Ohne ihr Kuscheltier schläft meine Tochter im Kinderbett nur schwer ein.

German often puts the element you want to emphasize at the beginning of the sentence. Starting with Ohne ihr Kuscheltier highlights the condition first: without her cuddly toy.

A more neutral order would be:

Meine Tochter schläft ohne ihr Kuscheltier im Kinderbett nur schwer ein.

Both are correct. The version you gave puts stronger focus on the missing toy.

This is because German main clauses follow the verb-second rule. The conjugated verb must come in the second position.

In this sentence, the first position is taken by the whole phrase Ohne ihr Kuscheltier, so the verb schläft has to come next:

Ohne ihr Kuscheltier | schläft | meine Tochter ...

So even though meine Tochter is the subject, it comes after the verb here.

Because the full verb is einschlafen, which is a separable verb.

• infinitive: einschlafen = to fall asleep
• in a main clause: schläft ... ein

So:

• Meine Tochter schläft ein.
• Ohne ihr Kuscheltier schläft meine Tochter nur schwer ein.

The prefix ein- moves to the end in a normal main clause.

They mean different things:

• schlafen = to sleep
• einschlafen = to fall asleep

So this sentence is not about your daughter sleeping in general. It is specifically about the moment of drifting off to sleep.

Because ohne always takes the accusative case.

Kuscheltier is a neuter noun, and the accusative singular form of the possessive article ihr- is:

• nominative: ihr Kuscheltier
• accusative: ihr Kuscheltier

So the form happens to stay the same here.

Compare with a masculine noun, where you would see the case more clearly:

• ohne ihren Teddy

Here ihr means her: her cuddly toy.

On its own, ihr can sometimes mean different things in German, such as:

• her
• their
• your (formal plural, in some contexts)

But in this sentence, because of meine Tochter, the natural meaning is clearly her.

Nur schwer means only with difficulty, not easily, or with a hard time.

So:

• schläft nur schwer ein = has a hard time falling asleep

It does not literally mean only heavily or anything like that. It is a very common expression.

Because im Kinderbett describes a location, not movement toward a destination.

• im = in dem
• im Kinderbett = in the child’s bed / in the crib

German uses:

• dative for location: im Kinderbett
• accusative for movement into something: ins Kinderbett

So:

• Sie schläft im Kinderbett ein. = She falls asleep in the crib.
• Sie geht ins Kinderbett. = She goes into bed.

Kinderbett is a compound noun:

• Kinder- = children’s / child-
• Bett = bed

Depending on context, it can mean:

• child’s bed
• crib
• cot (in British English, depending on context)

In this sentence, if the daughter is very young, crib is often a natural translation.

There actually is an article, but it is hidden inside im.

• im = in dem

So:

• im Kinderbett = in the child’s bed / in the crib

This contraction is extremely common in German.

Yes, absolutely. That version is grammatical and natural.

The difference is mainly emphasis:

• Ohne ihr Kuscheltier ... = stronger focus on the fact that the toy is missing
• Meine Tochter ... = more neutral, starting with the subject

German word order is flexible, but the verb-second rule still applies.

Yes. Kuscheltier is a very common everyday word for a soft toy, stuffed animal, or cuddly toy.

It comes from:

• kuscheln = to cuddle, snuggle
• Tier = animal

So a Kuscheltier is literally a cuddly animal, though in English we usually say stuffed animal, soft toy, or cuddly toy.

Because Ohne ihr Kuscheltier is just a prepositional phrase, not a subordinate clause.

German uses commas for things like subordinate clauses, certain infinitive constructions, lists, and some inserted elements. But here the structure is simple:

Ohne ihr Kuscheltier | schläft | meine Tochter | im Kinderbett | nur schwer | ein

No comma is needed.