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Good Night Sleep Tight
Hello Dr. Markel,
My question to you is with regards to bed-sharing and my 2 and a half year old daughter.
Our daughter up until the age of 9months was sleeping with us in bed. However, around that time, once I weaned her form night time feedings, she began to sleep in her own bed/room after we implemented the techniques of "good night sleep tight". Personally, I was very exhausted, our daughter was not getting much sleep with us and we felt it was best for all of us.
She was sleeping much better up until the last several months. Our travel schedule has picked up quite a bit (every month or two). Therefore, she is usually sharing a bed with us while we are on our trips. upon our return home, she starts off the night in her own bed, but makes her way over either after a couple hours of sleep in her room, or sometimes after almost 3/4 a nights sleep.
However, now I am 5 months pregnant. Our daughter is a very very active sleeper (she takes the bed 360 several times a night:)) and both father and I are taller people (our queen size bed is starting to feel like a very small double). I'll often wake up with scratches on my face, elbow in my eye, foot in my stomach and that's after I have personally waken up 4 to 5 times throughout the night due to the activity of our daughter.
I am torn, I really am. I am sleep deprived, but at the same time, I just dont have the energy to sleep trian my daughter again according to the sleep tight rules. I dont know if this is normal, if I should just deal with it and eventually she'll grow out of it, or if we should be trying to implement some type of rule? We have tried bringing in a mattress in the bedroom and having her sleep on it, as opposed to sleeping with us in the bed, that has failed on many accounts!
I would appreciate any advice/recommendations you can give and would love to hear some words of encouragment:)
Thank you for your time,
Sincerely,
Exhausted Mommy
My question to you is with regards to bed-sharing and my 2 and a half year old daughter.
Our daughter up until the age of 9months was sleeping with us in bed. However, around that time, once I weaned her form night time feedings, she began to sleep in her own bed/room after we implemented the techniques of "good night sleep tight". Personally, I was very exhausted, our daughter was not getting much sleep with us and we felt it was best for all of us.
She was sleeping much better up until the last several months. Our travel schedule has picked up quite a bit (every month or two). Therefore, she is usually sharing a bed with us while we are on our trips. upon our return home, she starts off the night in her own bed, but makes her way over either after a couple hours of sleep in her room, or sometimes after almost 3/4 a nights sleep.
However, now I am 5 months pregnant. Our daughter is a very very active sleeper (she takes the bed 360 several times a night:)) and both father and I are taller people (our queen size bed is starting to feel like a very small double). I'll often wake up with scratches on my face, elbow in my eye, foot in my stomach and that's after I have personally waken up 4 to 5 times throughout the night due to the activity of our daughter.
I am torn, I really am. I am sleep deprived, but at the same time, I just dont have the energy to sleep trian my daughter again according to the sleep tight rules. I dont know if this is normal, if I should just deal with it and eventually she'll grow out of it, or if we should be trying to implement some type of rule? We have tried bringing in a mattress in the bedroom and having her sleep on it, as opposed to sleeping with us in the bed, that has failed on many accounts!
I would appreciate any advice/recommendations you can give and would love to hear some words of encouragment:)
Thank you for your time,
Sincerely,
Exhausted Mommy
Dear Exhausted Mommy,
It sounds as if circumstances in your case make it imperative that the child learn to sleep without having you next to her in bed. Because she is old enough to understand what you are saying, you will have to tell her, firmly but consistently, that it is time for her to sleep in her own area.
Some other suggestions:
Give her a choice so that she feels as if she has control: Do you want to sleep here (on the floor on a mattress in Mommy's room) or here (in your own room)?
Encourage her to have a transitional object: a security blanket or stuffed animal. You must give her that lovey consistently, every time she needs comforting, and every time she goes to bed. Eventually, the security object is a substitute for the mother's presence as the child moves toward independence.
Good luck.
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