Dilemma! Baby Sleeping in Our Bed.

My son slept with us untile he was 6 1/2 months old. He started waking up every hour like he was uncomfortable. We started to put him in his crib after that and he slept so much better. But before then, he hated his crib. Don't feel bad about your baby sleeping with you. He is most comfortable with you and feels safe with you. Let him tell you when he is ready. I honestly thought that my son would never get out of our bed, but there comes a time when they are ready. He will only be little once, so enjoy him cuddling with you. I already miss it!! :( Good luck!!

SAHM of a beautiful 8 month old son, and wife to a wonderful husband.

I would suggest picking up the book called The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, it is wonderful, and should be able to help you out.

I used Baby Wise, and modified to what I thought was best for our family and it worked wonders. It turns out that with modifications I was really using the Baby Whisperer's technique. :) Please, do not let anyone tell you what not to read ... only you can decide what is best for you and your family.

Remember ... your baby will cry. You will cry because your baby is crying. Once you realize your baby is safe, sound, and it is your job as a parent to create a healthy sleep environment and schedule, you will be one big happy and well rested family. :)

Good luck!

My now 11mo. old boy slept in the bed with us until he was about 6mo's old. I don't regret that at all.
We had a pack-and-play next to our bed & I would let him sleep in there (with same pillow he was used to)until the first cry then move him to the bed. One day he just stopped crying.
At about 9mo's we moved him to his own room where he now sleeps in his crib - no problems. I know that every baby is different but if he's anything like our's he will just be ready one day, hopefully soon. Our's got to a point where he was just more comfortable on his own. I was considering just letting him cry it out if it went on for too long but luckily that was not necessary. Hang in there :)

Your right to not let your child cry it out needlessly. I was just reading today (sorry, lost the link) about how crying at such a young age releases stress hormones and can adversely affects the baby.

I'm not sure why you want to change a sleep situation that seems to be working for you. Co-sleeping really is great especially when you breast feed. I know our society attaches a certain amount of stygma to this when in many other countries it is considered the norm.

My ds was allergic to his crib. I found that a co-sleeper (we had an Arm's reach) was a wonderful compromise. The baby sleeps right next to you but sort of in his own crib. I've also know people who have moved their cribs up next to the bed with the side rail down and used this to transition the baby to the crib in a more gentle way.

I'd suggest checking out Elizabeth Pantley's book called No Cry Sleep Solution. She offers a number of suggestions. If you're interested in continuing to co-sleep, you might want to take a look at Jay Gordon's book called Good Nights. It's the parent's guide to the family bed. Dr. Sears also has a lot of information regarding sleep in general. Most libraries have these books.

In the end, you should do whatever gets everyone to sleep. As I mentioned before, my son didn't like his crib. I went to my ob for one of my later appts and mentioned somewhat sheepishly that ds was in bed w/us in the cosleeper. My ob (a woman with 3 boys) said to me, "yeah, my 3rd son was like that. He coslept with us and it worked out great. Look, whatever it takes to get some sleep." She was right too. It's nobody's business but you and your dh and dc's where everyone sleeps.