Need help!!! - sleeping and pacifier

maliksmommy wrote: I think I've ruined my DS About 3 weeks ago he had a cold and so we let him sleep in our bed because we knew he would sleep better, well 3 1/2 weeks later he is still sleeping in our bed and there is not enough room for 3 of us! DH usually ends up having to go down to the couch 1/2 way thru the night because he is tired of being kicked in the back. I just don't know what to do to get him back in his bed. I can't even get him to take naps in there anymore. I try and let him CIO but he just doesn't give up. 2nd I don't know how we are ever going to get rid of his paci, he is so addicted to that thing. Everyone always says it will be easier than you think but I just don't believe it. He's never fallen asleep without it. I told DH the other day, he's going to be 10 years old sleeping in our bed and still using his paci Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. TIA

natjasem replied: I can't imagine sleeping with Emma! She is an absolute
tornado in bed, kicking, twisting and flopping. I have to say we've never let her sleep in our bed yet. I wish I had some advice for ya!

kimberley replied: sorry i don't have much advice on the cosleeping because i coslept with the boys until last year i can just offer sympathy, i know how difficult it can be to sleep with a little one whose an active sleeper.

as for the paci... i babysat 2 girls who were also addicted and they just decided to give it up one day. mom prepared them by taking it away a little bit at a time at points where they couldn't object... (ie they were out and forgot it at home or it dropped on the ground and there is nowhere to wash it.)

good luck. keep us posted on your progress.

jem0622 replied: I coslept with Nathan for a year and moved him to his crib. It was uneventful.

One way to wean him of it is to have either you or DH sleep with him in his room for a bit and then work your way out of that over time.

As far as the paci goes...you could do one of three things

1) poke a hole in all of them and he'll think they are broken
2) start cutting the tips of them off slowly until it just isn't fun anymore
3) limit when he can have it and then start limiting further (e.g. naptimes only (day and night) and then just switch to nights only)

I have friends who kids use to come to their bed a lot (and that was more than one kid at once!) and they just had to keep taking them back to their rooms night after night. It took a while.

Edited to say that Gabe still wakes during the night (despite me letting him fuss-I end up going to him when I hear him (not every night)) and he takes a binky at naptimes but spits it out).

HUGS
Julie

Kaitlin'smom replied: can you move him once he is asleep to his bed?

maliksmommy replied:

We have tried that but he only lasts about 15 min. I think I need to just be more persistant. I seem to give up so easily and now it's just got out of hand!

amynicole21 replied: Right there with ya, babe! Sophia is a good co-sleeper though, so so far we don't have too many issues with it. As for the paci, Julie's suggestions are the one's I've heard. In the No Cry Sleep Solution, they suggest taking it out once they are just asleep, and laying your finger under their lip to give enough pressure that they think it's still there. Each night, take it out earlier and earlier in the sleep process until he can fall asleep without it. Sophia is firmly addicted to her paci, but (I) have taken it away except for in the car and at nap/bed time. It would probably go easier if DH followed my instructions, but it appears he thinks she looks funny without it or something because he is constantly plugging the darn thing in.

Kaitlin'smom replied:
sorry you are having a hard time, the only thing I can suggest is one thing at a time. It took me a couple weeks to get Kaitlin used to her bed, I would just move her when she fell asleep and then sleep in her room, for a while then I started cutting back the time I was in there and it eventually worked.

oh in case you were wondering in order for me to get any sleep I co-slept with her for the first couple months, DH wanted me back so i slowly got back to where I could sleep in our bed again.

MommyToAshley replied: I don't have much advice, we haven't co-slept and Ashley never took a paci. I think I was her paci for awhile...LOL. But, I just wanted to offer some hugs and support. Let us know if you find something that works for you!

CantWait replied: I don't have any advice, just wanted to wish you luck and offer you some hugs in the meantime

supermom replied: Just some hugs and support here, as Anders is still (occasionally, but more often than not) still sleeping in our bed next to Emmy and with us too!

We did eventually get him to his own bed, but lately (since Emmy has been here) he's seemed to have moved back in! We just moved him each and every time he crawled in with us. It was a lot of work at first, but eventually the times we had to move him became less and less and he slept in his own bed more and more. I think that consistency is the key, IMHO, because is seems when we said "oh, just this once" then we were almost back at square one (like now)......

ediep replied: I don't have any advice because I was chicken to ever let Jay sleep in my bed....but I would think that consistency would be the best thing. Just keep putting him in his crib and eventually he will get used to it.

As for the paci, I agre with the others...maybe one step at a time. Say....just at bedtime for a while. I'm sure that he will give it up. Jason just stopped wanting his paci, so I just stopped offering.

Good luck