Who here co-sleeps?

Just curious about co-sleeping... :)

DD and I have been co-sleeping since her birth and we manage to get a good 8+ hours sleep, with a 3am feed & change in the middle. If I put DD in her bed next to ours, she wakes up... even during the day, she'll wake up as soon as I put her down! So lately, I've just been living by the motto: "do what works" and so far, the co-sleeping works!

Who here co-sleeps and what works for you? Does your child sleep in your bed with you, or sleep on your chest, or in their own cot/bassinet/hammock next to yours etc? What has been the best method for you?

:D

we co-sleep with our ds. have been since we came home from hospital. i love it. ds loves it. dp is more than happy with it. it works, we all get sleep, but we don't tell many people we're doing it as we don't like their reactions and we can't be bothered defending it to people. i'm reading 'sleeping like a baby' by pinky mackay atm and she has made me feel so positive and good about it. i think it's wonderful..and waking up next to my two boys is the best thing ever.

We co-sleep with our boys and they co-sleep with each other.
They share a double bed and if they're restless we usually get into their bed or bring them into ours.

Pinky defines co-sleeping as anywhere that they're in arm's length so in a side car or so on is still co-sleeping.

I have 3 boys and have always co slept. I co slept with my 2nd little man until he was 12 months, before he got to restless and I wasnt getting enough sleep having him in with me so I had to move him to the cot. I now have a 10 week old bub and we have co slept since the day he was born. I wouldnt have it any other way. My Mum hates it, but I tell her its my business and I love it!!. Most of my friends do it too. You form such a wonderful bond. I love falling asleep with my baby and waking up with him too. Its so special and is fantastic for your breastfeeding relationship.

I must get pinkys book...it sounds like a fantastic read.

We co sleep also and love it

I got this great co-sleeper made by the first years, that way she can be ontop of my blanket it in, and i can still be under mine accorinding to co-sleeping guidelines (but they aren't very long and she will be out of it soon

I co slept with DS (during the nights, he was in hammock in our room during day).. Night sleeps were always fantastic, and we did this until 8 months or so, when he started getting disturbed by us coming in at night etc, and we moved him into his own room - and he slept great.. i think we moved him when he was ready, which although i was sad, felt like it was the right way to do it

I also don't tell people because i hate their reactions & can't be bothered explaining, but we love it and it works for us.

There is enough stuff to worry about with babies, as long as they sleep well and it is working for you and not driving you crazy, i say do it (same with feeding to sleep etc.. its only a problem if it doesn't work for you, your baby, your family.. everyone else can go jump!)

We did co-sleep for a while. Claire slept in our bed and I really liked having her there. She woud go to sleep so easily, and when she woke at night, she would go back to sleep so easily!

We dont co sleep so much now though because she now crawls and I found she was waking up and crawling around the bed and I was worried she would crawl off the edge of the bed and hurt herself. I miss it! We still do it someimes though, especially if she is a bit grumpy or hard to settle, but most night she sleeps in her cot. When we started cosleeping, I did notice a change in her. She became more cuddly, and settled more easily. She also started sleeping slightly longer .. although she does still wake up a few times overnight loooking for a boob.

DH wasnt happy about cosleeping to begin with, but he warmed to the idea after a little while. He still goes a bit funny when I bring her into our bed though - he tells me he thinks he is going to roll over and squash her. I tell him he wont and that he would be aware of her being there.

I also never really told anyone. I casually mentioned it one day and got bombarded with stupid comments and judgement. I figured why should I have to justify myself? It worked for us quite nicely and I dont feel bad about doing it at all. If people ask, then I might mention it though. but I dont just tell people because I cnt be bothered with listening to their comments.

I;ve also got the Pinky Mckay book Sleeping like a Baby. It is a good book.

Ironically,

I still have an incredibly tender relationship with both of my kids. I still shower with them and co sleep with them,all by their own choice. Some nights they go to their own beds,or if i'm having a bad period or need some down time. Majority of the time though we are all snuggled up together and they are 10 and 7. lol

Co sleeping is working wonderfully for us, I spent only 1 night in hospital after the birth and DH was in bed with me there, I think we surprised the midwife who came in in the morning. DS has been in bed with us since his first night home and we get a good 8 hours with just a nappy change, now we are all settled in I don't really even fully wake up to breastfeed. It's wonderful, peaceful, bub just looks so content lying in the middle with mum and dad on either side, yep the only problem (not) is other peoples reaction. I do tell them we do it and we sleep well because, well, if nobody ever don't own up to doing it it will remain "weird or scary" when it's soo not.

oops that should have been be "DS" was in bed with me in the hospital, although DH in my bed would have surprised the MW as well ;)

