I feel your pain!
My husband and I are facing a similar problem with our 13 month old
daughter. We also were big believers in the Sears book but have begun
to realize that having our daughter share our bed is not working out
well for ANY of us and we are all having restless nights. We also
would hold her in our arms or laps until she fell asleep and then take
her up to bed with us. It has just progressed to the point that none
of us are sleeping through the night anymore! The clincher was when I
caught Friday's episode of Oprah (of all things!) featuring the nanny
911 lady. One of the families had a 3 year old who would scream bloody
murder, refuse to go to bed, and climb right out of his crib. I
decided right then, horrified at what I saw, that it was time to
transition our little girl into her own bed at night. We are
approaching day three of our attempt to get her to sleep in her crib-
it hasn't been easy by any means, but we are not ready to give up yet.
Here's what we're doing:

1. Same pre-bed routine each night, consisting of picking up toys,
bath, brushing teeth, pajamas on, lights down, read a few stories, rock
for about 5 minutes and then once she is getting sleepy we put her
into bed. (Our goal is in bed between 8 or 8:30 as opposed to our old
routine, where she sometimes would be up until midnight!)

2. Turn on the fisher price aquarium in her crib, a drink of water, her
passifier, blanky, and babydoll and put her into the crib. Then turn
the lights off. (She starts crying as soon as she goes in the crib.)

3. My husband and I take turns sitting in a chair in her dark room
next to her until she falls asleep.

The first night it took about 25 minutes. Last night she fell asleep
in less than 10 minutes, but then woke up an hour later and it was an
1.5 hour marathon of crying. However, once she falls asleep she has
been in her bed all night, waking only 1 or 2 times for a drink of
water.

Our plan is to gradually move further away from her crib to get her to
sleep until we finally can tuck her in and leave the room without the
crying ordeal. I'll let you know how it goes for us! It has been
heartbreaking, but I know that it's best for all of us. We still take
naps together in our bed, but we are establishing that night time is
"sleep in your own bed" time.

Best of luck to you in whatever you decide to do. Please do check in
with your pediatrician, and keep us posted with how things work out.
Sincerely,
--Kitt

Kitt Draheim,
Independent Consultant, Let's Do Tea
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