advice on stopping co-sleeping

[dja]

My DD is 9 and half months now and has regularly been co sleeping with us. she always starts the night in her own cot but wakes regularly and by 2 or 3 am i have usually caved in end up letting her in our bed again. She is still breast feed at night but solids by day. When she wakes more often than not i have to pick her up to rock her back to sleep. Im sure she knows the waking game now and so pushes us to our limits so she can again co sleep.
however to make things worse she also often wakes due to wind.
She only has less than an hours sleep in the day so i cant reduce that right now!
If it was just me i would leave her to cry longer but my DH has to get up for work and there is only so much of her crying he can take. Besides we both get to that point where we will do anything for a bit of sleep! moving her into her own room isnt an option as we are a 1 bedroom flat.
any advice greatfully recieved!

I'm really sorry to tell you this, but you have probably created a bad situation by caving in and letting her back into your bed.
She now thinks that if she cries for long enough she can have her way.
If you are serious about having her sleeping in her own cot throughout the night, you are probably going to have to suffer a couple of sleepless nights while she cries without being allowed back into your bed.
This will be really tough on all of you, but I'm not sure that there is any way around it.
The good news is that it will only last for a couple of nights and after that she will settle down much quicker.
You can give her lots of cuddles, feeding, love, soothing music etc to help her get back to sleep, but you have to be stubborn and determined in not letting her dictate where she sleeps.
With regards to your DH, I'm sorry that he will find it so tough. May you can start this on a Friday night when you will both be able to sleep in the next morning. Hopefully it will be getting easier by the time Monday comes around.

cheers for the honesty!
i completely agree with everything thing you said! i thought this was going to be the only way. We are just going to have to grit our teeth and bare it for a few nights! if i believed it was only be for a couple of nights it would be ok but i fear it will take longer than that!
Wish me luck for the weekend!

Hi again Dja
What did you decide to do?
Did you manage to get any sleep at all?

well i started well! but at some point i fell asleep feeding her and she made her own way into our bed. so not a great success!
However you may not agree but i have decided to just go with it for the next month. we are away on holiday next month and so her routine will be disrupted anyway. when we return it will be a fresh start... out with the old and in with the new so to speak!
thanks for your advice anyway.... i look forward to those sleepless nights on our return from holiday... what a nice welcome back!

Don't worry, I don't disagree at all.
Who am I to tell you how to bring up your own baby?!!!
If it works for you right now, or at least that you think it's the best option, then go with it.
I certainly agree with you that coming back from a holiday when her routine is disturbed may be a good time to make the change. I have done that on occassion myself.
Good luck with it.