Should be sleeping through the night in their own bed?
I work as a nanny/PA for a woman who is often away on business trips. She's a single parent and has a nine year old daughter, with whom I have a great bond.
When my boss is at home the daughter sleeps in bed with her. Her own room is mainly just her dressing room. The issue is at the moment I'm staying over while her Mum is on business in the US, and she will not sleep unless she's in with me. I am a light sleeper and she's a particularly fidgety one who takes up a lot of space, and besides that I would prefer to have a bed to myself after a long day. She's obviously not a baby but she becomes unsettled when I try to encourage her to sleep in her own room, cries and says she misses her mum. The mum has also specifically asked me to let her sleep in my bed so she's not lonely during the night.
It's been a week now and I'm shattered. I've hardly had any sleep. I am being very patient towards her. I don't want her to be upset. She's absolutely fine during the day, it's only night time when the problems start. I've tried being with her in her own bed until she falls asleep but she will always without fail wake up in the small hours and come looking for me when she finds she's alone. Then she'll have a bit of a cry so we'll have a cuddle and she gets back to sleep but I don't. I have PA duties during the day before I pick her up from school so it's not like I can get any rest then.
Not expecting any magic solutions, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I don't have DC so I guess I want to understand if this is normal, what others would do in this situation. Thanks.