Alek's New Bed

Alek has been sleeping in our bed every night for a couple of months now and we decided that it was high time he started sleeping in his own bed. It all began when Alek decided that he didn't want to let me hold him and snuggle him to get him to sleep. So, I started laying next to him in our bed where he let me snuggle and kiss him until he fell asleep, then I would move him to his crib. This worked well for a couple of months, until he decided that he would much rather stay in our bed all night. The truth is that I was so tired of constantly getting up that I let him sleep with us so that I could get some sleep, plus I absolutely loved snuggling with him. After a while he also started taking naps in our bed and they were 2 to 3 hour naps as opposed to his 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hour naps in his crib. It was nice to be able to get ready or get something done while he was napping. We tried to put him back in his crib a few times, but after a couple of days, he would get an ear infection or he would get sick and so I let him back into our bed. He actually became terrified of his crib and would freak out and hold on to me for dear life if I tried to put him in. He is not one that likes to be contained at all, so I decided that maybe we should convert his crib into the toddler bed and then see if he would sleep there. I told myself and Rafal that by the time he was 15 months, he would need to be sleeping in his own bed. Surprisingly, I followed through and Alek has been sleeping and napping in his own bed for 5 nights now. The only catch is that Rafal or I have to sleep on a mattress right next to his bed. I read an article that said that when transitioning kids back to their own beds, it's a good idea to sleep in their room for a week so that when they wake up they can see you are still there, so that's what we're doing. Rafal and I take turns sleeping on the mattress and when Alek wakes up and sees us or feels our touch, he goes back to sleep. He likes his toddler bed much better than his crib and I love sleeping in my bed without him. The other night, Rafal slept in Alek's room and I slept in my bed by myself and had the best sleep that I've had since Alek was born. I think we'll probably end up sleeping in his room longer that a week, but it is so worth it if it means that he will now be sleeping in his own bed. We're still snuggling with him on the mattress to get him to sleep, then moving him to his bed, but at least he is in his own room. Next step, putting him in bed and letting him fall asleep on his own. We're taking baby steps, but at least we're making some progress. I honestly don't know who these things are harder on, Alek or us.