Co-sleeping suggestions

Hey everyone,

I'm having a few bad weeks co-sleeping which is getting worse. After being an amazing co-sleeper (waking once or twice a night from a young age) she's now become really restless at 7 months. Im getting badly interrupted sleep, and my neck pain has been the worst its been in a long time. So I am a cranky, short, exhausted, bear with a sore head and I hate it! She's also stretching out her sleeps so I dont have much chance to nap during the day. She's not popped a tooth yet but she has to be close, she's been mauling stuff for a while (shoving her face hard into things and shaking her head a little, like a dog would lol). But I need some ideas or suggestions because my body and mind are not coping :(

:hug: i know exactly how you feel, i was the same with DD about this age too. I think from this age we decide to "side-car" the cot, so she was still co-sleeping with us, and i could still somewhat cuddle her, and easily feed her and still not have to get up, etc. but it gave us both the space we need.

We just took the side off the cot, then put it right up against our bed. There was a slight drop from our bed into the cot, maybe 5cm? but nothing huge, and it didn't really matter anyway, as she either slept in my arms, or in the cot.

:hug: hope it all settles down soon!

Remember these stages do pass as tough as the seem right now. Have you tried side carting a cot? From when DS could roll. Put the side on and I just pop him back in there once he fell asleep. And then if he woke he was still just right there. Once he could stand though I moved the cot away 30cm and had to drop the cot to the lower level. He'd start the night off in there and then on first wake he'd be in with us. Sometimes I put him back in his cot once asleep, but if waking too frequently he'd stay in with us. Have you tried a chiro? I found that really helpful with DS, we travel am hour away to see ours as he is really gentle, so gentle he almost falls asleep! Sorry no real help but it will pass. Take this from someone who has a DD that thought sleep was not a part of life! She sleeps much better now :)

Have you tried putting her in her cot for the first part of the night? We co-slept too but at this age I would put them in their cot for the first part and then bring them into bed at the first wake up. Otherwise I would wake them when I came to bed and they were restless. I found this way we could get a good chunk of sleep for the first bit (sometimes, LOL) and then still co-sleep when they needed it for the second half.

at that age, i was bf-ing every two hours (day and night) and i had a bassinette right next to my bed. So at night, sometimes she was sleeping with me (on top of the bedding) and sometimes she slept in the bassinette (maybe that was my version, of the "sidecar" that so many people mention). That was my compromise, as she was so close to me. Doing it tandem at night (her father doing nappy changes and bringing her back to me for a bf) also helped. In my zombie/hardly getting any sleep phase, so resting was very important, if not exactly sleep. And having the box of all the stuff you normally have to get up for, very close by (breastpads, lipbalm, nappy flats for spills, spare clothing for baby and you, nappy change stuff, bottle of iced water, crackers - anything you can nibble on with one hand that might give you some sustenance, tissues, phone). And spare mattress protector.

Both mine have restless phases. My answer is to get more room for you and baby, so partner may need to sleep in a single next to the bed, or you and baby in a double by yourselves. I also found it helpful to get up briefly and show baby the dark house and the stars out the window while whispering 'night time sleep time'. It still helps ds even at 24 months if he is restless.

It has been hot recently too which always makes my kids restless. Is she dressed ok for cosleeping?

Otherwise she is probably about to crawl or get a tooth.

This too shall pass.

We sidecar'd a spare cot from a friend two weeks ago (I think my DD is about 2 -3 weeks older than yours) so DD now starts the night in her cot (restlessly, sometimes waking every sleep cycle) and then when we go to bed she comes in to our room once age wakes after we've retired for the night. Sidecar'ing had improved my sleep significantly, and there is plenty of room for DH, me and DD in the cot but still snuggled next to me, our mattresses are the exact same height with no gap. Even if DS comes in (often about 5am) we each still have space with means we all sleep comfortably without waking with sore neck or back. DD was a wonderful sleeper until about 5-6 months. I used to only feed once a night. From then until we added the sidecar cot she was feeding 2-3, sometimes more. Now she is back to 1. Definitely give it a try. I wish I'd done it earlier now!

Thanks everyone. I will be sure to give it a go, we have an arms reach co-sleeper so I should use it more. She's a big bubba though so may have to invest in something bigger. She's already crawling and pulling herself up on things, so I am curious to see if this will result in a tooth. But tonight she's been a little snotty so maybe she's coming down with her first cold.

I start dd off in her cot, then she comes to bed whenever she wakes after we have gone to bed. But dh and I have a deal about bad nights. When dd has a bad night, and there has been little sleep, he gets up with her when she wakes early and I get the bed to myself to have a sleep, whether it be 10mins or an hour all depending on how much time we have to spare. Having the bed to myself for just that little bit of time, to stretch out, sleep in a position tha is actually comfortable and to have doona. I dont know if that will help, but it saves me here some days.