If you co slept with your toddler....

[Richtea67]

...when did it stop and how did you get them in their own bed? My 2.5 year old is going through a regression. We've struggled with sleep since day 1, but she was up until recently going to bed fine and mostly sleeping through. Now she's not having any of it, and screams until she can get into 'mummy's bed'. Myself or DH also have to lie with her while she goes to sleep, previously she could self settle.

We've tried changing to a toddler bed as thought she might have found her cot too restrictive...that hasn't helped at all! We try to make her room and bed as cosy as possible and she has always had a consistent bed time routine. Mostly now she doesn't nap, if she does it's usually in the car and for no more than an hour.

If I'm honest it actually doesn't bother me or DH, as I'll sleep with her and my DH decamps to the spare bed...we then all sleep through and feel well rested. But I'm getting a lot of negative comments from family, and a lot of doom and gloom that she'll be sleeping with me for years to come. I don't mind doing it short term if she needs the closeness/comfort, but am I making a rod for my own back??

DS1 slept in a ‘nest’ on the floor next to our bed, for about 6 months. HIGHLY recommend. He must have been about 4, so at that point where they feel like a third adult in the bed. Relegated to the floor! Did feel bad for him as baby DS2 was cosleeping so DS1 would have been the only one in a different room of the house.

DS2 never needed any help with sleeping anywhere ever.

DD is 3 and ‘needs to sleep next to mummy’ which I am all for as it means we get more sleep; but last few weeks she’s noticably bigger so might try the nest idea. Failing that I’m going to extend her (unused) toddler bed into its full length single so at least we have space to sit with her while she falls asleep. Pretty sure she’ll just reach an age where she’s happy to sleep in there though.

Edit to add - we didn’t co sleep with DD at all until we got rid of the cot. She was a brill sleeper and never even tried to climb out of cot, but when we switched to a toddler bed that was it, straight into our bed! Well, DH tried to keep her in her bed and he sleep on her floor, but I’m not doing that.