Baby boy is growing up and is fast developing ways of communicating what he wants and doesn't want. As of late he refuses to sleep in his bed. He used to sleep in his bed just fine all night long, except for when he awoke to nurse. Now he cries loudly if I try to transfer him to his bed and he refuses to go back to sleep. 

We start the bedtime routine off in a good way. Baby eats his dinner, then it is off to his bath, we lotion him down and put him in his night clothes. He may get a song or book depending on how sleepy he is.  Next his gets a night time nursing and then he falls off into a deep sleep. Next comes the hard part. I gently and softly try to transfer him from my arms or my bed into his bed, but then starts the waterworks and loud cries. It's like a faucet. Put him in the crib, the waterworks start. Take him out the faucet shuts off. Goes back and forth like this a few more times until I settle on letting him sleep in my bed with pillows around him and the monitor on. When hubby and I come to bed we sleep with him and keep a careful watch of where he is all night. 

I think he has refused to sleep in his bed because we had to lower his mattress. He weighs about 25 pounds, the way down to his mattress may be a little unsteady when I handle him. The shakiness alerts him to the move, and then he begins the protests. Funny thing is, if I transfer him in the early morning, he has no problem. Plus, he loves when I put him in his crib during the day with lots of toys.

This isn't the first time I've had this problem with a baby. It went like this with my second girl. She went on like this until it was time to buy her toddler bed. Since she climbed out of her crib before she was a year old, we bought her toddler bed at about 11 months old. Hopefully, we will only have to deal with the baby bed woes for just a couple of more months. 

If you have any suggestions, feel free to let us know.