My daughter is coming up to 6yo and for the last few weeks has been sleeping in my bed. When she was almost 3 me and her father split up. A few months later he moved in with another woman. To be fair to his gf she has been brilliant with my daughter for the most part. We 'co-parent' which, to me, means that daughter spends at least 2 nights at week at his, and we try to discuss everything that's going on in her life so we can keep some kind of solid ground for her. I have remained single since the split, which means that she and I have a very close bond but she finds it hard to adjust when she comes back from being at her dad's. For the last three years I've had very little sleep because she refuses to go to sleep on her own, seems to hate being in her room, is very nervy and clingy and cries to the point of vomiting, all of which are worse when she's been at her dad's (and I understand this is to be expected). This is why after Christmas, and after spending a week with her dad, I decided to let her sleep with me. She is so much happier now, she's getting more sleep, I'm getting more sleep, she tells me more about her day when we're having a cuddle in bed etc. I've found it really helpful, despite what some people might say about co-sleeping.
The problem is, her sleeping pattern at her dad's, which was apparently fine before, has in the last couple of weeks become terrible. She can't understand why she can't share the bed with daddy and his gf and I think is possibly misunderstanding the dynamics between an adult/adult relationship and an adult/child relationship, which I daresay is my fault for the way we've bonded.
So, co-sleeping works fine with me but it is not an option at her dads. I'm not sure what to do for the best. I can't face the screaming and hysterics of trying to get her back into her bed but I don't want her to be getting upset at her dad's either.
Any suggestions? Thanks