co sleeping

[~Hestia~]

Loula, you do what suits you and your family. Don't worry about what your ILs think/say because it's none of their business darl. You sound like you're doing really well at reading and knowing what your little guy needs.
But to answer your question - when my Moo was little I would keep him wrapped and lay him on top of the blankets. I did this because it was winter and we had lots of doona and quilt on so I felt it was safer. Moo still loved it, I would lay him on his back with my arm under his head and sleep curled around him.
Now that he's older he comes into bed between us, under the blankets. He still sleeps with his head on my arm and I curl around him so his feet are touching my thighs and I rest my other arm on his tummy. I figure he can't slip down this way and we wake up in the same position anyway.
Having said all this, my Moo rarely co sleeps sadly! He usually starts to stick his fingers up our noses and in our mouths! It really is lovely though so as I said you do what feels right to you!

[Miss.September]

On the nights we cosleep, I put a pillow at DD's feet so she doesn't wriggle down under the blankets either. Saying that, she's a lot bigger than your DS, Loula, and she wriggles around now a lot! Don't worry about what anyone thinks. If you want to cosleep and you get a better nights sleep because of it, and with the added enjoyment, then do it!

[Loula]

Thanks so much, i love reading all these replies! one thing i will change in our sleep routine from this is to stop lying him on his back next to me, i did have my arm under his head the first night i did this but found it more comfortable above his head.

Another thing i might try is lying him on top of our/my covers however i do like him very close to me.

i was considering one of the sleeping aids but it is clear that many do not bother with this.

DH the first night said to me he sleeps so much better in bed with us, lol (just to add he is only on my outside, side)

Tomorrow we get the bed to ourselves lol!!!

and Tanya great link, thank you xx

[Shanti]

When we first started co-sleeping with DD (after she outgrew her hammock by our bedside around 11wks) we bought one of those little beds you can buy where she would lie in that, and was safe from one of us rolling on her but it took up most of the bed and DH and I were soooo uncomfortable!! So we quickly took that out and learnt to safely co-sleep with her, using my arm out etc.... at first I found it really uncomfortable and would always worry we'd roll on her but we worked it out eventually and got way more rest that way!!

Co-sleeping is so much safer for young babies if done correctly, than sleeping alone in a cot!! Don't worry about what your IL's think, it's YOUR family. None of their business (don't worry we copped it from our IL's for co-sleeping too and they even admitted they did a bit of that too!!! WTF?)

[Fleur]

You do whatever works for you Loula, because whatever that is (as long as it's safe), it can't be wrong. And don't let anyone tell you different.

You're doing a wonderful job xxxxx

:yeahthat: Well said

We looked at one of the safe sleeper thingys but decided against it (actually Dh was adamant that 'this one will sleep in her own bed!' - well, guess how that turned out )

For me I have found that I do not go into such a deep sleep when there is a little one in bed, but I get more rest overall. You just have that general awareness of them & where they are.

And I think everyone has covered the basics, the blanket thing can be a bit tricky but we usually slid down the bed a bit so she was level with our head & above the blankets.

As for your family, you can find a snappy comeback - I love telling people 'he/she won't be doing it when they are a teenager!' - or you can just smile and nod, OR you can not tell them anything - as a pp said, it's really no-one's business. That's not always easy when it's family. I have found though the more I let criticism just roll off me, the less I seem to get

[mum2be2010]

well my DD who's 8 weeks old i co sleep with she has been sleeping over 5hrs through the night, she usually gets very fussy during the evenings and wriggly does this mean she's overtired and cranky? wondering if i should take her to bed early evenings to try feed her to sleep? i'm also worried if i keep co sleeping with her will the transition to the cot become difficult in the coming weeks as id like to get her to sleep ina cot in the next few months any suggestions?

[Cherished]

hi hon, I just wanted to update you on what we are doing with our cosleeping bubs is 10 days old and we have tried a few different things. in the hospital we just held him either on our chest or he was laying on his side facing me. Since we got home we have had a night in the snuggly nest thingo, another night he was in the phil & teds coocoon and a few nights dh held him where bubs was on his side facing dh's chest and other night I held bubs chest to chest, when doing this we just had a cloth nappy rolled up in front and behind him just as a little bit of a buffer. What I think I like best though is him in between dh and I on his back but his head supported by one of those little head rest thingos that you can buy to put into a bouncer or a car seat which stops their head rolling too far either side. I feel like we are still really close to him, we can touch him, rest our hand on his chest and see his face etc but his has less chance of rolling into us iykwim

[Loveinamist]

We have co-slept since DS was about 3 days old. I wish we had started earlier! We started with DS sleeping on my chest and then bought a toddler bed rail so that i wouldn't worry about him falling out when we started putting him beside me.
As for the questions about where he sleeps I figure that noone asks me what DH and I do in the privacy of our bedroom so what gives them the right to ark about where or how DS sleeps!