I’ve slept with my goose (nickname for my lovely daughter) ever since she was a teeny weeny 6 pound baby. She wanted nothing more than to be close to me and I wanted nothing than to hear her heart beat. It worked for us especially since I breastfed her.
But now she’s 4 and still wants to be right up under me. This was fine before we moved into a bigger place last month and she got her own big girl room! It’s decked out with a big girl bed, pretty bedding, big bookshelf loaded with books and 9000 Dora dolls. Honestly, I have no idea where she gets all these dolls from!! I swear it’s those big brown eyes my goose has! Look into them and you’re hooked!! She makes me buy her stuff! (lol) Everyone laughs when I tell them that. But it’s not just me; it’s her Dad, my friends and family. Ugh. And if I hide just one she knows its missing and will ask me 568 times where it is.
Anyways, back to co-sleeping. So, I’ve been trying to get her interested in her room and her bed. She has no problems hanging out in her room and playing with her dolls or reading her books. Or making it a complete disaster. But I swear, once the sun sets, she wants nothing to do with sleeping in her room. She’ll sneak her way into my bed and won’t budge. Ugh. It’s gotten really hard to sleep with her because she’s forever flinging her arm or leg on me. She is a wild sleeper and moves every 6 minutes, interrupting my already crazy sleep pattern.
I’ve tried having her fall asleep in my bed then moving her into her room. That sorta works. She either wakes up and starts crying when I move her into her bed or clings to me for dear life or she sneaks back into my bed a few hours later and lays on top of me.
I’ve also tried staying with her in her room until she falls asleep. I’ll sit on the edge of the bed and rub her back. She should love it, but instead she clings to me and just stares at me because she knows I’m going to leave, ahhhh!
She’s so good at my Mom and Sister’s houses; she sleeps alone and has no problem with it…usually.
I try bribing her, telling her she gets to go to the store and pick out something new. I was also thinking of buying her some books on sleeping in your own bed. I just wish she would sleep in her own bed!! Of course I miss her snuggling up with me, but she’ll be 5 in September, it’s now or never!!
So help! What have you done to help your little one transition to their own bed? What should/shouldn’t I be doing?
**Stay tuned for Mommy Glow’s 1st Giveaway from Mary Kay!
