by Elizabeth Jensen

Created on: May 06, 2007   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

If you are like me, it was just too hard to put your baby in their crib at night. And for those who breastfed their babies, putting them in your bed next to you was just way too easy for those middle-of-the-night feedings. Now your baby isn't such a little baby anymore and is kicking YOU out of the bed. What do you do? How do you get your little one to sleep in his or her own bed?

There are many different methods, so choose one that works for you. Or take ideas from several of them and create your own.

We tried several different methods ourselves. When she was about three months old, we tried putting our daughter in her crib and just letting her cry. After about twenty minutes, I couldn't take it anymore and grabbed her up to sleep with me. But I did try it again the next night and the night after that. On the fourth night, she actually did sleep in her crib for part of the night. Getting her back to sleep after the 2 am feeding was impossible, so back to our bed she went.

The next week, we tried camping out in her room, sleeping on the floor with one arm through the crib rail. She just cried to be with us. But after about three nights, she actually fell asleep and stayed asleep until feeding time. And amazingly, I was able to rock her back to sleep and put her back in her crib.

But then, when she was about a year old, we had to move and it completely disrupted her sleeping routine. It was a new environment and a new schedule. She wanted to be close to us. We didn't want her to get used to sleeping in our bed again, so we decided to put her mattress on our floor at the foot of the bed. It worked! She slept there, comfortably and through the night. Then at age two, it was time to introduce the toddler bed. She was already used to the mattress that went on it, so that was an easy transition. We gradually moved the bed further and further away from ours and into her own room. That was a little hard to maneuver around at times, but it was important for her to make a comfortable adjustment.

And that is the key: make the transition as comfortable as possible. Your child just wants to be near you because they love you. Try to keep that in mind and don't make them feel like you are pushing them away. It is so hard for them to understand that it's just for the night and you just want some sleep!

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth Jensen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.