and this was the most bebeficial and pretty much saved my life. There is also a website you can go to www.thebabywhisperer.com where you can go to anytime, read, post questions, etc. When my daughter was a baby I was on there every day. There is even a "Sleep for Toddlers" section under "Sleep"
We went through the same thing with our 2nd son and I read a couple of books to try and help us figure out how to handle it. The one I found most helpful was "The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night" by Elizabeth Pantley. I don't know if you're familiar with Dr. Sears or not, but this book works well with his philosophies as well, which I also really like. Dr. Sears website has some good helpful ideas too if you want to check it out at: www.askdrsears.com.
Best of luck to you! :o)
The one that was recommended to me the most when I was in need is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child... It's great. Check it out!
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. It's awesome!
K.
I read "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabelth Pantley. It is a great book. As with any book like this you really have to make a plan and stick with it. She offers many ideas on how to help get baby to sleep in his/her own bed. She helps you to organize a plan, and suggests that you write everything down. That way you will be more inclined to follow the rules you have set. Good luck!
No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantly
My daughter also co-slept until 21 months. She had a growth spurt and major change of eating habits at 18 months and then a couple colds so this winter was a bit hectic. We wanted her sleeping in her own bed before our second arrives this summer. We kept my daughter co-sleeping until she was no longer regularly waking to nurse. She was sick last week so she did nurse overnight and co-sleep, but now that she feels better, she's back to her own bed. When she would wake and want to comfort nurse, I would simply tell her "milk is all gone now. You already ate it. Let's snuggle and there will be milk in the morning" There were lots of variations on that, but the message was always the same that there wasn't milk right then, but that there would be later. She didn't always like that answer, but I never let her cry it out. If she insisted on milk, then she nursed. The more I stuck with my story, the more okay she was to snuggle without nursing. I waited until she was consistently sleeping through the night before we moved her to her own bed. We're all sleeping better now since she's not kicking me in the face anymore! :) Let me know if I can be any more help!
This is a good article and site to check out: http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp . We are still co-sleeping at 22 months.....I haven't had the energy to change that yet---good luck!!
