My 8 Month Old Wont Sleep in Her Own Bed

My son was ill and I kept him in our bed to check his tempature because we would have to get him to the hospital quick if he had one. My daughter though no illness, slept in our bed when my husband would go to work very early in the morning and I would breast feed her and hold her and we would sleep some more. She still occasionally came into bed after my husband goes to work if she was cold. I think it is a great thing and they do grow out of it. It makes them more secure and confident. Check this out
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8636950.stm
I don't know what people are thinking that do not hold and rock and spend time touching their babies. That is what mothers do. And it helps have smarter kids. We need to get back to the basics.The time if fleeting with them. Love them while you have them.

I have a 9 month old son, exclusively breastfed and slept in our bed for 8 months. Transitioning to the crib is not easy - but you can do it. I started out with naps - my son would be almost asleep, then I would lay him in the crib and lean over it - so he could still touch me. I patted his bottom for a couple of minutes and when I could hear heavy breathing, I stopped. He would wake up sometimes - and I am not a fan of Cry it Out - so I would rescue him. This took about 3 weeks. 2 weeks ago, we started him in the crib at night. I would breastfeed, then rock him almost asleep and place him in the crib. He wakes up once in the middle of the night for comfort nursing, and I give in, but otherwise he sleeps anywhere from 4-7 hoursat a time in the crib and is doing very well. I have also noticed that he is happier in the morning, as is my husband!

Good luck to you!

I never stressed much about babies in our bed. The time goes by very quickly and until my girls were about a year they would end up in our bed most nights. What kept us sane was that they didn't start out there. I made a point to put them down in their crib everynight and for naps. As they started sleeping longer during that first stretch they spent more time in the crib until they were sleeping through the night at around a year. If they woke in the night depending on how exhausted I was I would try to nurse them and put them back in the crib but many nights I just brought them in bed with us, it's just easier. Neither of my girls became "addicted" and we always had adult time between their bedtime and that first waking. I would start putting her down in her crib every chance you get. you don't have to CIO right now just start her off in her own crib and try putting her down for naps there too. It will take a little time to create a new normal for her but babies are pretty flexible and they love routine. Once her crib is her routine she'll be more likely to accept it. Good for you for breastfeeding and don't give that baby formula or let her take a bottle to bed, your sister means well but that's not the best advice! Kari

First of all, good for you for continuing to breastfeed. And second, there's nothing wrong with co-sleeping. You just need to make a couple of adjustments.

What is "her" bed? Is it a toddler bed or a crib? Can she get out? We put our sons to bed in their crib, then when they woke up for the first feeding we brought each to our bed for the rest of the night. This first part of the night you can make a point of having your "alone time" with your spouse.

Know that a breast-fed child will take longer to "sleep through the night" because their food is so perfect for their digestion that they digest it quickly. This is okay, just something to know.

Get a bed rail for your side of the bed. (It took some looking, but I finally found one that would fit our size bed.) Put your daughter between you and the bed rail, so that she can't kick your husband anymore and she also won't fall off the bed.

After the crib, we had a futon mattress on the floor for the boys' room. (They're 18 months apart.) They could then travel to our bed by themselves, and I just had to make room and go back to sleep while feeding.

The older one weaned himself at 17 months, and the younger I had to ween at 3 years (he would have kept going, lol, but *I* was done). I would have died of sleep-deprivation if we hadn't been co-sleeping!

So much good luck to you!

BTW, a great book is "The No-cry Sleep Solution" by E. Pantley. I recommend it highly.

You're just going to have to suck it up and put your baby in her own bed. She won't like it at first, but she can get used to it.
I got my kids used to their cribs since birth and when they did come into my bed if they were sick or the power went out or there was a storm, they were still fine with going right back to their own beds when it was over.
When your baby kicks your husband out of bed, it's time to transition.
You will put up with crying.
You will have to get up and go in her room to nurse her and put her back to bed in her crib.
But, she will get the hang of it and it will be easier on you in the long run if you do it now.

Best wishes!

I haven't gotten to the eight month old mark, yet. My youngest daughter is almost 12 weeks. She spent 8 days in the NICU. My husband and I haven't slept in the bed together, since she's been home.

Currently, we do the No No thing of sleeping on the sofa with her. Luckily, we have a larger sofa. She just wants to feel like someone is there. My husband had me buy this thing from Babies R Us, called a Nap Nanny. Personally, I thought that it was really not worth the money. But I know that I'm just starting this, but she's actually slept for three nights in a row in it. Check it out and see if it works for you. But you can't have it in your bed, because it's too big. Or, you could try this little sleeper. I don't know the actually name of it, but it's sold at Target and Babies R Us. You can put it in between you and your husband. The top part of it is plastic, so you don't roll over on your baby. I don't know what the age limit on it is, unfortunately. We used that for our oldest daughter, before she started sleeping in her crib.

Check out this article online:
http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html
It was really helpful to us when we transitioned our son out of our bed.
Good luck & don't beat yourself up - the little one has had a great start bonding with you!

I breast fed for 5 months, my daughter never slept with us and I never put her to bed with a bottle.
Unfortunately, you are gonna just have to move her, deal with her discomfort for a few weeks, but she will eventually get used to the change. You are the mommy, you are in charge and you are the one to teach her boundaries. Be consistent! I would start her naps in her bed if she isn't there already and then start her overnighter in her bed immediately. I hear keeping your children in your bed for long term can be very detrimental to your marriage and their sense of self and security.

That's what got my daughter out of our bed...fortunately she was only 2-3 months...but I couldn't stand having her in our bed...and I know some people say they grow up so fast, just let 'em...etc., etc...but I have an extremely hard time sleeping with them in the bed. It was hard...but once she was out of our bed...she started sleeping through the night quite a bit and it was pure heaven! I also breastfed...but I have found with my kids, once they hit around 12-14 pounds...they have the weight to start pulling close to 8 hours nights...if not more. It took a couple nights where she cried for 5 minutes...but not bad. When we moved when she was 8 months old...she also started waking up at night and I started bringing her in bed with us again (stupid me...) All it took was a few nights to start what she probably thought was a great habit. Because she was older...it was much harder...but, we warned our neighbors and did it anyway. She cried longer...but once they get it that you're not gonna cave...it's not worth their time either. I've heard there are other things you can try other than crying it out...call me cruel, but I've let all of ours cry it out (at the time, I didn't really think of other options...that's what my mom did to us as kids...*shrug*)...and you will probably be excruciatingly exhausted for a few days...but...I would harder time having them in bed with me. Sometimes the younger ones will come in bed with us now...maybe 15 minutes before we have to wake up...that gives me my 'cuddle with kids' fix...I personally don't need it to be all night :).

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