family bed

[Guest guest]

Since so many of you seem to be doing this I have some questions. slept

with us all night for about the first 7 months and then we gradually moved her

into her crib. We would put her down in her crib and then go get her when she

woke up until eventually she slept through the night in her crib. The reason we

moved her is that she became quite a kicker and thrasher and no one was getting

any sleep. That went fine for several months with only a couple of set backs.

Then we moved her to a mattress on the floor because she would roll around so

much during the night that she would actually move her crib and her legs would

be sticking out the slats and she just seemed uncomfortable. She loved the

mattress at first and we would go lay next to her and read or sing and then she

would fall asleep on her own. I liked it too. But after a few months she

wouldn't stay down and would come out and never go to sleep so we put her back

in the crib and she was happy and slept well for a while. Then we moved. She

did fine at first and really seemed to adjust well. But now she just won't go

to sleep on her own. Not even for naps which wee never a problem before. So we

hold her until she is asleep and then we try to put her down but about half the

time she wakes up and we have to start all over again. Then it gets late and

she comes to bed with us. I don't mind her sleeping with us except she is kind

of a space hog and turns horizontal, taking up half the bed. Being pregnant I

need all the room I can get. I'm just getting frustrated because my husband and

I have no time alone together. And I have no time alone. Sometimes I would

like to lie down on the couch and read without someone using me as a trampoline.

It really isn't the sleeping with us that I mind, its that I feel like I am

letting her be the boss by staying up with us even though she is tired. How do

some of you handle bed time with toddlers, especially with the family bed? Am I

just being selfish? I also m thinking about when this baby is born how will we

all fit in the bed? She seems to go through lots of phases with her sleep

patterns. Should I just wait it out and let her stay up with us if that's what

she needs/wants? I'm just at a loss for what to do and everyone makes us feel

like the whole problem is that we let her in our bed at all. But we can't let

her cry. We've done it in the past when nothing else worked but now she gets

hysterical and jumps up and down and throws herself around in her crib.

Alright, enough rambling, but I would really appreciate some advice. She's 17

months old and no longer nursing (since 11 months).

Blithe