co-sleeping

[dusty]

DD and I are co-sleeping. DH sleeps where ever he feels like but rarely in our bed as honestly I don't know where he would fit as we take up most of the room LOL.

I'm not that mad on it but it seems to work for us as a family unit although I personally find it full on as I've never been so close for hours to another being in my life and I have always liked my own space, even in bed (having DH in my bed permanently was a big step for me way back when....).

I sleep facing DD and her facing me right up along side, although I squash a rolled up cloth nappy between us as some protection so she doesn't roll if I moved (although I don't ever seem to in my sleep).

I normally feed DD to sleep in the bed when she wakes from her evening sleep (in her bassinet or snuggle bed) anywhere between 9-12pm and stay on with her for the night. I loose track of our feeds and wake times but they are probably every 1-2 hours, I normally wake when she does although her stirring in the night also wakes me, I pop my breast in her mouth and I go to sleep again. I was feeding both breasts from the one position, but have found it dangerous to do the top breast as I may fall on her due to my position and I find it uncomfortable leaning across. So I either move her over the other side in the bed or I go around. Sometimes around 2-3am I 'sneak' out and try and get some sleep on the couch or in the spare room with DH just to have a break. Also my nipples have had a huge work out by morning as I presume she hangs on and sucks in her sleep.

Anyway I'm not sure of the point of my post but I'm not sure how others 'do' co-sleeping and how they enjoy it. What could I be doing differently?

The upside is I don't have to resettle her in the night (she takes anywhere from 30min-1.5 hours to settle to sleep normally during the day although she is a great sleeper once properly settled) and I pass her onto DH about 4.30-5.30am so I can maybe get a couple of hours uninterrupted sleep and he can resettle her or have some father/daughter time which they love. Co-sleeping also means he is getting some sleep to best support us & I don't feel I need him in the night to help out. I feel fairly good during the day regardless of the broken sleep, some days are better than others. I don't tend to nap in the day, I prefer night sleeping.

I will continue this until she is better at settling herself (post 3 months I hope). I would like DH to return to our bed too but while DD is in it that is unlikely. We will probably move her cot into our room as we know there are benefits for having her with us for the first 6 months or so.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

DD2 used to sleep in with us aswell, i found she settled a lot better that way, i would feed from one side and fall asleep when she woke we would swap sides, the issue i found though was that she actually wakes MORE OFTEN snuggled up to me than in her own bed.

So i would feed her to sleep next to me laying on a pillow, then when she was out cold i would transfer her and the pillow into the bassinet, it was a perfect fit and she couldn't slip down the sides (very flat pillow) and she hardly woke as the pillow still smelt like me.

Eventually she didn't need the pillow, she was still in my room, still getting the cuddles but then i would get my rest!

She still comes in and co-sleeps every now and then and she's in the cot downstairs now.

[Cassius2]

we do a mix atm. i feed her always in bed at night and sometimes we both fall asleep like that. we were co-sleeping for the first 3 weeks full-time, but i found that she was waking yeah, every 1-2 hours and i was getting tired. so now our thing is that her first sleep is in her cot next to the bed (so i feed her in the dark lying on our bed and transfer her), then when she wakes at midnight i feed her in bed with us and then usually transfer...unless i fall asleep before that lol! but the early morning feed (say 4am) is in bed for the long haul...that's how we do it lol!

[HotI]

DD2 used to sleep in with us aswell, i found she settled a lot better that way, i would feed from one side and fall asleep when she woke we would swap sides, the issue i found though was that she actually wakes MORE OFTEN snuggled up to me than in her own bed.

Same here. My little one sleeps in a hammock next to the bed when not in with us. (On a good night) She goes to sleep in her hammock at around 7pm and sleeps by herself to around 12. I feed her lying in bed and sometimes we both fall asleep. If she falls asleep and i am awake i will transfer her to her bed and we both get more sleep. She comes back in to our bed when she wakes for the next feed.

I am working on her not needing my nipple to fall and stay asleep cos it's not good for us. I am happy to feed her during the night or be there when she is sick or icky, but don't want to be attached all night every night.

It does get tricky having bub in the bed when they begin to roll and crawl because it is hard to leave them in bed if you get up, because you never sure if they gonna wake up and choose that day to roll a distance. That's where we are at atm.

[onthefly]

We mixed and matched just depending on what was working best at any one time. Well done getting the feeding lying down - we couldn't do that till DS was much older and what a blessed relief!
When DS was very little we took it in turns sleeping with hiim, while the other would get a break.
Then he spent a bit of time in his bassinet then cot.
Then I ended up on a mattress on the floor with him for a good 10-12 months (with a few short breaks in my own bed when his sleep was better).
He still woke up a lot when co-sleeping, but it was easier than getting out of bed and trudging down to his room.

[dusty]

Thanks I found your experiences very encouraging & tried a new strategy last night which worked well by having her in the snuggle bed on the bed next to me & we had longer sleeps & a better full feed in the night with only one falling asleep (both of us) on the breast in bed.
Marcellus on a mattress on the floor for a year! Why the floor if I can ask?

[MummaSue]

Hey Dusty, sounds like you do it very similar to us! We also have the side of the cot off and the cot pushed up right next to the bed. Seems to work really well, we have a feed and I slide her back over to the cot (sometimes we just leave her where she is).

I love co-sleeping. We all just seem to get better sleep!
Sue x

[onthefly]

He's a terrible bed sharer - all over the place - so we couldn't all sleep in bed together (particularly given that he is partial to sleeping across the bed). It started out as a way to reassure him that mummy was nearby, but quickly ended up with an empty cot and the two of us on the floor. This was the best way we could deal with his difficulty sleeping alone due to separation anxiety, teething, illness and whatever else bothered him.

[tellytubby]

What we do, is put DS to bed in his cot. If he wakes before midnight, I quickly go into his room and give him cuddles until he is back to sleep, then put him back in his cot.

If it is after midnight, I bring him into our bed. We have our bed pushed against the wall, to avoid him accidently rolling off. And I simply swap sides/boobs throughout the remainder of the night. We are pretty good this way, but if DD wakes and comes to our bed too - the bed is way too full, so we then begin our musical beds game, and swap and change throughout the night. Last night it was DS, DD and myself sleeping in DD's single bed Was soo comfortable... hahaha (can you sense the sarcasm?? )

I have the midnight rule, as it gives DH and I to have some adult time together ( *wink wink* hehe), and also gives us a chance to stretch out

[dusty]

TT LOL at adult time & musical beds!
M I hear you on finding what works & sticking with it. Tonight DD is asleep on her snuggle bed on the couch in our living area so DH & I are stuck upstairs in the bedroom eating take away for fear of waking her....she is impossible to move once asleep as she wakes to any movement!

[MantaRay]

LOL Dusty! I hope you managed to escape the bedroom! Doesn't take them long to take over the house, does it

I think it's great that you've found some things that work for you. In my experience, going with the flow and and what works is a pretty good strategy. We've had nights where all four of us have woken up in a different place to where we fell asleep.

I also know people who've ended up in a bigger bed to accommodate everyone. We have a king bed which was very helpful for a while there, although now the boys are older it really doesn't hold 4 so well anymore. Usually if both boys end up in our bed, I end up in one of the single beds.