I always tried to do this with all my kids but with my 1st one because of all the problems she was having & because my ex was nasty,she ended up sleeping in a cot.With my second i tried again & managed to do it alot of the time but again my ex complained & his mother was such a bully about it & told me off repeatedly for it & said i was a bad mother so alot of the time i slept out in the lounge room with my son.
When i had my 3rd child i was with my current (& much nicer)partner so she was in with me 95% of the time.She slept with me in hospital too which earned me some critiscism from the nurses but not as much as i thought i would get.
So now that i realise that i'm not a bad mother for doing it it will b co-sleeping all the way this time:)

Hi,

Happily co-sleeping here with Guan, 4 and about half time with Cassie, 9. Nothing better than waking up snuggled up to a lovely warm girl!
Barb

I too have co-slept with my kids! The girls were about 3 when they went to their own beds. Angus slept with us from birth, but now I put him in his cot till he wakes up for a feed then put him in bed with us. His cot is in our room anyway! I just find it easier cause he rolls and rolls in my bed even over the pillows I put aroundhim!! But yeah, I love knowiing my kids are safe tucked in bed with us!! I check the girls about 10 times a night cause I worry about them and they are only in the room together next door!!! Angus just helps himself to boob at night and I find I get more sleep! My DH doesn't mind either (only when Angus wakes up at 5am like he did this morning and starts trying to play!!) Cheeky boy!

My four-month-old generally sleeps in a cradle next to my bed. I say "generally" because my partner is a shift worker so we are sleeping apart at the moment and sometimes she co-sleeps (in the same bed) with him in our other room or in a bassinette next to his bed. He is much less paranoid about squashing her than me and is totally pro co-sleeping! Mind you, I'm also a HUGE fan of teaching them (gently) to self-settle and I wouldn't be happy if she still needed me to physically be there to get to sleep.

I tell anyone who cares to ask mainly because I surprised myself that I would want to make this choice and I think it's helpful for people to hear the positive side. They can't really question my decision when I tell them that she sleeps at least 9 hours a night and has done since she was about eight weeks old. That's a great advertisement.

It's been absolutely brilliant for me. Occasionally she will be a little restless in the night and I just say "shhhhh... sleepy time" to her a few times and I hear her give a big sigh and then she goes back to sleep. I don't even have to get out of bed! If she was in a separate room, I'd be keeping myself awake listening to a stupid baby monitor and she'd probably not re-settle unless I went to her.

I don't think there are many cuter things in the world than hearing a baby rustle around underneath a little doona. Sometimes I deliberately lie awake just listening because I really want to savour all these great memories.

*raises hand* I co-sleep!

I never intended to. Prior to giving birth the plan was in her cot from the day we brought her home. Oh the naivety of a first timer.

When I brought her home, not wanting to let her out of my site, she slept in her pram most of the time. This allowed me to keep her beside me no matter where I was. I have a snuggle bed which we tried, but with two in the bed already, it didn't really make it comfy. I started leaving her in her pram to start with, pulled right up against the bed. Then after the first middle of the night feed she'd come into bed with me and that's where she stayed. Now I just put her straight in to start with.

DD and I sleep in the spare bed as DH has to get up early for work, and this gives us a queen sized bed to ourselves which makes it feel a little safer as well, room wise. She sleeps in the middle of the bed, and I alternate each side around her if we wake for a feed. IE I start on the left side of the bed when we go down, and jump over to the right side in the morning (or during the night if I wake). That way I don't have to move her or disturb her.

She won't go in there during the day unless I lie with her, so she spends most of her day sleeps either in her hug-a-bub or at the moment she's really taken to the bouncer with the vibrating on, so she's been there most of the time this past week. The bouncer is beside me at the computer. She sleeps longer if she can see me immediately when she stirs.

Currently I get at least 5 - 6 hours straight through the night, usually from around Midnight till 6am ish, that's usually her long one.

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it works, we all get sleep, but we don't tell many people we're doing it as we don't like their reactions and we can't be bothered defending it to people.

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Gracie we are two cut from the same cloth I think. Word for word how DH and I are. I tend to pick the generation age to tell - my Mother, MIL etc I will out and out lie just to avoid the "you shouldn't comments. But my friends etc I tend do... hesitantly.

me me me me me!!! Loving co-sleeping here too. Out of necessity when they were younger, and we have just loved it, waking up snuggled up with two gorgeous kidlets. Even when they go into their bed at night, it's divine waking up to them both snuggled in between us - they don't even wake us the cheeky things - have an art of sneaking in. But doesn't bother me because I enjoy it 99% of the time :) The 1% is when I sleep awkwardly and have a very bad neck/back! Marisa's 5 and Elijah 3.

we cosleep here as well. we have Maria's cot attached to our bed side car style, Maria has slept that way for ages but she generally stays in her cot area all night now. Sofia is in a bassinette close to DH, when she wakes for the 4am feed, he hands her to me to breastfeed lying down and she stays there until morning, works for us.

