If you did co-sleeping, how did you transition them out of your bed?

I co-slept with all three of my kids. The second and third pretty much transitioned into their own beds before they were two years old. The oldest not so much. When he was around three I started putting him down in his own bed. For a long time after that he would join us in our bed pretty much every night. We did the whole bedtime routine every evening, but I made the mistake of waiting until he fell asleep to leave his room, then when he woke up he wondered where I was and headed on down the hall to my room. Every night I left his room sooner until eventually he was awake when I made my exit. He transitioned into the a bunk bed and the whole process took a good year or so.

I must admit that for the next couple of years he returned to our bed at least a couple of times a week until I put my foot down and sent him back to bed every time he tried to climb in. Up to that point it was easier just to let him get in rather than lose my beauty sleep.

I am happy to report that at 14 he falls asleep on his own every night and has not come to my bed for years and years!

My mom didn’t get me out of her bed until she married my step-father when I was almost 4. I remember it being a huge adjustment and I would constantly sneak out into her room because I was scared to sleep alone.

I have no plans to co-sleep with my kids when I have them. No need to break a habit when you never started one in the first place.

We read this book.
“Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child”. We followed it to the letter. Sleep has never been an issue for us.

^^ Best. Sleep. Book. Ever. As far as I am concerned Marc Weissbluth is a genius.

With my own two sons, it helped that I moved into a new apartment when each one was around three years old, and I made it a point to say how proud they would be to have their own bed and own room. It worked real well.

With my first set of grandkids, they slept with each other when they were little, not with me.

With my youngest grandkids, it’s harder. They are 4 and 5 now and they go to bed in their own beds in their own room at my house, but end up in bed with us.

@SuperMouse My daughter is 12 and she still goes to bed on time without fuss. I owe it all to that book.

Yep, I second (or third?) the “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child” recommendation and also we liked some aspects of the Ferber methods. (Not the total “cry-it-out” style..but he has some good thoughts.)

Our oldest (my step-daughter) was born with chemical dependency issues because of her bio-mom—so nothing from our experiences with her disordered sleeping and physical issues would be relevant unless you have a baby that shakes as if she is suffering from severe Parkinsons and cannot sleep for more than 15 minutes at a stretch. If so, god help you, and PM me.

It was far simpler for our two other children. They co-slept until about 3~6 months (as soon as they were able to sleep for more than a few hours without needing to breastfeed). Then we started a bedtime routine (bath, book reading in the rocking chair, one more nursing session, then to bed in their crib) at about 6 months. If they woke in the night, they’d come into the bed (or rocking chair to be fed) and we weren’t sticklers for putting them back in their own bed at 3am or 4am..but they both managed to learn to fall asleep and go back to sleep on their own by about 12 months or sooner. Both were champion sleepers (12–14 hours each night, a good 2~3 hour nap each day) by their 1st birthday..and to this day they both like going to sleep in their own beds and will routinely sleep 12 hours (if they don’t have to set an alarm or get up at a set time).

Both were transitioned to toddler beds once they started climbing in their cribs (to prevent falls) just about age 2. And by age 3 or 4 they both had graduated to regular beds of their choosing (a loft bed for one, the other has a regular twin-size bed).

Thanks, everybody!