Floor bed question

[Anna Karin]

Hi everyone,

I have an 8 month old, active, crawling little boy.  I've recently come across Tracy's methods and am getting ready to make a some big changes to our routines.  Right now, he naps in his floor bed in his room and sleeps at night in bed with me.  We are going to start the E.A.S.Y. schedule, which will help lengthen his 30 min naps, as well as sleep through the night in his own bed.  As we prepare for this change, I'm worried that he will wake up early from his naps, as he always does, and it will be hard to practice PU/PD with him through the rest of nap time in his floor bed.  He usually wakes up pretty happy, ready to crawl around and play.  I do have a pack and play I could put in his room to help.  However, he's never slept in it before so he's not comfortable there like he is in his bed.  Also, I would prefer to use the floor bed for night time in case I have to lay next to him some as he transitions from my bed to his own.  Should I do floor bed at night and pack and play during the day? 

Thanks so much for your input!  We are excited and anxious about making these changes.

[Martini~]

Hi honey, in general you can do easy and PUPD whenever you want but it's all about being successful. And with floor bed with no boundaries you will have a bigger struggle I presume than with pack and play. In general here ladies go with transfer to BBB when kiddos are at least 2 and usually wait until 2.5-3h if possible. Kids go through many sleep regressions and it's worth to have a normal crib.

Re sleeping with him when transfering - I would probably also go with a crib and your hand on him as sleeping with him is not a difference va sleeping with him in your bed. The biggest thing for him is going to be "no sleeping next to mummy".

[weaver]

Are you keeping the floorbed? Is that where you intend him to sleep from now on?  If you want to transition him to sleeping in a crib, of course you can (LO2 still in crib at nearly 4! but LO1 has a double bed so we often lie down with him since about 3 yo, yes, it's great to be able to do that when they're ill or unsettled).  If you want to keep him in the floorbed, then you need to be clear about that. 

Usually the "PU" bit is gone by this age as they are a bit too heavy and able to stand up on their own.  So an adjusted PU/PD in a floor bed would basically be you encouraging him to lie back down and go to sleep (pat the mattress, do not lie him back down then it just becomes a game). TBH, mine were in cribs, but at this age I was often lying down next to the crib and patting the mattress to communicate the idea of 'lying down and sleeping now'.  What you will end up doing, I think, is Gradual Withdrawal, so you put him down in the floor bed as normal for naps and start doing the same at BT.  If he is resistant, it's up to you to convince him that it's sleeping time.  A lot of how you do that depends on his personality   Having a comfort item/lovey might help?

[Erin M]

He usually wakes up pretty happy, ready to crawl around and play. 

And honestly, if he's waking like this, he might not need a longer nap unless something is making you think that he does.  He might need to increase the time that he is awake before his nap so he takes a longer nap.