Getting DD age 4 to stop coming into my bed every night!!!

[CuppaT]

Since DD 4yrs has been in a big bed, now and again she would climb into my bed, maybe because she was cold as she tends to kick duvet off. Anyway it wasn't really a problem as it wasn't very often and it wasn't usually until approx. 5/6am.

Now it's every night.

The trouble is, I don't even know she is in bed with me until I wake up myself in the morning or I'm so uncomfortable I wake up and carry her back to her own bed but she always comes back. This is from about 2/3am.

I always sleep awkwardly when she is in bed with me and wake up with such a bad back. She wriggles around and kicks and elbows me all night.

So my questions are: how can I keep putting her back in her own bed, if I don't know she's in bed with me in the first place? If I do put her back in her own bed, what can I do to get her to stay put?

I've tried little rewards if she has a full night in her own bed and told her she's a big girl now and needs to be in her big girl bed but it's still the same.

I'm so tired today after a week of interrupted sleep.

Shall I dig out the baby gate do you think? Trouble is will she then stand there crying until I get up?

Dd used to do this as a little one, as we were so tired, one of us would always stumble into her bed, and get on with the night! It was a very regular thing though.

She's now 16 and it's as much as I can do to get a cuddle from her.

Having said that, if it's making your night uncomfortable, that's different. Have you tried sleeping with two duvets, so you can wrap one around you as 'padding' from the octypus?!!