Awwww can I say I'm envious of all of you *sniff*

Co sleep here. Started from a combo of liking to and needing to. We have the cot with the side off strapped to the bed, so most of the night she will crawl in there to sleep and pop back into bed for a feed as she feels like it. I admit sometimes I hate it, but there are other times where it feels so right.

Co-slept out of the need for sleep and feeding every 2 hours. Now DS is in the hammock beside the bed and comes in for feeds. If he settles and sleeps quickly he goes back to the hammock but if not he stays in bed with us to sleep - usually from about 3am.

We co-slept from the time Maya was about 3 days old. We loved it and were all getting much more sleep than most not co-sleeping parents I have talked to.
In the first month or 2 she slept on her belly on my chest as I felt that was safer then her sleeping next to me. Then she started sleeping next to me, on her back or side with my arm around her.
But we have been transferring her to her cot since last weekend because she fell of the bed :redface: I do have the cot right next to the bed and I bring her into our bed early in the morning.
She slept extremely well the first 2 nights in her cot going for a 7 hour stretch!!! But the last couple of nights she's been waking herself up every hour or two because she was crawling in her sleep. When I bring her into my bed, she doesn't move in her sleep at all.
I know what you mean about them waking up if you're trying to put them down. Maya used to be the same. I only learned to put her down without waking a few days ago. I have her lying in my arms with on hand under her neck and the other holding her bottom. I then lay her in the bed on her side, the side that's away from me. That way I can easily get my hands out. I stay and jiggle her bottom for a while and she either doesn't wake up at all or goes straight back to sleep.
I also feed her to sleep with soft music playing and I leave the music on for another 15 minutes or so after i have transferred her to her bed.
Having said all of that, I don't know if any of that would have worked if I had tried it earlier or if she was just ready for it.
Rest assured, there are a lot of people who co-sleep for either part of the night or all of the night. And those kids turn out just fine.

Sasa

Never heard of the term co-sleep till now. But yes i co-sleep with DS and it works perfectly for me :)

Our DD sleeps most of the night in her own cot (recently moved to her own room), but if she wakes up for a feed after about 4am I will just leave her in our bed for the last few hours (DH gets up for work at 6am anyway). I love the snuggles - she sleeps on her back and I just move all pillows out of the way. For now I love it, and I feel its safe because she can't roll. I don't know what I'll do when she is more mobile, cause I don't want her to fall out of bed. Might re-arrange the bedroom :)

Does anyone who co-sleeps bottle feed? I can see how it would be great if I could breast feed but I am curious as to how you work a bottle feed in. Caitlyn is in her cot now and we have HUGE problems getting her to sleep and to stay asleep (sometimes waking every 2 hours - sometimes every hour!!!) and would love to do the co-sleep thing! I bring her into our bed after 5 am and wonder if it would be better if I started it earlier!

You could probably still do it. I get up during the night if I need to pee and Savannah's fine until I get back and she goes right back to sleep. I just make sure she's in the middle, no doona or anything near her and I leave the lights off. Sometimes she's asleep before I get back now as the bed smells like me and she's learning that I'm only gone temporarily.

You could probably get up and make a bottle quickly.

There was a very interesting study which was presented at the ABA Hot Milk Conference, which was a large study and showed that very very little bottlefeeders are co-sleeping... it was a great talk which went over common traits exhibited by cosleeping mothers and they all sleep the same way around their baby - arm behind their head, knees up (believe to prevent baby migrating south) and like a c-shape, very interesting!

Hi Rebecca

I bottlefeed and co-sleep (in the loosest sense of the term ie. she's in a cradle within arm's length). In your situation, I'd probably get a Phil & Ted's travel bottle (don't know the exact name) but it's a whizzy thing that keeps the formula in one section and the boiled water in another and when you're ready to feed you twist and mix. You could keep that on your bedside table and mix without getting out of bed. That would be great for one feed - not every hour though as it would still be sitting there mixed until your next one. But it would also depend on how hot your baby likes the milk - mine's not at all fussy - warm/room temperature/straight out of the fridge, she's not bothered.

My daughter rarely wakes during the night now but I find myself relishing the times when she does so I can pop her into bed with me. Am a bit too worried about her being squashed to do it all the time! And yes, a C position here too. So schnuggly!!!

When me and my partner were living together, the three of us shared a bed and Aurelia slept in the crook of my arm, between me and the edge of the bed. I don't trust that my man wouldn't roll over onto her during the night, he's a verrry heavy sleeper. Now that he's out of state for the moment, me and her have a whole queen bed all to ourselves and its bliss! Recently when I visited him, we only had a double bed and a spare single mattress on the floor, so guess who got kicked out of bed? I'll give you a hint; it wasn't the baby. Mwahahaha!

That's interesting about the sleep position. Now that me and Aurelia have a queen bed to ourselves, I just have her next to me and don't necessarily cuddle her, mostly because its so hot here now. Back when we were squashed up with my partner, I slept that way except I didn't have my arm under her head - she didn't seem comfortable.