# How old are the children in your bed?



## ButtercupKara (Dec 6, 2003)

My son will be 4 in less then a month. He still sleeps with me. He has a toddler bed in the room but he does not really use it. I don't mind him sleeping in my bed but some days I wonder if he will ever sleep on his own.

How old are the children in your bed? Or how old was your child when they slept on their own?


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## thismama (Mar 3, 2004)

Mine is almost 4. At this point she has no desire to sleep in her own bed. I'm just sorta going with it...


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## chicagomom (Dec 24, 2002)

Ours are 7.5 and 4.5. We do "family bed" a couple of times a week: one parent sleeps w/the other two in mom n dads' bed and the other sleeps in the kids' room. Fridays are "movie night/FB night". The 4.5 yo would do FB every night if she were the sole decision-maker on the matter









I've found that this last week the 7.5 yo has been esp looking forward to FB; I think bec it's his first full week of 2nd grade and things are new and that's always a bit of a stress.

They do leave the family bed. But not all do it at the same time. At 3 dd was excited to have her own bed, but now she really likes FB. We also just "go with it."


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## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

9, 7, 5, and 17 months.


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## Elastagirl (May 24, 2005)

4.5 and 2, both starting out in their own beds and then crawling in at 4AM or later. Sometimes, I just guide our 4-year-old back to his own bed (in our room) if I need more space, and that usually works, since he's still half asleep! Of course, a lot of times I'm too tired, so I let him come on in. I like the warmth and cuddling with us all together!


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## rumi (Mar 29, 2004)

Ours is 4. havent thought much about moving her. Inertia, I guess.


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## tammyswanson (Feb 19, 2007)

Our DS is 5 weeks.


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## loriforeman (Aug 18, 2007)

rae's four. she doesn't have her own bed...and we're not ready to get her one.

caitlyn's eleven, and would sleep with me every night if i let her. i can't...she likes to lie sideways, and i end up only getting a tiny bit of sleep, which affects my work.

she's allowed in two or three nights a week, usually; more if necessary.

jordan's nine and has NEVER slept with me. flat-out refuses. she'll sleep in my bed and then get out when i come to bed.


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## eclipse (Mar 13, 2003)

23 months. My older two share another room, and sometimes end up sibling cosleeping. My oldest slept with us until he was about 3 1/2 and my middle until she was about 3 and decided she wanted to move in with DS.


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## Eben'sMama (Jun 29, 2006)

DS1 will be 17 months next week, and DS2 is 5 weeks today







.


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## JamieBrewHa (Jul 2, 2007)

...


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## D_McG (Jun 12, 2006)

DS is 15 mos and nowhere near ready to sleep alone. We are TTC and I thought we'd 'market' his own room to him in a couple of months but DH wants him to stay with us.... on his side I guess.. if/when we have a newborn. I'm delighted. I don't know why I assumed we'd have to move him out.


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## madhavi (Jul 2, 2006)

my dh snores so when dd was born he had his own room and i slept with dd until she was 2.5 and my ds was born. now she sleeps with dh, she'll be 3 in oct. and my ds who is 6months sleeps with me.
just so you know, my parents coslept with me, we had a one bedroom for a long time. when we finally had a bigger house, i had my own room but didnt' always sleep in it. when i was 13 my little brother was born and then i officially moved out of my moms bed. only b/c the baby would wake me up.
my brother is now 14 and still comes into my parents bed once a month or so.
it never ends!!!








oh, my brother also nursed till 6yrs old too.


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## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

6


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## Adele_Mommy (Jun 28, 2007)

My dd is 7 and sleeps in our bed part-time. She starts the night in her own bed and then comes over to ours sometime during the night. When she comes over varies from before we go to sleep to only coming over for snuggling in the morning. Most nights I don't know when she comes over because I am asleep, but she is there when I wake up. Occasionally I worry about when she will stop wanting to co-sleep, but all of us get a good, restful night sleep, so this is working for us for now. I assume when she is ready there will be more and more nights where she doesn't come over until morning until eventually she just stops co-sleeping on her own.


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## AmyRoo (Jun 26, 2005)

Right now, our 23 month old is in his own bed. We trial-ran it recently since we have a new bub coming and little space, and he LOVED it. But in a couple of months, it will be back to me, SO, and a tiny one







. Atticus (our older one) is always welcome, though.


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## Kristy555 (Apr 30, 2006)

Our son is 35 months old and has been in our bed since birth. I don't see him moving out anytime soon. He loves the family bed and so do we.

Kristy
SAHM to Rebecca (13) and David (2)


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## tsume (Jun 4, 2005)

almost 6, 4 and 15 months

dh is in the main bed and I am in the kids bed (which is in the living room since we are doing stuff to the kids room. :cross fingers: it gets completed this week).

