help for co sleeping newbie

Hi,
I am aware of the sids guidelines but would appreciate any other tips from your experience
Do you still wrap them?
How do you stop them getting too hot?
E.g. Wear a singlet and nappy only?
Thankyou!

Hi Aimz

I don't wrap my son when he is in our bed. He uses our blanket but I know some people put the bub on top of their blanket and give them their own blanket, I did this when he was newborn, and would recommond it for newborns. I am awake a few times a night still so I check if he is too hot, but he normally isn't. I dress him in a singlet and wondersuit.

Good luck.

when we started co-sleeping wih dd, she was wrapped, but that was because i would feed her in bed, and then cuddle her until she fell asleep, and quite often i would fall asleep and wake up a few hours later and she was still in bed with us.
Now though, she still sleeps with us and she normally wears her pjs, and snuggle in between us under our blanket. and normally this works pretty well!!!!
However, you can buy cosleeping beds from baby shops, like little bassinettes. this keeps them safe and you can wrap, use bubbas own blanket and so on!
hth

Justine

I have DS in a blanket suit (and last winter in a sleeping bag) on top of the covers & I wear a cardigan to be on cold nights so I don't freeze when I uncover to bf him (I've now adjusted my sleeping so my shoulders & one arm are always uncovered, so I need the cardigan now he usually doesn't have a feed). DS starts the night in his bed and comes in if he wakes during the night (or at 5:30 if he sleeps thru :rolleyes:) so I don't need to adjust the covers or his clothes when he comes in, but I've been doing this since he was 3 months)

We only co-sleep occasionally but i have something like a gro bag that is perfect for DS. It's called a Bubbaroo.

I dress him in a wondersuit of types and put him in the bubbaroo which is a bit like having his own quilt. then i put him to the very top of the bed and he still gets some of his body covered by our doona but he sleeps fine.

DD used to wear PJs/Wondersuit or a Bodysuit to bed. On really cold nights, also lightweight grobag. The way we used to sleep in the first few weeks was with me lying on my back and her on top of me, belly to belly IYKWIM. She was covered with our doona. When she started to get too heavy for that (and I got more confident), I used to sleep on my side, and she was on her side, facing me (at boob level, cause that's where she usually fell asleep). My bent legs were under her and my arm above her. Again, she was covered with my doona, but I always had my arm on top of te doona to prevent it from moving up and my legs were under her, so she couldn't slide under the doona.
I don't know where you live, but even here in SE Queensland a singlet and nappy wouldn't be nearly enough for a baby to wear to bed. I would dress DD in the type of clothing that I would feel comfortable in. So if I'm wearing long sleeved PJs, then that's what she wears. For a very young baby, my midwife said the rule of thunb is: what you wear plus one layer. So if you wear long sleeved PJs, PJs and singlet for her.

Hope that helps, Sasa

Just a question, I have tried sleeping with one of my ch. in bed with me occasionally or when they have been sick. Q. with dh in bed too, how do you get sleep? I might get 1/2hr or so and wake again, not real deep sleeping. We have a queen bed and find that to have a child as well in bed there is no room for me. Do you have bigger beds or is it that if done long enough I would get used to it.

Thanks

Rose, We have a King size bed (instead of buying a cot when I got pregnant, we invested in a big bed as we only had a double before that. I never planned on co-sleeping, but I fully expected mornings and occasional nights in our bed). Some people sleep with 2 or 3 kids in a King that has been turned to the side, making it 200cm wide and 180cm long.
It sounds like you are referring to sleeping with an older child, which I could imagie could get quite cramped in a Queen. Doable, definitely, but a little cramped. I don't move much when I sleep, even less so since Maya was born. So DD and I sleep in my half of the bed and DH still has his whole half to himself. So I guess, if both you and your DH make a little space sacrifice, it should be manageable. But older kids often sleep quite restlessly, tossing and turning, so it might not be so easy.
You could try putting a mattress on the floor next to your bed. Or moving their bed right next to yours, if your bedroom has enough space. But that's only feasible if you plan on co-sleeping in the long run. Not for the occasional night.

Sasa

Rose - if it's only occasionally, you're likely to run into problems. Full time family-bed sharers get into a sync and I can tell you that everyone gets a great sleep unless someone's sick...but then who gets great sleep when a kid or adult is sick anyway!
I don't know - anecdotally, it doesn't really work if you only do it from time to time and expect to get great sleep. It seems the kids treat it as a novelty and the kicking and squirming gets them kicked back out. For my DS, it's the only way he knows, bed means sleep :)