too young for co-sleeping?

[slimjadey]

my little one is just over a week old now and i got told off by both my mother and my mother in law for sleeping with him in the bed with me for fear of rolling on him etc..
He sleeps so well with me though, i've tried sticking him into a bassinet after a feed and he wouldn't settle, not even rocking him back and forth in the pram works like it did with my other two.
There is the possibility of feeding him til he falls into a deep enough sleep that i can put him back into his bassinet but it takes a while and i just know i'd end up falling asleep anyway.
Also breastfeeding seems to be much easier laying down, he has a bit of a tongue-tie and just seems to latch on much easier laying down.
I'm pretty confident that i'm not going to roll onto him, i've taken precautions such as having him smack in the middle of the bed (its a queen size bed so lots of room) with me on one side and a pillow on the other edge so he cant roll off but far away enough that he cant roll into it and smother himself. I also have my arms stretched out to my side above his head so i'm not about to roll over onto my arm that would bend my arm in an awkward way and probably hurt and my knees are bent which i got very used to while pregnant. I also have the pillow positioned on my shoulder with the bulk of it going behind me so that my head is on the very edge of it and the rest is well away from baby.
I've heard of plenty of mothers co-sleeping when their babies are 6 months+ but is 1 week too young? I can't see how it would be much different but i dunno..

edit: i forgot to mention that DH had been kicked out of the bed too (poor guy) so there's no risk of him rolling onto baby either..

[paradise lost]

Plenty of people co-sleep with their babies from birth. You are absolutely right that it makes BFing easier and in most cases (unless you are too nervous to rest well) means you get the most and best sleep possible which is SO important just now. It is very easy for people to say "oh it's dangerous" when usually they haven't done it and it's not them having to contend with tongue-tie or sleep deprivation.

If you feel confident that what you're doing is right for you both then go ahead and do it! Trust your instincts!

We co-slept for part of every night from birth and when DP objected i simply put her on my side instead of between us (he was XP by the time she was 8 weeks old but for a variety of other reasons!). I never rolled on her, i got lots more sleep than i would have done and i'll do it with my next kid too.



Bx

[~*Niadalla*~]

This sounds oh so familiar.
We co slept with my little guy, from about 3 weeks of age til 4 months , full time, he does co sleep with us a little bit now.
Either DP or I used to have DS lie in the crook of our elbows. We never once rolled on DS. I know that I wouldn't sleep deeply when we had DS in full time, and always knew he was there, and not to roll over. I had gotten used to not rolling over in my sleep during my pregnancy, as I was so massively huge. lol
DP LOVES co sleeping with DS, and misses it immensely now.
My parents, his parents, and even my childless sister all had something negetive to say when we did it, but pfffftttt to all of them. They aren't in your situation. They don't have to do what you are doing.
You're the mother. Do what you think is right for you and YOUR baby. and just ignore whatever anyone else says.

Good luck, and happy co sleeping!!!!

[lilima]

we never co slept much, but when we did it was fine. Even when you are asleep you are very aware, and I never rolled on DS.
The only reason I would suggest that co sleeping in not a good idea is if you are a smoker, as that increased the risk of SIDS.

[mrscricket]

We co-slept with DS pretty much from birth, even in the hospital, and I found you just tend to instinctively sleep differently. I am a bit of a mover in my sleep but whenever DS was in with us I found i never moved position. It was like i was aware he was with me. He mostly slept on my chest or in the crock of my arm.

Everyone had a go at me for co-sleeping but DS is a beautiful sleeper now which i think was him adjusting to our body rhythms. He sleeps in his own cot now and rarely sleeps with us and i do miss it. I also look back to when he first come home and was so glad he slept with us as we both (Dh and I) got so much more sleep and it was a nice time for us. Do what you think is best - your the mummy and he won't be in your bed forever! If you chose to co-sleep for a few weeks, months or even years, it is your choice. Good luck!

I should add to that we were encouraged by the midwife at hospital to co-sleep. She gave us heaps of information and made us feel good about it. I don't know if i would of done it without her inital encouragement. In my mind, she was a professional so that made me feel positive and ignore my MIL and mum when they both said it was wrong

[slimjadey]

Thankyou for your replies, yeah i've found that i've grown attached to it even though we've only been doing it for a short time i really missed it last night (along with half a night's sleep)