[..Christine..]

I know some of you moms co- sleep. At first DH and I were strictly against it but it seems that Lyla will only sleep some nights when she is on my chest. During the day she will ONLY sleep in my arms or on me.....I am considering co- sleeping....but don't know how to do it safely. I am VERY nervous about it.

I don't want to start any bad habits but we need to start getting some sleep. She does have nights where she sleeps very well but then she has nights like last night- that were horrible! I just don't want to have problems later on when I want her to sleep in her crib in her room.....

Any tips???

[*Anna*]

We co sleep and have every day since Alexa was born. She has yet to ever sleep in a crib. We are happy with it this way. With EBFing it's easiest for me to nurse all night if needed. And when she was born til about 8 wks she slept on my chest and I propped myself up to hold her all night. We adapted to having her in bed with us. So after she's not nursing all the time and eating solids and sleeping more through the nght- I'm thinking 12-14 mons old- itll prob continue like this. And we are all happy wi it. Even dh says it works for us now. We have yet to even have her crib put together yet. Lol
now tips. I think having dh on one side, me in middle and baby on other side against wall is best. I trust dh but he is morelikely to roll over On Baby. If dh ever has more than a drink he doesn't sleep with us. I put a pillow next to Alexa so she mainly sleeps on her side which helps with nursing in bed. I love co sleeping and will miss it when were done.

[IamMom]

I don't have any advice about co-sleeping because for our family it was not and is not an option....we never wanted to start it because we didn't want to have to deal with breaking it...and DH was very uncomfortable with baby in the bed....anyway....Harrison started the habit of sleeping on me and on DH's chest at night.....and we quickly stopped that. We just dealt with the constant wakings until he was 4 months - then we did a modified cry it out - graduated extinction - it worked like a charm and he slept well after that. We've been very lucky with Nora - she has slept really well since she was born. Last night she slept from 7:30 to 7:30......Lyla will get there too.....good luck with what you decide and if you choose co-sleeping I hope it really does help you all get sleep!

[niknok]

We didn't cosleep with Drake, although we tried for three weeks with him in a basinett in our room. He squirmed and made noise all night, and we tried his crib on a fluke, and he slept heavenly. He's been in his crib since, with some exceptions. If he's sick, or if I've worked a long shift and miss him, I bring him to bed. Otherwise, he sleeps 12 hours in his crib. However, with all that said, my milk supply required me to start supplementing at 5 1/2 months. And by 7 1/2, he was on all formula. I know that working full time really hurt my supply, b/c it's often hard for me to get a break to pump. BUT, I really think not nursing all night hurt my supply too. Okay, so with all that said, we are planning on cosleeping with our next one. For the sole purpose of hopefully BF longer. I really want to make it to a year!!!
Have you seen a snugglenest? My SIL is letting us borrow hers. It can lay in your bed, and works until the baby is about 3-4 months she said. I think it'll make me feel better about cosleeping safely. I agree with Anna, the baby should always be on the outside, never in the middle. And I've read no covers for the baby, only on you.
Good luck sweetie! I hope you find a safe and peaceful way for you all to get some sleep. I promise it gets better! Like I said, Drake sleeps 12 hours in his crib (630-630), and it is quite nice! You'll get there eventually. And BTW, we need new pics of your princess!

[LisanAndy]

Neither of my girls liked their bassinets and I coslept with both of them until they were 5 months. They were still young enough to be pretty much unaware of the switch and didn't put up a huge fuss. Andy laid on the outside of the bed, Taylor or Rylie slept in the middle, and I slept on the other side. We both were VERY aware of her and I tend to sleep lighter but get more sleep (if that makes sense LoL) when my baby is in bed with me for the first few months. Now Rylie sleeps in her crib all night and Taylor's in her toddler bed

[Resi]

I started co-sleeping with Oliver after a week or less. He seemed to sleep better and it made it so much easier on me. If you breastfeed it makes it a breeze with the night feedings. We have a queen bed. When he was tiny I had one pillow in the bed for me and one blanket to cover myself with. I've always been a light sleeper so any sound move and I would wake up to him. I would sleep on my side facing him and he would be on his back. My husband never slept in the bed with us because he didn't feel comfortable co-sleeping. He was scared he would roll on him or something. As Oliver got older and started moving and rolling around I was still so in tune with every move he made that I would wake up. Now that he is 15 months I put up a breathable bumper on my bed. I love co-sleeping with Oliver and I'm not ready to give it up. I would be sad if he was down the hall in a bed/crib all alone. One thing that I have noticed with co-sleeping/breastfeeding babies is that they tend to comfort nurse on and off all night. If you start co-sleeping and nursing on demand at night it might be harder to break the "habit" later on. GL! I bet you both will get more sleep this way. Lila sounds a little like Oliver as a newborn. He always wanted to sleep in my arms or be near me.

