URGENT Ds just climbed out of his cot for first time - second baby due in 1 week

[LoopyLouLisa]

Ok lovely people i need your help. All the advice is to not make any other major change to dc's life/routine around the time of a new baby, so now I don't know what to do.

How likely is it that this is a one-off? He learnt this week how to climb down the stair by himself too (ds is 18 months)

He has also recently become quite an unpredictable sleeper (can he sense the major change about to happen?) so has no set time for going to sleep.

Do I risk leaving him in his cot for now? or do I try to move him into a bed? Having cs next fri so I have one week max if I am getting him into a bed.

Pls pls help mumsnetters

Lisa xx

I shoudl say I've done that with both dds and it has worked a treat.

not sure really how tonight went.

obviously he wouldn't stay in bed and kept screaming at the gate. when he stopped crying i could hear him playing and after about 1.5 hours in total i went in with him and laid on his bed cuddling him. he was exhausted and still put up a fight, so i held him firmly and eventually he gave in. whenever i tried to leave the room he stirred and attempted to get up. if i crouched/sat on floor by his bed he settled again and i managed to creep out after about 45mins.

ds has never been a co-sleeper simply because he's always settled better on his own and has been put in his cot awake since a few months old (fed to sleep before that). however, how he was tonight i am wondering if he was unsure /insecure about not having his cot, as he's never needed me in the room before.

if he is not crying, is it best to leave him alone and possibly allow him to fall asleep on the floor? or should i go in and lie with him until he's asleep? he's not a child who has fallen anywhere other than his cot/buggy/car/grandad's lap (i know some will fall asleep on the floor playing or even in their highchair etc).

i feel so clueless about all of this. obviously i would prefer him to sleep in his bed rather than the floor. the next 3 weeks aren't really a problem staying with him, just after that i'm not really sure how it works: having newborn and having to get ds to sleep on my own? then again, still not sure how having a toddler and newborn works yet anyway lol

xx

You'll probably read this in a month or two and think "god that's so funny, it just fell in to place" because I reckon it will. Do you remember before you had ds you didn't know simple stuff, and how quickly it all worked out? You'll be fine.

In answer to your q about where to put him while you are in shower etc, I used the travel cot by bathroom door a few times, and the highchair a few times too. Ours is a Stokke though and ds cannot climb out of it, nor could he from the travelcot, well he's not really a climber though so I'm lucky there.

And the fascination with the loo brush, only lasted about 4 weeks here, it passes- so don't fret!

bramblina, i have thought to myself that around this time in my last pg i was petrified of how little i knew about babies and you are so right it does just all fall into place. i find the toilet brush thing so funny from a little boy who whinges if his hands are dirty!?!

i think a lot of my anxiety atm is purely down to being pg. do u remember the late stages where you just can't sleep and can spend days on end obsessing about whether you've bought the right buggy/bottles/nappy type/colour bedding/whatever silly little thing ? every little molehill seems like a huge mountain and i know deep down that it will be okay in the end. i only discovered mn a few months ago and it has proved to be such a godsend. just seeking advice and getting reassurance that you're doing ok, any time day or night, does wonders for the self-esteem

xx

Loopy, he will be fine on the floor, much safer than a bed/guard for a climber and aagreat place to leave him during the day. I tought my dd1 to sleep through when dd2 was 6 wks old - she'd never slept on her own before that. Travel cots aren't safe for climbers, my dd2 got out of hers!