Got some questions for those that do it. :) I'm TOTALLY new at this as it is my first baby and while I am an infant teacher and have an education degree and have worked with kids/babies for a LONG time, I don't have much experience as far as kids and nighttime. So anways....
What do you feel are the pros and cons of co-sleeping?
If you do not co sleep, why not? (Not at ALL being judgmental...I really want to hear both sides.)
If you co-sleep, do you also do feeding on demand? What do you think about co-sleeping but having a night time feeding routine? (as in not nursing everytime the baby wants to but rather following somewhat of a schedule)
How do you know for sure that you or your spouse will not squish the baby or the baby will not roll off the bed or suffocate?
(We have a full size bed...our bedroom is so tiny that a queen or king would not really fit so we will not be buying a new bed unless we move.)
What does your spouse feel about co-sleeping?
(I don't know how many do this but I am not willing to sleep with the baby and kick dh to the couch or leave the room with the baby to sleep elsewhere....that will most likely happen on occasion especially at first but for us will not work long term.)
I'm sure there are some great threads on here about cosleeping so please direct me to them if you know where one is....I will definitely be reading up on some ideas and thoughts but wanted to ask those that have done it. I have some ideas as to what I would like to do but want to get lots of info!
ShyDaisi
08-25-2009, 12:39 AM
It is just me and Micah, so I didn't have to come terms with anyone else when it came to sleeping arrangements. I have to say that even up until the day he was born, I had fully intended to put him in his bed to sleep. However, from Day 1, we both slept more comfortably in the same bed. Even at the hospital, he slept between me and a pillow. When he was in the bassinet, I just felt like the "connection" was broken (that probably sounds crazy) -- I wanted to touch him constantly, but I think he felt the same way. I mean, heck, we had been touching constantly for 9 months, so I guess it makes at least a little sense....
Then, when we got home, I took literally the advice to "sleep when the baby sleeps"....around the clock I slept, except for feedings and diaper changes. I was so terrified that I would sleep through him waking from being so exhausted, that I kept him in bed with me. During the first 2 "sleepy" weeks, I could put him in the bassinet to sleep if I did stay up while he slept (to eat or whatever). Plus, I had always heard "them" say, that if you hold a baby while he sleeps, he will never learn to sleep without being held :rolleyesout: So, I put him down to sleep, but it was either in bed with me or the bassinet....then....he "woke up" :giggle2: and screamed constantly unless held for the next 4 weeks, when I discovered baby wearing...but that is a whole other tangent I suppose.
Micah only within the last 4ish months or so has started to sleep 4 to 6 hours at a time at night without waking to nurse. I found that the number ONE benefit for us with co-sleeping (once I learned to nurse laying down) was that I could breastfeed him while in a twilight sleep. Plus, since I am right there, he usually gets to nurse before he is really awake, so he goes back to sleep more quickly.
I have a king sized bed, and it is just the 2 of us, so I don't have to worry about space. He has never fallen out of bed. I did put my mattress on the floor just in case (though it is still about 28" off the floor). If he was ever sleeping in bed without me, I would put a couple of pillows along the edge just in case. But when it is the two of us, I usually sleep on my side, semi-fetal, and he sleeps in the space between my face and knees, occasionally with his leg kicked up on mine. I always, from Day 1, had a very keen awareness of where he was compared to my position. I have never been even close to rolling on top of him.
Benefits:
- breastfeeding easier
- more sleep for both of us; closer so I can more quickly meet his needs and without getting out of bed before either of us is fully awake
- more connection/skin to skin contact
- more comfortable with being close in case he was in distress
- I think it will foster a greater independence and more confidence than he would have being separated from me (since we already spend so much time apart during the day)
I can't think of anything negative in our situation. We are doing what works well for both of us. Co-sleeping doesn't work for everyone. Some bed share, like me, as that is best for them. Some, co-sleep, but in different beds. Others feel it is best for everyone involved to sleep in separate rooms. NONE of it is wrong....It is what is best for their family.
If you decide that you do want to co-sleep, but room is your main issue, consider sidecarring (sp?) a crib or bassinet or co-sleeper. It will give the baby his own area/room, but still provide most, if not all other benefits.
jeebee
08-25-2009, 01:15 AM
Well, I don't have any problems with co-sleeping at all, in that I think it's great if you can do it and if it works for your situation. However, we chose not to (and maybe we also didn't need to as DD was a great sleeper from day 1 and didn't require to be close to us?). We put her in her crib from day 1, and the only times she slept in the bed with us was when she woke up and I nursed her during the night lying down and fell back asleep together. She is a total wriggler though and we often wouldn't get a whole lot of sleep though if this happened.