[soImarriedAnerd]

We bedshare, I don't even own a crib because it will not travel with us. I was an OUT like a light sleeper prior to london, very few things could wake me. So I was a little nervous about bedsharing at first. however....no issues at all waking up when london does. I sleep on my side mostly now half curled up with london in my "nuke" area. LOL I was told NOT to put the bed against the wall, so I invented a nice little way to help me feel more comfortable with him not rolling off (now that he rolls LOL). I put two bathtowels fold the longway a couple times on top of each other (as thin width wise as I can) and put them on the edge of the bed UNDER the fitted sheet so it forms a big bump so he can't role out. This will work till he learns to crawl at least! However he doesn't ever get close to them...he is like a heat seeking missile..he will wiggle to be right up next to me! And my fav part...waking up every morning to the most handsome boy in the world smiling at me And its AMAZING for Bfing and sleep. I have NEVER felt over tired as a mom, which was one of my biggest fears of parenthood. I barely wake up to pull my shirt up and plop a boob in, so I feel just like I got sleep like before. Troy is great with it also-he curls around london just like a BFing mama would! (they bedshare for weekend naps)
We have some safety rules we follow...if someone is drinking then they sleep somewhere else, or if on medication that "drugs" them they sleep somewhere else, if one of us smoked we wouldn't bedshare, troy and I each have one pillow now---no extras, we still have the sheet/blanket/comforter though. NO waterbeds!
And make sure that you don't OVER dress baby....london sleeps in a onesie.
on another board we have a good info thread going on this topic... http://www.justmommies.com/forums/f9...ing-101-a.html (Bed Sharing 101)
And on the "habit thats hard to break" topic....most children who are raised bedsharing will want their own beds naturally about the time crib babies want a toddler bed also.....so I don't see how its really any different, when it comes to the transfer to the toddler bed they are about the same age and its new to both of them. Children aren't going to volunteer to sleep with their parents forever, nor are they going to want to stay in a crib forever......once that independent age hits..look out world! LOL

[**jessie**]

We co-slept for 5 weeks (starting when he was 4 weeks old). He was not sleeping well in his bassinet, and at one point I was so tired I starting letting him sleep in bed with us. We have a king sized bed and basically just cleared out the middle portion of the bed and put him in there. He slept in a onsie, a footed sleeper and a sleep sack. Our blankets were pulled out of the way of him. Honestly, I loved having him close to me, it was a very special time. But I never really felt comfortable with it. I felt it was too unsafe no matter what I did (SIDS risk). I also wanted to have a child with healthy sleep habits and not have a toddler in my bed that I could not transition easily.

We switched him to his crib cold turkey this week at 10 weeks old. He started not sleeping so well with us. I was wondering if it was too noisy (DH tosses and turns all night, and we have a cat and dog that sleep on the bed). I was SO sad to take him out of our bed, but I had a revelation... the cosleeping was more more me than it was for him. Anyway, he has been in his crib all week and is doing WONDERFULLY. He went from sleeping 3 hr stretches to up to 5 hrs ones. I was glad for the time we coslept, but I am equally glad to have this transition over with. Also, me and DH are very happy to be getting some alone time in bed, if ya know what I mean Good luck!

[bittersweet]

No real advice, as I havent come across this issue yet. But I don't plan on co- sleeping. DH and I fit snuggly in the bed already. I know it will be a PIA at first to have to go into the nursrey to BF all night....but I think it will be worth it in the long run to keep our bed to just us. Maybe you can put her crib in your room for a bit...let her get used to sleeping somewhere other than on you and she will be close at hand for comforting.

And for Angela...

If you ever do think a crib would useful, I'd suggest the Bjorn Travel Crib. It is amazing. It comes in its own little suitcase. I can take it out the suitcase, set it up, and fold it back up into the suitcase in about 2 minutes (it only weighs about 10 lbs). It is big enough and sturdy enough to hold a child up to 3 yrs old.

[ShannonMVT]

When Matthew was tiny, he would only sleep on our chests so that is what we did, I guess for several weeks to a month? I had a very hard time sleeping on my back so many times Dh would sleep on the couch with matthew against his chest. Then he went in a bassinet until he was 4.5 months, then to his crib. I didn't like to co-sleep when he was little because we let him sleep on his tummy (he sleeps much better that way, plus has reflux). We use the angel care sensor for peace of mind. Once he got to be 5-6 months when he had a rough night (waking a lot) I will take him into bed with me for the night. I'm a very light sleeper so while I like waking up and having my baby there, it's hard for me to get a good night's rest when he's with me. Even though he occassionally sleeps with me for night or naps, he doesn't seem to have a hard time going back to his crib. I guess he might if he was in there all the time, but I just wanted to point out it doesn't HAVE to be all or nothing. I'm happy that he's in his crib but I like taking him into bed with me when he's having a bad night or if I miss him.

[Alison81]

I co-sleep with Kylie. With E I fought with her to sleep in her crib/bassinet, and I wish I had just let her sleep with me. It wasn't hard to get her to sleep in her crib and then her own bed when she was sleeping all night.

With Kylie, I just decided I wanted her close to me, and R likes her sleeping next to us too. I bought a sleep positioner, so she sleeps in that at night, which keeps her on her back, and also makes sure we don't squish her. I usually have my hand on her, which helps her fall asleep. But honestly, she sometimes sleeps in my arms after I feed her and I sleep on my side. It's so much easier, and I feel better being able to feel her and I usually wake up before she cries, so it's easier to get her back to sleep after a feeding. But if the safety worries you, there are cosleepers that you can buy, so she can sleep next to you safely.

