I was always led to believe that moving your child either from a cot to a toddler bed or from co-sleeping to their own bed was a nightmare! I had put off moving Mia for a couple of months because I was dreading it so much! However, it really wasn't that bad! What I would say that is if you are co-sleeping and wanting to transition your baby or toddler to a cot or bed you need to be firm and stick with it! Mia tried everything to get back into our bed, crying as soon as we left the room even if we had sat next to her bed for an hour waiting for her to fall asleep, thinking she had fallen asleep, but the second we moved she would wake and cry, continually waking all night - this is the hardest one as by 4am you are so tired you just want to give in and bring her in your bed as you know that at least that way you will get a couple of hours rest! Forcing her way out of the sleep sack so that she would wake up freezing and you would have to keep going in to put her back inside the sleep sack.
When I decided to stop the co-sleeping and move Mia straight to a toddler bed it was because we had previously tried to move her to the cot a few months before and tried the cry it out method (never again!) and she was so upset she cried pretty much continuously until 4am!! I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown and the whole thing was a total disaster which left Mia fearing that cot from that day on. I also think the fact she had always slept in a bed with us meant she was more used to a bed and that's why she has settled much quicker into a toddler bed. Another positive is that Mia doesn't try to get out of her bed. Never before has she got out of bed and started playing or trying to come downstairs (touch wood) I honestly believe that this is because she is used to being in a bed and is used to the fact that once we are in bed we didn't get out of our bed so why would she?!
The first month when we moved Mia we used to sit next to her bed and wait for her to fall asleep just so that she got used to her new room and new bed. She used to wake a number of times a night but we were strong and didn't give in and eventually the waking got less and less. After about 6 weeks we completely stopped sitting with her when she was falling asleep. I used to sit on the other side of the room on a rocking chair, no eye contact and browse the internet on the iPad. She had started though to get a little cheeky and just sit up in bed watching me so decided it was time for Mia to learn to fall asleep on her own. Now I take her upstairs, change her nappy and get her dressed for bed, clean her teeth, read her 2-3 stories and say goodnight. I then leave the room. She cries (well more like moans) for 2-3 minutes and then falls asleep. She doesn't wake most nights until around midnight, usually because she has lost the dummy and then stays asleep until sunrise (I really need to sort out the blackout blinds!)
I think the most important thing when transitioning a child into a bed is to be consistent, keep a strong routine and never give in!
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