Getting a child to sleep on their own

Hello! I’m slowly working my way to doing these posts first thing in the morning – each day I’m getting a little earlier.

Unfortunately, I’m still bed sharing with the OddDaughter and she’s a very light sleeper in the morning. Even slight movement after 6am will cause her to fully wake up. This means I’m often in a paralysed state for the first hour or so of the morning before she wakes. It’s definitely taking a toll on my body – constant neck pain and back pain. It’s probably the mattress in the spare room. I’ve never had to worry about it before because my actual bed is super soft – but I now sympathise with the guests that have stayed with us over the years. As for the OddDaughter – kids are generally less prone to aches and pains than middle aged adults, so I doubt back pain is affecting her. I remember sleeping on a kitchen floor after a night out during my uni days – if I attempted that now I’d be out for a couple of weeks.

That said, I have a plan to change this situation with the bed sharing. After many interviews with the OddDaughter, I’m convinced this will free me from my imprisonment in the spare room (though it’s now her room).

1. Paint the room pink and purple
   I’ve taken the OddDaughter to B&Q several times to see which colours she’s drawn to. It appears pink and purple are the two colours she likes. Therefore, pink and purple the room will be. Oh and with unicorns painted everywhere.
2. New curtains
   The sh*tty blinds in the room currently leak light in the morning. Not so much of a problem in the middle of winter – but as the sun starts to rear it’s beautiful head earlier and earlier in the morning, the uglier the wake up time becomes.
3. A new bed
   The OddDaughter is scared of monsters – she feels having curtains around the bed will hide and protect her from said monsters. Mrs OddFather has therefore decided we’re going to get the OddDaughter a four poster bed with curtains around it. Am I the only one that thinks this is ridiculous? In all my years on this planet I’ve never had the luxury of sleeping in a four poster bed. Yet, the OddDaughter has swindled her way to owning one at the age of 4!
4. An appropriate night light
   Now, I tried this last night after discussing with the OddDaughter. She suggested using her disco ball. “Sure”, I thought. Didn’t work. Bed time turned into a fricking 70s rave. Traditional night light added to the shopping list.

Timelines: by the end of January all should be up and running. And now that this is out on the world-wide-web I guess I have to commit and you can all keep me accountable.

All that being said, I have grown quite accustomed to sharing the bed with the OddDaughter. Having her come and cuddle my arm in the middle of the night is comforting to both her and me. I’ll actually miss this when she’s older and wants nothing to do with me. Maybe I should just leave things as they are for a… wait… what am I saying? I’m heading to B&Q right now.