[kimchee67]

So, I'm thinking that it is time for Scarlet to get out of my bed and into her own bed. She sometimes starts the night in her bed, and lasts a couple of hours before waking up screaming for me. She usually needs me right next to her in order to stay asleep through the night. She also is still using a bottle that I want to stop. We switched from a milk bottle to water bottle about 6 months ago to try to stop it but now she's just hooked on a water bottle. She drinks a ton of water throughout the night, and I have to get up in the night to refill it. She also is starting to cough and choke in the night, and I think its related to drinking the water. The last two mornings she's coughed so much that she's thrown up in the bed.
So, any advice on getting Scarlet into her own bed? Stopping the bottle? Do I do them both at once? One first, then the other?
Any help is appreciated! TIA!

[MissyChrissy]

Ugh-I'm right there with ya. Conner likes his nightly bottle and sleeping with us. I'd suggest cutting one out first. Taking both comforts away with just make her feel insecure---at least, that's what I'd be afraid of. It sounds like her belly might be getting too full with water, so I might try that first...although if she's anything like Conner that might be the more difficult habit to break.

I guess I'd try sleeping with her, but taking the bottle away as she's dozing off. Maybe hold her in close to you. After she's able to sleep through the night without wanting her bottle (or only needing it one or two times) I'd start moving her to her own bed. Is her bed in your room? We've found Conner is more likely to stay in his own bed if it's in our room. Our current plan is to move his bed back into his own bedroom once he's sleeping in his own bed right from the beginning to the end. Right now we have to get him on the brink of sleep and then move him to his own bed. He won't lay down in it initially.

Good luck!!

[ASheppa0821]

I myself haven't had to cross this bridge, since Emma went from her bassinet to her crib when she was 3 months, but I have seen this with a couple other people, and on TV. Basically, they (the parents) made it look exciting to go into the "big girl bed" and sleep by themselves. In the morning start saying "Today's a big day! Scarlet gets to sleep in her own bed like a big girl!" and then remind her all day and try to get her excited about it. When bedtime comes, let her pick out a toy or blanket that she would like to take to bed with her, then let her pick out her own jammies, and get her towel and washcloth ready for a nighttime bath. This way, she's starting to see that this is what "big girls" do. After a bath, spend a few minutes reading to her and let her drink her water. Then, after her water is gone, she gets to sleep in the big girl bed..."all by herself!!!" She might not last throughout the night without her water, but no matter what, make her sleep by herself in her bed. If she gets up, be persistent. Fill her sippy with just a little bit of water, and tell her that when the water is gone, it's back to sleep in her bed like a big girl... This may be a long, trying thing, but she'll eventually get it. I'd only work on one thing at a time, and having her sleep on her own is probably the best thing to start with. If you try to transition a child on more than one thing at a time, you're asking for disaster and a huge step backwards. At least with changing one thing, she knows she has another. Then when she's consistently doing well with sleeping on her own, a couple weeks later, take her water away and let her know that only babies drink bottles. And she's a big girl!!!

Hope this helps. It worked well with the examples I've seen so far, both on TV and through personal friends/family.