Due second baby in two weeks. Probably earlier as I’m at hospital tomorrow to make a delivery plan and I think they will decide to induce me early. DS is 3.5 years old and has always been a fab sleeper, until I got pregnant and we’ve had problems with him waking in the night. I’ve been waiting for it to just pass but it doesn’t seem to be! He doesn’t wake every night, sometimes he will still do a magical 7-7 in his own room, but over the last couple of weeks it’s got worse and at least 50% of the time he ends up in bed with me from about 1am and DH will go and sleep in his bed. If I’m lucky he will go back to sleep in his own bed if he stays sleepy enough but he’s usually crying and wide awake and the only thing that consoles him is getting into bed with me. DH tries to get DS to settle with him but he won’t, he cries for me. We’ve asked him what’s waking him and all he says is “because I want mummy” there doesn’t seem to be another reason. We’ve tried the usual things - different nightlight, solid bedtime routine and no screen time, making sure he’s not too hot or cold etc but he still wakes. The problem definitely got worse in May when he started preschool. He is quite an anxious child generally and has always been very clingy to me and hates to be separated.
Ive got a next to me type crib for the newborn but I remember when DS was tiny I had to cosleep with him for the first few weeks because he wouldn’t settle in the crib at first. This is going to be impossible with DS in the bed, he ends up horizontal, kicking me in the face and all sorts. He is also a really light sleeper so feeding and changing the newborn constantly will just keep waking him. Today I’m looking into getting a foldout bed for DS’s room for DH to go and sleep with him if he wakes, he won’t usually settle for DH but he won’t have a choice.
Does anyone have any other suggestions? Has anyone successfully co-slept with a newborn and older child in the same room? I want to be excited about having two children but at the moment I’m just anxious because of this sleep situation.