They all start out with dad in the main bed. When I go to bed I will move the almost 6 year old to the kids bed (at his request). When the 15 month old wants to nurse then dh brings her to me. That's usually around the time dh wakes in the morning anyway.

The 4 year old likes to sleep on her own - on the couch or in the fort. Our almost 6 has no desire to sleep by himself. He says its too scary for him.

I do wonder if his first days has anything to do with that. He went to the NICU right after he was born and we were separated for 5 days. He also has a tough time with lights and loud noises or certain pitch. I wonder if the machines beeping and constant bright lights in the NICU have anything to do with that.

Very long and drawn out answer. sorry.


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## 4Marmalade (May 4, 2004)

Ds will be 5 in Nov. and dd is 27 months. Both usually start the night in their own beds but they gravitate towards ours at around midnight. Dd usually asks to go back to her bed around 4-5am but usually requests my company


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## joeysmom1729 (Sep 12, 2006)

My ds is 17 months.


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## Kailey's mom (Apr 19, 2007)

my dd is 15months.

I do have to tell you thought, I slept in my mom's bed until I ummm....moved out


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## ~PurityLake~ (Jul 31, 2005)

A is 27 months old.
S is 12 months old.


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## LotusBirthMama (Jun 25, 2005)

DS2 is 6 months and DD is 4. She starts out in her own room but usually ends up with us at some point.


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## alaskaberry (Dec 29, 2006)

ds is 16m, and dp sleeps on the couch. if he wasn't such a baby and didn't insist on sleeping near the wall instead of the edge so he could get up without disturbing us...well if only we had a bigger bed! life would be easier!


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## tanya1976 (Apr 12, 2007)

1 month old!!!


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## SamuraiMom (Nov 7, 2006)

9, 4.5, and 3. But DS/4.5 has been sleeping on the couch with daddy all summer, it's cooler in the living room. And the two little one would sleep in their own beds. but I like having them with me. DD/9, does NOT like to sleep by herself, I keep telling myself that she won't want to be there forever! Now, when baby come's I'm not sure what we'll do the kids joke about getting rid of our king sized bed and just covering the floor with mattresses!


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## AngieB (Oct 25, 2003)

We always have a 5 month old and a almost 3 year old in our bed. We most nights have a almost 7 year old and ever once in a while we get a almost 9 year old.


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## vermonttaylors (May 17, 2005)

DS is 3 and 8 months
DD is 2 and 9 months

I don't see them going anywhere soon.


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## lolar2 (Nov 8, 2005)

When new babies are born, do they wake the older kids up?


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## AngieB (Oct 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lolar2* 
When new babies are born, do they wake the older kids up?

No, one of the great things about co-sleeping is that you can get to the baby right away a nurse them before they have to cry.


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## lolar2 (Nov 8, 2005)

But if you can't nurse? It takes me up to 45 seconds to prepare a bottle at night, and DS is screaming his head off for 42 of those seconds. Does that mean that if the next one (probably in 2 years) can't bf either, DS should stop co-sleeping so he isn't awakened?


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## ZanZansMommy (Nov 8, 2003)

DD is 4
DS is 22 months


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## AngieB (Oct 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lolar2* 
But if you can't nurse? It takes me up to 45 seconds to prepare a bottle at night, and DS is screaming his head off for 42 of those seconds. Does that mean that if the next one (probably in 2 years) can't bf either, DS should stop co-sleeping so he isn't awakened?

Is there a way to prepare the bottle ahead of time and have it ready by the bed? It seems like I've seen bottle warmers that plug in. Maybe you could keep it by the bed. You still can pick up on baby cues before she/he starts crying and have the bottle ready. Or if having the bottle ready wont work when you can tell baby is about to wake up and need a bottle take him with you to get the bottle ready so he is not in the room with big brother.


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## lolar2 (Nov 8, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AngieB* 
You still can pick up on baby cues before she/he starts crying and have the bottle ready.

























People keep saying this but, as above, DS only gives 3 seconds' worth of cues when he is hungry at night. I thought it might just be that I sleep too soundly, but I watched him a few times while I was awake and he was asleep-- sure enough, the earsplitting screams begin at the 3-second mark after he starts to root. Those bedside bottle warmers take a minimum of 3 MINUTES to warm the bottle! (Keeping a bottle in them for more than 15 minutes will give the baby food poisoning.) I keep water and powder at bedside and throw it together as fast as I can.

Anyway, that's a tangent. I just always find the idea of "picking up on baby cues and getting a bottle ready before the crying" to be pretty impossible. If he were able to bf, I don't think I could even get boob to mouth that quickly.


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## pia (Jul 28, 2003)

My ds will be 9 at the end of the month. I don´t see him moving out of the family bed anytime soon.


