1. What age(s) are the kids that you co-sleep with?
From birth to 3 and half years. My husband has been 'hinting' that he wants his bed back with his wife.
2. How do you get them to sleep? Do they fall asleep somewhere else and you move them to your bed?
Sometimes he falls asleep on his own and I carry him to bed OR we go to bed together and he falls asleep on his own . . . sometimes with 20 minutes of 'XX go to sleep', 'we'll talk about that tomorrow, go to sleep', etc. ~ other times, he's out like a light!
3. Do you put them into your bed awake and they fall asleep on their own?
Yes
4. How do the kids who co-sleep at night handle daytime naps? Do you have to lie down with them? Where do they nap?
IF he takes a nap, he might fall asleep on the couch and I'll move him to his bedroom ~ but naps are pretty much a thing of the past now.
5. Have do you handle having to leave your kids with someone for an overnight situation?
Never left him overnight . . . but he did take a nap while my dad was watching him. Fell asleep in my dad's arms and he just carried him to his bed. I asked my dad when I got home, 'Where is XX?' He said, 'Oh, I haven't seen him for a couple hours, was I supposed to be watching him?'
6. Do you have problems with the child waking up when you get up to use the bathroom, or one parent has to go to work much earlier then the other?
Our situation is a bit different, as my son's (not for use) 'bedroom' is downstairs while ours is upstairs. (We didn't plan on having a child when we built the house.) I couldn't stand the thought of him being downstairs even with a baby monitor. Anyway, when my husband gets up in the morning to get ready for work, I carry XX downstairs to his bed in his bedroom, as our bathroom is all part of our master bedroom and the light and noise of getting ready for work would wake him. He continues sleeping in his bed downstairs . . . when he wakes up in that bed, it's no big deal to him, he's used to it.
We bought a bunk bed for his bedroom to get him used to the idea of sleeping in his own bed around the age of 3. We mostly just used it for naps during the day. Most recently, we removed the top bunk from the bunk bed and moved it upstairs to our bedroom where he now sleeps. I too love to 'cuddle' with him and I think it was harder on me when he moved to his own bed. The transition was smooth . . . no problem, 'Good night Mama' Wow! He does still ask (once or twice a week) to sleep 'in the big bed' with us, but I have had to stay firm in telling him 'no', as I don't want to start a new habit now that he is sleeping in his own bed. The next step is having him sleep in his own bedroom instead of ours. That won't be for a while yet . . . I don't think he'll 'go for that' and I'm not so sure I can handle him being downstairs 'alone'
He'll be 4 in May.
Also, I think part of our 'smooth transition' to the 'big boy bed' was plenty of warning . . . little comments for about a month ~ 'Pretty soon you'll be sleeping in your own bed, like a big boy' etc.
Note: I get my 'cuddle' in the morning when he first wakes up, we 'cuddle' (snuggle, tickle and giggle) and 'talk' for about 10 minutes before he gets out of bed. It's our special little tradition and I'm cherishing every moment of it, as time moves so quickly and soon he won't want to 'cuddle with Mama'.
[quote] Thanks so much for everyone's input!!
Hope this helped.