Hello!
I have recently moved in with my partner of 2 years and his 3 children - boy aged 8, boy aged 6 and girl aged 4. Long story short - he had a very acrimonious divorce and his ex-wife causes us a lot of problems. He ended up living with his mum and the kids (who he has shared custody of) in his old bedroom for just over two years. They shared a big bed at first but then he bought them a triple bunk, however still all in the same bedroom at night. The 4 year old was apparently breast-fed until she was 3-and-a-bit, and all three kids apparently still share a bed with their mum, despite them all having their own beds and bedrooms at her place (and always have had)...
ANYWAY
Now that they have their own beds and rooms at our new place, we have had difficulty trying to keep them asleep through the night, particularly the 4 year old, who is waking up crying every 20 mins or so after she is put to bed saying she has had a nightmare. All three then wake up at various times in the night (last night 15 times in total 😴) and have to be taken back to bed. The only period that all three seem to sleep is between midnight and 4.30ish - then it's back to putting them back to bed again. I appreciate that sleeping in their own beds is new to them, and that there'll be an element of separation anxiety and the fact that they have never had to self soothe before now (as one parent or the other has been in the same bed/room in the night).
(I should add, the 4 year old shares a room with one of her brothers, so when she wakes up and starts calling out, we have been going to her to stop her from waking the other one up)
I'm after any advice or suggestions you can offer, or is it simply a case of putting them back to bed each time they come into our room, being patient and praying they'll grow out of it?!