Co-sleep - do you still do it?

[sunshine_sieben]

DD co-slept full time with us until she was 6 months. Then she crawled out of bed :-( I bought a cot and worked on getting her to sleep in her cot for her day sleeps and the first part of the night when we were still up. We did that until she was just over 12 months. She would go to sleep with me on the bed every time, then I would transfer her to the cot. Whe she woke and we weren't ready for bed yet, I would rock her back to sleep. If we were ready for bed or in bed already, I would just bring her into our bed where she would sleep until 8am or so.

At around 9 months she started a bad habit of waking very frequently and wanting a BF. Some nights every 45 minutes. That was really getting to me. I think it was partly to do with DH being a tosser ;-) (not in the bad sense, but he tosses and turns all night) and a snorer. I think he woke her up a lot.
At just over 12 months I decided to try and put a stop to the frequent feeds. I gave DH the job to resettle her at any time that I didn't want to feed her (I still allowed for one middle of the night feed and one early morning feed). This worked really well and after 2 or 3 days we were in a much better routine of her waking 1 or 2 times a night. The second time being at 5 am or even later. This is when I bring her into my bed and we spend the morning sleeping together. Some nights, she still wakes up every 2 hours. But most nights she sleeps pretty well.

I love the early morning co-sleeping and wouldn't have a problem if that continued for many more years. I actually remember vividly doing that when I was little. Probably until I was 7 or 8. And I have the fondest memories of those hours spent cuddling with my parents.

Saša

[Bathsheba]

We've partially co-slept with all our children from when they were newborns and we are still co-sleeping with our youngest (2yo).

With our newborns we've had them in cradles right beside my side of the bed but if they wouldn't settle I'd lift them in with me for a while until they were in deep sleep them pop them back in the crib.

As they get older they start off the night in their own beds and are brought in when and if they wake. This process has varied with each child depending on their needs. Our middle child decided he liked his own bed quite early. Our youngest doesn't mind his own bed but in winter he gets too cold so needs my warmth (we don't have heaters on overnight).

ETA: we used to do the 'pat pat pat' thing while they are in their cots but by the time we had our third I just couldn't be bothered... so we've ditched that idea in preference to instant peace and rest by co-sleeping in bed.

All my kids are good sleepers. None of them have fears like the dark. We're going to buy a king sized bed eventually but the queen has been adequate.