Getting My 2 Yr Old to Sllep in His Crib.

Here are a couple of ideas. You could use a bed (e.g., twin or toddler) or take 1 side off the crib (that's what we did) and then lie next to him and let him fall asleep the same way you do naps. I do this with my 2 year old daughter. We reinforced the springs on the crib with a board; since you're pregnant you may prefer to use a twin with bed rails.

You can also lay a mattress next to your bed, or put his bed in your room. When he wakes and cries you can explain that he can come find you and lie in that bed.

He probably doesn't want to be alone. My daughter loves being able to get in and out of her crib on her own- she doesn't feel so abandoned, I think. I don't mind her coming in to get me in the middle of the night- she usually sleeps about 6 hours and then comes in to our room. If it's too early, my husband will take her back to her room and lie with her.

You could also get a bigger bed for the whole family. =) This is what my husband wants to do! Lots of people have a family bed, and include everyone in the bed with the new baby.

For night time wakings, my husband took over getting her back to bed. Does your son cry with your husband? Perhaps your husband could lie next to him and help gradually get him more used to falling asleep with someone besides mommie. This took about a week or two for us for her to accept him as well as me (she still prefers me but will accept daddy and go to sleep).

I think there are some books, too, that may help- the no-cry-sleep solution and jay gordon's sleep book too.

hope this helps!

Why not get a twin mattress and place it on the floor? That way you can lie down with him until he's asleep, but he's still in his own bed. We had a similar situation with my daughter when she was 1 (minus the new baby congrats!) and we took this approach. We do NOT believe in CIO in our family and this was a way to help her sleep in her own bed without abandoning her to cry alone.

I have lived this dilemma, and I found the simplest solution to be this:
The new baby is not likely to mind sleeping in his/her own crib. If you play your cards right, you could work on transitioning your toddler into his own "Big Brother" digs, while encouraging the new baby to sleep (at least at night) in a crib.
I am all about attachment parenting, and child-led parenting, but you and your husband are not likely to EVER get your own space if you don't teach someone to sleep in their own room.
With a new baby around your toddler is likely to find all sorts of new things to be upset about. Let him keep his spot with mom and dad for now, as it stands, he will eventually get sick of sharing his sleep space with a crying-pooping attention stealer.
My 3 1/2 year old still sleeps in my bed- against my wishes sometimes....And the "new baby" is 2 1/2 and sleeps like an angel, in her own bed. SHe never got into the habit of needing to sleep with mom, even when nursing.
Good luck.

I had the same problem with my son in my bed. I had enough of it and him and I decided to "decorate" his room with posters, and stickers, and printouts to make his room more inviting to sleep in. His dad had a friend that was moving so we inherited a small tv with a vcr attached and a book case for all his books. We have to call him out of his room now cause he is always in there. He doesn't have cable and he only has 3 tapes that we have for him so he isn't glued to the tv. He just loves to be withhis toys and his books and if he wants, a short film. Jason was sleeping in my bed until he was about 3, now he loves his room because its more inviting and fun to be in. Oh yeah, he has a 1 gallon fish tank with a betta (they are very easy) and there are night lights for him. Hope that helps, Good Luck :)

Hi K.,
We started co-sleeping when my son came home from the hospital, three months later we had to divide our time between Imperial County and Orange County. Hence, co-sleeping continued longer than we intended. before he turned a year he was already accustomed to sleeping with us or just sleeping on a regular bed. when our commitments in Orange County were finished we wanted him to sleep in his crib. Ha! He was already accustomed to sleeping in a regular bed so rather than going through all the 'crying it out until he falls asleep' method my husband and I agreed that a regular bed would be fine.
We put a queen size bed in his room and attached safety bed rails from "Leaps and Bounds" or "One Step Ahead" both are the same company.
Once those were attached to his bed we would lay down with him, like he was used to, and within 15 minutes he was sleeping. its now 4 months later Myles is 13 months old and all we have to do is lay him down without us laying with him and he's content to relax himself to sleep.
I agree that letting him cry for long periods of time is hard to deal with. I believe in gentle training.
All my best, M.

I would take this time to transition him to a "big boy" bed with new bedding, not a crib and make a big ta-do of it. He might take it a little better if he's feeling empowered, not rejected from the family bed. This is how we sold it on my son and also, like you, I layed down in the bed with him to get him to sleep except that if he ever needed me there for reassurance, I went back to his bed immediately. Knowing that I would be there if he needed me even though he's not in our bed any more, slowly he has transitioned to calling for me less and less. But if he needs me still, I'm there.

We have a family bed, so my 10 year old, 2 year old, 8 week old, and I all sleep together. We sleep: my oldest, my second oldest, me, and then my new baby, so it is safe for her and the whole family still gets to cuddle. Maybe this can work for you and your family?