Getting DS out of our bed

[satsuma]

If you used to bedshare, how did you go about getting your kid out of your bed and how old were they when you made the move? DS is 5 months and is rolling over, hitting me, and seeking out my nipple (what feels like) all night long. For his safety and my sanity we need to get him out of our bed, but so far he wakes up every half hour if someone isn't next to him.

[Deleted]

I'm not a lot of help there - I waited until his bedtime had crept earlier, and then he started the night in his crib and I started in my bed and we played it by ear from there. Slowly, I started putting him back in his crib rather than in bed with me after nursing at night.

Does he want to be up against you, or would he tolerate being in a sidecarred crib? That might work to help the transition but give you more space. It will probably be a few hard nights of transition no matter how you change it; you could also consider more Ferber-esque sleep training if you like.

[satsuma]

He used to sleep in the mini ARCS next to our bed before we brought him into our bed while on vacation. He got used to that and has never left even when we got home. We attempted it the first night back and he woke up so often we just gave up. In hindsight, I should have kept at it. He's outgrown the cosleeper, but maybe we'll have room for the crib. It is nice having him close by so that when he does want to nurse, he doesn't have to fully wake up. We may eventually end up using Ferber, but I'm not ready for that yet. You tried it, right? Somewhat successfully at first and then not so much the second time?

[Deleted]

Ferber got DS to go to sleep on his own, in his crib, within about 4 nights. It was just an epic fail for any night wakings. DS will cry for over an hour (yes, with checks), and then I inevitably cave because I want to go to sleep. We've had ups and downs with the frequency of wakings, and in the worst spots he was up every 45-90 min all night long. Thank God I wasn't working then, and had a MIL that would come over for a couple hours in the morning so I could sleep a bit more.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm unqualified to give sleep advice, but you have my sympathy/empathy.

[satsuma]

LOL, thanks. I can definitely see my kid crying for that long. He sometimes does that even when we're holding him and trying to get him to sleep. Fortunately that's rare and only when we've missed his sleep window.