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## tsume (Jun 4, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lolar2* 
But if you can't nurse? It takes me up to 45 seconds to prepare a bottle at night, and DS is screaming his head off for 42 of those seconds. Does that mean that if the next one (probably in 2 years) can't bf either, DS should stop co-sleeping so he isn't awakened?

Our kids have never woken up their siblings with crying. Our oldest had night terrors and our middle didn't stir. It seems they have taken after dh in that regard.







:


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## lachingona1 (May 16, 2007)

3 y/o and a 5 week old


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## Irish (Jun 3, 2007)

7 months with a long way to go yet and my 11 year old DD climbs in for a snuggle for about an hour every morning. She started in her own bed at 4 and would sometimes stay there the whole night and others would climb in with us - we've always had an open door policy. She is a human propeller and until she moved to her own room woke every two hours at night - we were definitely ready for the space and she wound up sleeping much better.

My sister and I slept together from the time she was 3 (I was 8) until we were 13 and 18.

Do whatever works best for your LO and don't worry about any preconceived notions of the 'right' time - it's different for everyone.


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## xiri (Jun 22, 2006)

I'm a chronic lurker, but wanted to chime in. My kids aren't exclusive cosleepers anymore. Ds 1 moved into crib @ 4 mos. He just slept better there. Kind of broke my heart. Ds 2 moved into bed with his brother several months ago by his own choice. However, both boys end up in bed with us at 5 out of 7 nights. The 4 yr old has nightmares and the 2 year old just misses Mama and Papa. My bed is always open to my children no matter how old or how often. I love laying there with all 3 of the most important people in my world within arms reach. I can hear them breathing and know they are ok, safe and content.

When I was a child I suffered from terrible nightmares. I would wake up almost every night and my father refused to let me into their bed. I lay there crying all alone, terrified. I was 25 years old and in therapy before I could go to the bathroom by myself at night. That is why I am so firm on the issue of the family bed. My husband knows better than to suggest otherwise. When baby # 3 arrives we may have to put our king size mattress on the floor and add a twin to accomodate all 3. I can't wait.


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## daisyrock1 (Mar 14, 2007)

DD1 is 4.5 and DD2 just turned 3, we only have a queen bed and a small room so they sleep with DH in that bed and I sleep with DS (4.5mos) in DD1's room in her full size bed. DD2 has night terrors, we got the full size bed for the girls to share but it didn't work out.....she has to have mommy or daddy, when we move we'll have a king size but I don't know if it will be big enough!


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## Glover_Girls (Mar 20, 2006)

DD is 5 years old. I've sort of started hinting around when she'd like to sleep in her own room. She wanted to start when she turned 5 but is now saying after she's been 5 for a while. With kindergarten starting now I'm not going to push her as she's already dealing with something new. I love sleeping with her but kind of want some personal space back (feeling sort of guilty about that too). She's a bit of a bed hog, kicks me all night, and I usually end up on the very edge of the mattress. I have no intentions of forcing out as I expect she'll move out when she's ready and really I just want to enjoy this time while I can as it goes by so fast and eventually she'll want her own private space.


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## becoming (Apr 11, 2003)

Now we just have our 7-week-old in bed with us, but our almost 6-year-old slept in our bed until he was almost 5 and still does occasionally. Our DD, who is almost 2, has never slept with us because she needs her own space at night.


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## jadasmom (Mar 21, 2007)

Our little precious is 26 mos. and will ONLY sleep with us!!!


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## letniaLynne (Jun 2, 2006)

18mths and showing no sign of moving out just yet







:


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## linguistmama (Sep 25, 2006)

DD is almost 2 1/2 and still with us all night. I'm due right about when she will be 3 and I think she'll probably stay with us. She still really needs to be with us and its nice to have her close and be together as a family. I don't mind if she stays in our bed for a long time if we can all get enough sleep. We have plenty of space so its going great right now. I only worry somewhat about she and the baby waking each other up


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## wombatclay (Sep 4, 2005)

2.5yo and 3mo.

2.5yo dd has an IKEA toddler bed pushed against the adult queen-sized bed. She moves back and forth between the two, but is spending more of the night on the toddler bed. I'd love for her to feel secure in her own space so dd2 can join her when dd2 gets older (12mo-18mo maybe?). I love co-sleeping and will mourn it when it's not every night, but I think I'll enjoy having more space!


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## Bellejar (Oct 2, 2005)

My husband asked my 3 1/2 year old when she would start sleeping on her own and she thought about it, then said "When I am 11 daddy." I hope she decides to sleep on her own before then!

Mine are 3 1/2 and 2. Some nights they start in their own beds and then end up in our by like 3 or 4 generally. Some nights they just start out with us. Especially if DH is working late and I am doing bedtime by myself. I am all excited because we finally after 3 years of co-sleeping bought a King sized bed!!! We think child number three would end up on the floor otherwise.


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