too young for co-sleeping?

[fionas]

I was too scared to co-sleep but my DH wasn't! So some nights he would tell me to go off and get a good night's sleep and he would co-sleep with DD. That happened from about 3 weeks on. Not every night but maybe two nights a week.

He'd done it before with his first daughter so was completely comfortable with it.

So I reckon if it feels right, go for it.

[~Belinda~]

Jade, how are things going?

Madeleine slept in her bassinette for the first week home but we've co-slept with her ever since, she won't go in her cot, no matter how much we try. And through the day, she'll only sleep in her bouncer.

If it works for you, go for it. I used to put Madeleine in an anti-roll thing (safe and sound) when she was in bed with me but now we don't, just use a bed rail.

We all get so much sleep and Madeleine is so happy. It may be hard getting her in her cot later but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Hope all is going well

[Ambah]

I think what you are doing sounds wonderful, because it is working for both you and bub!

With my first, I co-slept with him most nights (or partial nights) on and off until he was about 3.5, but was too afraid to start until he was a bit bigger, I think he was a couple of months old before I started bringing him into our bed.

However this time around, with Eva, she has been sleeping next to me from the moment we came home. I actually have had her cot set up next to our bed, with the side rail off so it is basically a sidecar extension to our bed (and both the cot and bed mattress are the exact same level). I am only inches from her, but know I wont roll on her because she is in her own space.
It really makes things like feeding, & putting in dummies, etc, so much easier I find. and I sleep SO MUCH better with her right there.
I remember with Aidyn, he was sleeping in another room in those first weeks, and I was constantly plagued with anxiety, and restless sleep, because I was always listening out for him.

There are a couple of great articles HERE and HERE which explore some interesting facts and benefits of co-sleeping. Maybe you could print them out and show them to your mother and MIL to help them to understand just how beneficial, and safe it can be?

[jackrose]

Good for you for doing what comes naturally! Always more difficult when others challenge us, but as has been said in this thread already - and so eloquently - pffffffft to the nay-sayers!
(although it is always worth taking advice under advisement.... It is never the last word)

I co-slept with my girl from day one, firstly, like you it was just me and her in bed together. This way I found that I really had a chance to get to know her sleeping patterns, her little ways and her needs. At 5 weeks, we all moved back into the family bed, the three of us after making sure my Hubby knew what was involved.. (no drinking etc) and it has been a gorgeous way to be together.

I have had no fear of rolling on her, but did have a fear of her rolling into me and being unable to breath against me in the early days when we were in a softer bed. I solved this by sleeping her perpendicular to me, moving her round when she sounded like she wanted a feed and then turning her perpendicular again when she was done. No rolling there.

She is 4 months now and I put her down in her hammock and when she wakes for a night feed, its into bed with us for the rest of the night. This way she gets a good morning feed and a sleep in too.

I dont know if this system has been the reason, but she slept through the night for the first time at 8 weeks (8 hrs!) and has been regularly sleeping 12-13 hours a night since about then. I feel like I am getting the best sleeps of my life - not something I expected for a new mum.

Best of luck to you!

[jackrose]

Oh, and..

the reading I have done suggests it is highly unlikely for a baby to be rolled on by mum, and can be safer for the baby... all things (such as no drinking or drugs) considered.

Babies tend to sleep better because they get in sync with their mums breathing patterns and don't tend to stop breathing mid sleep cycle. One study talked about how mums with bubs in the beds tended to get more of the good sleep cycle sleep (the deep restorative stuff) even though they were more easily and more frequently woken by having the baby in the bed. ie: they were always conscious the baby was there but still got deep sleep anyway.

[Emma1979]

people will ALWAYS have an opinion on how you should parent your child, from feeding to sleeping to discipline to ANYTHING UNDER THE SUN, and because they've been a parent themselves this somehow makes them an expert... even though they are well meaning, take EVERYTHING ANYONE says to you with a grain of salt.... what may have worked for their baby almost certainly won't work with yours, all babies are different, and if your baby sleeps best with you and you like it, then let bubs sleep with you... the most important factor here is sleep, do whatever lets the three of you get the most of it!!

Its your baby, you are the mummy and no matter what, you know whats best, and what you don't know you learn along the way....

enjoy your baby and trust your instincts....

[~kaos~]

If you want to read a book that really reaffirms why to chose cosleeping and the benefits of it, read "three in a bed" by Deborah Jackson. Great book.

Do what is right for you and your baby. They need you.... I've coslept with all three since birth and love it, not only for the extra sleep that I get (I've always told people I've never got out of bed to feed a baby ) but for the precious moments, and knowing that when my bub needs me, I'm right there.