babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
Issues! Parenting Helps You Kick the Kid Out
My husband and I shared the bed with all three of our babies. We were fine with it and it worked out just fine, especially during the newborn stage.
But we’ve already kicked our son out — he’s six months old — because after two already, I knew that getting them out when they’re older is hard, just hard.
The June issue of Parenting: The Early Years magazine devised a whole system to help parents reclaim their bed. It’s loaded with ideas that sound great. Yet I know from experience they don’t always work.
Here’s their plan in a nutshell:
Establish a consistent bedtime routine (soooooo tired of this advice, though it’s probably good).
Don’t start the kicking out process if you’re in the middle of big changes (divorce, potty training, etc.)
Start talking about the coming changes first.
Park’em in (their) bed and let them cry it out — OR!
Camp out on the kid’s room …. on the floor. (You’ll do this many, many nights). After a few nights, switch to a chair (no talking!) until the child falls asleep. Then go to your bed. Each night, move the chair closer and closer to the door. Then finally, outside the room.
If all else fails, erect a baby gate. Or buy them off with presents.
Those final two would have sent my daughters over the edge and never worked, respectively.
This camping/chair moving stuff seems soul-sapping. But so is sleeping in bed with your kid when you’re ready for it to be over.
Also in the June issue: “How to Take Your Baby (Almost) Anywhere.” Now this one I totally know — you just take them, anywhere. See? Easy!
What did you do to reclaim your bed? Or are you sticking it out? Or maybe you’re still enjoying co-sleeping with your preschooler?
More Posts
They Say: Good Marriage = Good Sleep (For Women)
Writer’s Divorce Totally Upsetting … For Her Readers
They Say: ‘Juniors’ At Risk for the Crazies
Dads: The New Moms
They Say: C-Section Not Best Route for Breech Birth
Photo: Parenting.com
Go Back To Strollerderby
5 Comments
PlumbLucky commented on Jun 23 09 at 10:23 amThankfully my son has decided that he wants NO part of snoozing in our bed, he wants HIS bed thank you (10 months old, decided this about 4 months ago). Perhaps because we did not give him the 4×4 square of space he desired to roll around and play between us?
GP commented on Jun 23 09 at 12:45 pmEver since moving her out of our bed at about 5 months because she needed too much space and moved around too much, we’ve laid her down on a full size futon on the floor of her own room (crib has been a receptacle for stuffed animals). This is a great set-up for us and I highly recommend it. I still lay down with her to get her to sleep (I know, I know…bad!) and I then leave once she is sleeping. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, I go to her and spend the rest of the night there with her. So, we get the best of both worlds (my husband is not an all-night cuddler). It’s big enough and comfy enough for us both. Eventually, she’ll go to sleep on her own and never wake up in the middle of the night, but for now, this works for us.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jun 23 09 at 3:29 pmI have a one year old and I am so done with co-sleeping. From the time we brought him home from the hospital, hell, even IN the hospital from his very first night, he slept pressed up against me. Problem is, now he’s a whirling ball of legs and arms and kicky feet and big heavy head now. So sleeping sucks.
mumus commented on Jun 23 09 at 5:34 pmDidn’t have a plan when kid no. 2 came home from the hospital and kid no. 1 was still co-sleeping half the night. After a night with all four of us in the queen size bed, we explained to kid 1 that she could now sleep on a mat on the floor in her sleeping bag next to our bed. Somehow, miraculously, she bought into it and, better yet, after a few uncomfortable nights started sleeping in her own bed. Now kid 2 is a year old. She’s getting closer to sleeping through the night in her own bed. If she hasn’t got it down in a year, she’ll be offered the mat.
Manjari commented on Jun 24 09 at 5:46 pmWe basically did the same thing as GP. The twins were in our bed from 6 to 16 months old. Then we moved them to a full size mattress on the floor. One of us would lay down in between them until they fell asleep, and we’d go back in as needed if they woke up. When they were 2, they moved to their own room, each with their own twin mattress on the floor. The transition was much easier than we thought it would be.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
5