[soImarriedAnerd]

Originally Posted by bittersweet

And for Angela...

If you ever do think a crib would useful, I'd suggest the Bjorn Travel Crib. It is amazing. It comes in its own little suitcase. I can take it out the suitcase, set it up, and fold it back up into the suitcase in about 2 minutes (it only weighs about 10 lbs). It is big enough and sturdy enough to hold a child up to 3 yrs old.

We have one of these...it can go outside also! Kidco, Inc. PeaPod - Red - Traveling Baby - Cotton Babies Cloth Diaper Store

Oh and on thing that came to mind....I like bedsharing because it makes me and hubby be a little more inventive on where we DTD...kind of spices things up which is so great after having a kid and him feeling a little neglected.

[~*Bethy*~]

I bedshared with Ian till he was a bit past a year old. We had roomates that were very hoggish about the house, and we spent most of the time in our master bedroom, so he slept with us. We had a crib for him, but he never used it, and hated it. So we just slept with him. to this day Ive never had a problem getting him to sleep, and the bond between me and him is amazing.

Morgan bedshared for the first few weeks untill she got colic/reflux. She slept in her swing until she was about 4 months, and then she slept in a pac n play till in our room till she was a year old. She ended up back in our room till about the beginning of last year. LOL! The bond I have with her is very different than with Ian. But I also think thats due to her being a girl, and girls are very independent.

This one since I will be EBF, will cosleep/sleep in the pac n play next to the bed like Morgan did. So well see

~Beth

[sara~b]

I had a completely different experience with co-sleeping than most people here. My ex-step-sister (confusing I know) lost her first son to SIDS when they were co-sleeping so I was already terrified of it. But one night when Gemma woke up for a feeding, I fell asleep with her in my arms. I was on my side and she was on her back next to me. I woke up the next morning and she was snuggled in so tight next to me that I was sure she had suffocated! I freaked out and pinched her to make her cry. After that I NEVER brought her into my bed again. I love the idea of co-sleeping but I just can't fathom the guilt I would feel if anything were to happen. I just can't bring myself to do it ever again....

[Green Eyed Girl]

Lurking here, but I coslept with my daughter from 2 days old until she was about 8 months, and I didn't have a single problem with her transitioning to her own crib. I nursed her until 10 months, so it made night feedings a breeze, and like others said, it made it that much easier to actually get enough sleep so I rarely felt tired. When she was about 8 months she completely cut her night feedings on her own, and about that time she got a lot more active in the bed and wasn't sleeping as well. One night I just rocked her and set her in her crib and she slept all night...something she hadn't done since she was born! She did awesome. She's 14 months now, and an awesome sleeper. She will sleep with me if she wakes up early, naps etc, but I never had a problem getting to from my bed to a crib...It literally just took that one night. I was scared too, everyone told me I was doomed to have her in bed forever, but I loved it...I will do it with my next baby as well. It was so much more convenient and we got lots of rest this way, plus I think the security of being next to us made her feel safe enough to get into her own bed when she did. Best of luck whatever you decide!

[LisanAndy]

Originally Posted by ~*Bethy*~

I bedshared with Ian till he was a bit past a year old. We had roomates that were very hoggish about the house, and we spent most of the time in our master bedroom, so he slept with us. We had a crib for him, but he never used it, and hated it. So we just slept with him. to this day Ive never had a problem getting him to sleep, and the bond between me and him is amazing.

Morgan bedshared for the first few weeks untill she got colic/reflux. She slept in her swing until she was about 4 months, and then she slept in a pac n play till in our room till she was a year old. She ended up back in our room till about the beginning of last year. LOL! The bond I have with her is very different than with Ian. But I also think thats due to her being a girl, and girls are very independent.

This one since I will be EBF, will cosleep/sleep in the pac n play next to the bed like Morgan did. So well see

~Beth

That is SOOOO true in my case too LoL! Taylor is really independent and doesn't like hugs or kisses until she's ready for bed or if she has a boo boo. Rylie is my cuddler right now but I know that will only last so long LoL

[*kyle*]

What we have been doing is taking things on kind of a day-by-day basis. We try to stick to a routine of feeding, swaddling, a little rocking and then into the bassinet. It works well most nights. He also takes a lot of naps in his swing lol. However, if he is extra gassy/fussy, he LOVES to curl up on our chests. Also sometimes after a middle of the night feeding I'll just get lazy and let him fall asleep on top of my chest. If he's on me, I take the covers off completely, this not only gives me peace of mind that the blanket won't cover his face, it also ensures that I'm slightly cool and that makes me sleep lighter. I haven't slept with him next to me, only on top of me, which I think works because if he were to start sliding or rolling off, I would know right away, and I can kind of track his breathing since my arms are holding him on.

[..Christine..]

wow- thanks for all the great reponses girls!! We haven't tried co-sleeping- I actually got her to sleep from 9 til 3:30 last night and then 4 til 7! (in her swing)- We are taking it day by day right now....