Co-sleeping advice needed please!

[MsKitten]

Hi ladies!!

My little bub is only 3 months old, and has been co-sleeping with me and DH since he was 3 weeks. (If he is put in a bassinet or cot to sleep, he wakes up hourly and screams. If in bed with us, he sleeps from 9pm-9am with only one wake-up at 4am for a feed!) We have used a 'First Years Safe and Secure Sleeper' which is one of those little beds you attach to the big bed mattress, and it's been awesome! However, he's now too tall for it, and i'm not confident about having him sleep in the bed just with pillows etc - fear of him being rolled on or smothered with the doona.
Any suggestions about how I can safely have him co-sleep? Any products similar to the safe and secure sleeper that keep him from squirming down under the doona, or being squished under a tired parent?

Thanks in advance girls!!!!!

xox

[bubno.3]

i have really no idea as i dont 'co-sleep' persue/ . when in cot is your bub wrapped and/or cold or too warm ? Is bub sleeping on his back and prefers his side ?? Does bub sleep in cot during the day for sleeps ok ?

[Arcadia]

I have an arms reach cosleeper, which attaches to the side of the big bed and gives bub their own sleeping space...you can get them from the aba website mothers direct. BUT dd always ended up in bed with me anyway...I liked the cosleeper being there so she couldn't roll out, and she slept under a blanket with me, while dh had the doona. As for pillows etc, I always slept with her in line with my boob, and then a knee up, so she wouldn't wriggle down. I have never felt fearful of rolling on dd, because you are so hyper aware of them anyway. I didn't put her between dh and I until she was crawling, and by then she could wriggle herself and make herself felt if she was squashed (which never happened). Even now, dh is just as aware as I am, and if he drinks alcohol he has to sleep in the other room. It works for us.

Cosleeping is the best!!!!

[MummaSue]

We now have the cot with the side off attached to the side of the bed which is awesome. We've only been doing that for a month or so now but wish we'd done it sooner.

DO you have a cot? Is there a way that you can attach the cot to the side of the bed?

[Daydream Believer]

I co-sleep with DD & DS (DF normally falls asleep on the couch) I have the toddler bed rails on each side of the bed. I sleep in the middle with DD on one side & DS on the other

[*LittleMissSummer*]

We have co-slept with our DD since she was 6 weeks and DP will cuddle her but then she ends up being in the middle of us and we have never had any troubles she will snuggle up to our backs or just sprawl out it works well for us

[onthefly]

When DS was little, I would lie with him in teh crook of my arm and dress warmly if it was cold so I could push the blankets down.
When he was older, we'd sleep seperate from DH so there was more room, and he could just sleep nearby, clear of blankets & pillows. I don't think there's real need for special devices (a cot or something next to the bed might be handy if you're pushed for room in the bed, however).

[CinderToriella]

When DS was little, I would lie with him in teh crook of my arm and dress warmly if it was cold so I could push the blankets down.
When he was older, we'd sleep seperate from DH so there was more room, and he could just sleep nearby, clear of blankets & pillows. I don't think there's real need for special devices (a cot or something next to the bed might be handy if you're pushed for room in the bed, however).

Exacctly ythe same here with us..I did all of ther above, then we moved the cot next to the bed and left one side off, now we have the mattress of our bed on the floor, and if she rolls off it will only be on the floor from a small height so she wont be hurt, I always keeo the blankets down low and i snuggle down in them if i am cold, DD is in a sleeping bag so she does not need my blankets on her, DF only sometimes sleeps with us .Not once have i ever rolled on here or hurt her in anyway i always was scared i would but not once has it happened

[boomba]

We have the cot with one side taken off up aginst our bed. This link should helppeaceful parenting: Turn Your Crib into a CoSleeper

Good luck and enjoy all those cuddles xx

[HotI]

I have heard of people cutting the end of the Secure Sleeper (the foot bit) so that bub can sleep in it a bit longer.
You can also try transitioning bub to a cot by putting him in the Secure Sleeper in the cot.
Having the cot up next to your bed and sliding him in once he is asleep.
Putting a safety rail on your bed and having him sleep in with you.

good luck in working it out

[~clover~]

When mine are little I have them in the crook of my arm also. The weight of them is enough to remind me are there, & I never let myself cet comfy enough to fall into a really deep sleep iykwim. I have her in the cot next to the bed atm, since she sleeps through in there, but if DH is at work (leaves at 4am) & she wakes she comes in with me.
Don't trust DH with her in there just yet, even though my last 2 were in there from only a few days old. Also, DS is in our bed alot & moves around way too much, kicking & stuff for me to have her near him, lol.
Friends of ours have 2 boys co sleeping & have a cot on either side of the bed with the side closest to the bed off the cot. They also have a king size bed, so that helps. But with the cots there they can move them in & out of the bad as needed, but they are still sleeping with them iykwim.

[MsKitten]

Thanks girls for the helpful suggestions! I had planned to use the Secure Sleeper to transition him into his cot, but due to the jumbo sized cot we bought ("it will last him longer") it doesn't fit in the bedroom next to our bed, and I'm not ready to have him in a seperate room away from me! So I think a safety rail might be the best bet from here - I can see a lot of squishy nights for me, jammed in between DH & DS who both sleep like starfish (a 3 month old starfish still takes up a surprising amount of room! hehehe)

xox

[MummaSue]

(a 3 month old starfish still takes up a surprising amount of room! hehehe)

xox

Haha, I know what you mean!!