won't go to sleep in her own bed...any ideas?

[motherpeculiar]

I'm sure someone else will have experienced this - any tips on how to deal with it?

DD is 2yr4mth. She has recently started to request not to sleep in her cot. As we are expecting a second in March next year we thought it was good timing and have set her up on a futon on the floor - which she loved for a while. Now though, every night, she wants to go to sleep in our bed. She cries and keeps coming out of her room if we don't let her and so we put her in there to start and then move her when she is asleep. Within the last couple of weeks she has started waking every night about 3.30am and crying and asking to come into our bed. She won't settle otherwise. So in she comes. It is all getting a bit too much now and we would really like her to settle in her own place. Any ideas on how we should go about it? We are not very good at being really tough and letting her cry it out I have to add...

Have you thought about temperature dipping... I have noticed ds's room is really cold at 3.30 (or thereabouts) so we are wrapping him up warmer at night.

She may also be a bit insecure on the futon.. to go from the security of a cot to a wide open futon may be too scary for her..
can you not try a bed with bed guard? (make it up with her favourite character duvet etc)

Also have noticed with ds, if he comes in with us (as he does when we are all too knackered to fight) he tends to expect it- ie becomes a habit.
Am afraid it has to be broken.. so will have to get tough on him...(need enough energy for this one though)

Sympathies are with you... especially with another on the way (dd is possibly picking up on this too, so feeling more in need of hugs etc)

have no advice but i'll be following this thread.
My dd is 3.8 and does the sam. She's been in a big bed for ages though and goes to sleep with a story and a cuddle but often walks in a 3 ish and climbs into bed. (Must admit it's never been a big issue but now i have another on the way and am seeing problems!!)

good point about the temperature going down - she just has a small duvet, whereas our bed has a heavy duvet and throw on it - it is VERY cosy so I don't blame her for wanting to be in there at all. MAybe I'll get her one of those all in one sleepersuits - she had one last year and it made me jealous it was so cosy!

DH is making her cot into a cotbed today so we'll try her in there tonight - with lots of fuss about being a big girl etc.. We had put her in the futon (folded over so just half size) because she loved it there, surrounded by cushions and we liked the fact that she couldn't fall out but I guess a little bed with guard rail might be the answer. I think it is like you say though,it's turned into a habit now and at 3am it's hard to have the energy to fight it.....

I've never really minded before, but can anticipate problems with no.2 coming on the scene and would like to sort it out now - also we could do with an unbroken nights sleep [yawn]

good luck to you both too, will let you know if we stumble upon any magic solutions...

well, we put her in her newly converted cotbed last night. SHe had really enjoyed helping to make it and was doing a great line in saying it was "her bed" etc. but when push came to shove and we left the room with her in there three were teh normal ructions. Tried to ignore for as long as possible, then tried to talk her down but nothing would work except that she went in "mommy's bed". DH had along heart to heart with her at this stage about the fact that we have our room and she has hers and said she could go to bed in our bed but that he would then move her and that she must sleep in hers for the rest of the night. She slept through in her own bed and came into us about 7.30am this morning. Phew! I do think it was thanks to Unicorns tip about the temperature though, I had put so many blankets on her bed and tucked them round the mattress so they couldn't fall off. It was really snug. Won't count any chickens just yet though ...

off to order a fleecey sleepersuit from Vertbaudet now...