my baby is 15months and still sleeps in our bedroom

Emily - posted on 04/17/2009

Do you dislike having her in your bed? If you are resenting her for it by all means start moving her. It might help to get a toddler bed and place it by the side of your bed. Let her fall asleep in your bed but move her down to the toddler bed after she falls asleep. Then she will wake up in the toddler bed and it will be familiar. Eventually you can move it into her room. However, if you are just concerned because other people are giving you a hard time and saying she should be out now you can rest assured that she will not want to sleep with you forever.

Melissa - posted on 04/17/2009

I would suggest putting her in a crib now. When my daughter was born we were in a 1 bedroom apt so her crib was in our room but we moved into a house when she was 6 months old and she went into her own room. The first few nights were really hard for me but then it got easier. Also i used to rock her to sleep and at about 7 months i decided that she needed to learn how to go to sleep on her own so i would just lay her down and walk away. The first night was really hard but by the 3rd night she would just lay down and go to sleep. Now we have a routine and she knows when its bedtime. I usually just put her down in her bed, close the door and that's it. You just have to do it and it will be tough at first but it will get easier. Good luck!

Esther - posted on 04/16/2009

My son (a December 2007 baby, so about the same age as your baby girl) has slept in his own room since he was 8 weeks old so I don't really speak from experience, but I personally don't like the cry-it-out method. To each his own so if you're comfortable with that, by all means, go for it. However, I personally would probably try a more gradual, hopefully non-crying solution. I would probably start at naptime, then have her sleep in her own bed in your room and gradually move her from your room to her own. My son has gotten very good at falling asleep on his own in his crib without any tears being shed (sleeping through the entire night is a different story). The way I went about it was to have a bedtime routine (essential), which in our case consists, among other things, of going around his bedroom saying goodnight to all the stuffed animals (waving bye bye & giving them a kiss) and then putting the animals down on their backs like they are going to sleep too. Then I will sit in the rocking chair with him in the dark, give him one last (large) bottle and when he finishes that (while he's still awake) I put him in his crib and put the blanket on him. At this point I can just walk out and he will go to sleep. However, when I first started training him, I would put him in the crib and sit on the floor next to him with my back against the crib and I would completely ignore him (unless he got truly upset). I would not speak to him and would not give him eye contact. He would test me by throwing pacifiers at me, pulling my hair, pulling my shirt, throwing his lovey out of the crib, calling for me, laughing really loud etc. etc. etc. Anything and everything. But eventually he would lay down and fall asleep. Initially it took about 45 mins, but after a week or 2 we were down to about 5 mins and now I don't have to sit down anymore at all. Who knows, it might work for your daughter too. Good luck!

Alison - posted on 04/16/2009

We did the same thing with our son Jackson who is now 3 years old. He literally never slept in a crib, it was always in our bed and finally at 16 months when we moved, we put him in a big boy bed. Which he likes, but inorder to get him to sleep we have to lie with him and this is a daily struggle. I was too afraid to leave him as an infant in the crib, I always thought of the worst scenarios and now we have another one due any day and I vow that I will not do the same thing. The bed time routine is a nightmare for us. I really suggest that you start now with her in a crib. Get a crib tent if you are worried about her hurting herself, that should alleviate some stress and then I would just have her cry it out.  Otherwise you will end up like us, and battling with her all the time.

Good Luck!

Lorraine - posted on 04/16/2009

I have 16 month old twin boys. They have always slept in their cribs but what I've notice is that one of the boys would cry when I turned the tv off because he knew it was bed time. But I would not go in their room just because he cried. That lasted about two days and he stopped because he knew I would not go back in. I make sure I put them down at the same time each night. My advice is start at nap time for two days or so, but note, the longer you wait the harder it will be. I know parents that kids still get into their bed at an older age because it was never put to a stop. My oldest son also slept in his crib since day one. Just know it will be hard in the beginning but if you stay strong to your word she will soon realize she can't have it any other way.

Monica - posted on 04/16/2009

I started my son in his own bed from day one. He was in my room until he was about 3 months old and then he went to his own room. Get started now and it will be easier. The longer it takes you to break this habbit you started the harder its going to be. Start by putting her into her bed at nap time. Then at night let her fall asleep and move her to a bed in your room so your still there if she wakes up and start moving her out.