Any CO SLEEPERS out there with over one year olds?

[rosierosa]

My daughther has always been a rubbish sleeper. It can take hours to settle her into the cot (i've been trying since she was born) and then wakes up at night. We've both been ill for the last week and i've needed the sleep, so have started putting her in bed with me. She is 14 months old. Does anyone else do this? I need my sleep and it seems to be the only way at the moment!

Thanks :-)

Hi there

Yes I am a co-sleeper but only part of the night!! My DD is 16 months old and settles to sleep in her own room but then will wake once during the night and then wants to come into our bed!! I have been doing this though ever since she was 6 months old as we had returned from hospital after her having open heart surgery!!

It was just easier to cope with looking after her and still now when she is ill I have her in with me most of the night.

I don't see anything wrong with it really as they need to feel safe and you need your sleep especially when they are ill and you are ill and you don't want to be up and down all night do you? Its common sense to me!!

I have been encourage by my Mum to co-sleep as thats what she did with me and eventually I grew out of the habit of waking up - it took me till I was around 2.5 to do it but I did in the end!!

Don't listen to anyone who looks down upon you for doing so....you are her Mum and it sounds as if you are a very lovely Mum for being so patient with her. There are lots of people out there who aren't!!!

I wouldnt beat yourself up about keeping on settling her through the night as I say you need your sleep and so does she and she will feel safer next to you therefore you'll get a better sleep!!

Hope it all works out.

Luv Lou xxx

Yep, me too. ds2 is 18mths.
LOADS of people are - many part time. Ie baby starts in the cot, ends up in the bed.
It is totally normal, ime.

Ds1 was quite happy in his cot, but ds2 never took it and I wasn't for 'training' him, and I need my sleep. He sleeps in the 'big bed' all night.

It works well for us.

If you think about it, humans have only slept apart from their wee ones in relatively recent times. Babies are designed to be near us.

I don't know of any teenagers who share a bed with their Mummies and Daddies so I wouldn't sweat it. In fact, I think you are doing exactly the right thing and are meeting her needs as well as making sure everyone gets a bit of kip!

Thank you both ladies, I really appreciate it. She's still waking up, but only for a minute or two, so it does make things a lot easier and i think it is a cultural thing as well. It does make sense for them to be with us and we do, what we need to do. Lou, i hope your little one is ok, it must have been really, really tough having to have open heart surgery. You poor things. Take care and i hope you both get lots of sleep. Rosie xx

Me too. DS is 14 months old too, we've coslept from the start, it is wonderful. He's just stirred for a little half-asleep feed, then we'll drop back to sleep again. It feels very right and natural for us. Hope you get well soon.

We co-sleep with our 13mo DS part time too!
He settles in his cot then comes in with us when he wakes,has a feed then turns round and alternates cuddling daddy and me through the night.
LOVELY

We co-sleep with 16mo DD.

We've got one of the Ikea cots with the side off and the base at the higher height pushed up against my side of our bed.

It means she has her own space but is still close at hand - last night she ended up in the bed between DH and I and I have no idea how! Works brilliantly for us.

We generally put her in her cot when she goes to bed and then join her when we're ready to sleep.

I co sleep with my ds who is 17 months. Have done since birth as it made bfing easier. I do put him in his room to start with and settle him in there if I'm still up/ awake. Once it gets to the time when I'm in bed he'll wake and come in my room to find me and he'll come in my bed.

Hes not well at the mo so he's in our bed more.

23 months and loving every minute of our bedtime snuggles. Our situation is that both of us work full time and if we didn't cosleep we'd be with her for about 90 minutes a day. We are both very into cosleeping, see it as being far more natural than having her in a separate room and have absolutely no worries that when the time is right she will move into her own bed. As someone upthread said, there's not many teenagers still sharing their parents' bed so we don't worry about it too much.

I do however feel incredibly smug (as do my cosleeping colleagues) when I overhear my two work colleagues who don't cosleep moaning about how little sleep they've had due to having to get up to their toddlers/babies. The cosleepers outweigh the non-cosleepers in our office.

Yup, another one here. DS is 14 mos nearly, and he ends up in our bed every single night. Nothing wrong with it if it suits you all. Although I could live without DS's all-night-long reaching out to play with my hair (hate it hate it hate it!).

With DD now 3, she just wouldn't sleep in our bed and I was a bit obessed about teaching her sleep independence. DS is my last baby so I am being a right old softie with him [fmsile]

or even

Yes my DS is 3 and had always coslept with us since 12 months. My older DC have also co slept and all were happily in their own beds by 4-5 years. It's just easier all round and we love it.

My daughter is 31 months and sleeps with us every night. I tried to settle her in her own cot for months and got fed up with spending all evening sat next to her cot and cleaning up sick when she got really distressed. I never imagined we'd co- sleep and at heart I feel a little like I've failed somehow, especially when people express their horror that you co- sleep! But she settles well and sleeps right through so we all get a good night sleep. Other friends tell me about getting up 3/4 times in the night and having to go into their kids room to get them back to sleep - could not do that!! Just hope that one day she'll decide that she doesn't want to sleep with us anymore...and hope it's not when she's 13!!

my dd2 3 yrs sleeps with me and my ds 17 mnths.

they have a cousin who co slept until 7.

Yes we cosleep with 26 month old DS - absolutely love it. He's got a sidecar cot but usually just snuggles in with me. It just makes life so much easier. However with a new baby arriving within the next couple of days its going to be interesting to see what happens -whether it becomes time for him to move on into more of his own space. I've decided just to follow his lead rather than initiate a move. Possibly conveniently hes asked Father Christmas for a Thomas the Tank Engine bed (thankyou Ebay) so I expect if anything moves him on it will be that. I will feel really sad not to be woken up with him patting my cheek or honking my nose though!