She slept through the night pretty easily from about 2-3 months (8 hours) and it just made sense since we were putting her to bed at 8pm and not going to bed ourselves that she go to sleep in her own bed. I think partly with kid that co-sleep, they often tend to be night-nursers because it is so close by. We found after about 7 months DD started being aware of us (we had a 1 bedroom apartment) in the room and would wake up more often- she went from being a super-sleeper to waking 2-3 times and it was slowly killing us! I would nurse her because that is the easiest thing to do when you are tired and it was a bad routine to get into! When we moved to a bigger place at 11 months she magically went straight back to sleeping 10 hours straight in her own room. Literally... from the first night we were there, and we were just amazed at the difference it made for all of us. We weren't tired and run down all the time, not getting constant colds etc, and she was much happier. ALL of us were much happier! For this reason this time round we won't have #2 in our room after about 6 months old. All I can hope is that this one will be a great sleeper again!!!
Oh, I also wanted to add that it's a good idea to wean them off nursing to sleep at around 4-5 months, whether you co-sleep or not. They can become dependent on that to go back to sleep. We just started with rocking or patting in bed, and it worked well for us. It also made it better when she got teeth as we could brush her teeth before bed and not worry about food etc sitting there all night!
Also, when she is sick these days now and then she does wake up and end up coming into our bed for the rest of the night... so you can be a part-time co-sleeper :giggle: Oh and we have never been concerned about squishing her at all when she is in our bed. I guess it's the same as we have never squished each other? Lol.
tarah1218
08-25-2009, 02:11 AM
What do you feel are the pros and cons of co-sleeping?
Pros: More sleep for me because I don't wake up worrying about him a bunch of times at night (He sleeps through the night now). Someone to snuggle with in bed while DH is gone, I hate sleeping alone.
Cons: He hogs the bed (sleeps sideways, haha) and if I stir in my sleep I wake up right away because I get worried about him in my sleep. (I woke up one night as I was about to roll over freaking out about him because he was right behind me but I never rolled on him, my body woke me up before I ever rolled over just as I was thinking about it) If he pees out of his diaper I tend to get it on me too, haha.
If you co-sleep, do you also do feeding on demand? What do you think about co-sleeping but having a night time feeding routine? If Coen wanted to feed when he woke I would just feed him. I would think that if you do a routine it might be hard because than he/she would stay awake instead of going back down unless there was something else there to soothe and remind to go back to sleep like a back rub or something.
How do you know for sure that you or your spouse will not squish the baby or the baby will not roll off the bed or suffocate?
I have two rails up on either side of the bed. I don't let DH sleep on the same side as the baby when he is home. I don't use pillows and we each have our own separate blanket.
What does your spouse feel about co-sleeping?
My DH loves it. Right after Coen was born he was so excited to go to sleep with a baby in the bed again. At first he wasn't happy with the idea, with Dallas, but after one night he loved it. I think he just loves the fact he gets more sleep because a baby doesn't cry to wake us up.
jnno
08-25-2009, 03:16 AM
What do you feel are the pros and cons of co-sleeping?
These are my personal pros and cons. As long as it is done safely, I really have zero opinion on other people doing or not doing it. I do get pretty upset when I hear about people doing it without taking safety precautions (including drugs (legal or not), alcohol, bedding, etc.). I also disagree with the mentality that mothers will automatically be hyper-aware of their babies and not harm them, etc. I think people really, really need to evaluate and be honest with themselves about whether or not they are able to safely cosleep.
Pros: We sleep. That's about it. My son (just shy of 1 month) will NOT sleep if he's not with me. Honestly, I'm hoping it ends really, really soon. I try for a bit every evening and am hoping to slowly make the transition to the cradle.
Cons: I don't sleep well. I am worried that something will happen to him (basically, that I will smother him). I don't get to sleep all snuggled under blankets and with all my pillows.
If you do not co sleep, why not? (Not at ALL being judgmental...I really want to hear both sides.)
I didn't cosleep with DD. I have zero desire to have our child(ren) in bed with us. I like the space, time and quality of sleep I get when it's just me and DH (when he's home). I don't want to have to worry about getting my child to sleep in their own bed at some point down the road when it will be more difficult. I don't like the safety concerns I personally have with cosleeping.
When DD was 7 months old, DH left (military). She dealt with the change by waking every hour at night again. I was working 40+ hours a week and trying to get our house sold, so that change killed me. I would bring her to nurse on my bed instead of the rocking chair so I could at least stretch out, but would always take her back to her room when we were done. One night, I accidentally fell asleep while she was still nursing. I woke up, looked over, and the only thing I could see was her little foot disappearing over the edge of the bed. She was falling head first off my bed. My arm shot out, and I barely caught her by one leg and pulled her back onto the bed. She was literally inches from smashing onto my floor. The fact that I could fall asleep that deeply and not be aware of her rolling off the bed solidifies the fact that *I* am not a good cosleeper.
I'm not concerned about that with DS yet, as he can't roll, but he will NOT be in my bed by the time he can, because of what happened with DD.
If you co-sleep, do you also do feeding on demand? What do you think about co-sleeping but having a night time feeding routine? (as in not nursing everytime the baby wants to but rather following somewhat of a schedule)
With DS, I do feed on demand, and we are currently cosleeping. I also fed on demand with DD and we didn't cosleep. I haven't and wouldn't breastfeed on a schedule that I came up with, day or night; we always feed on demand.
Honestly, I think it would be more trouble than it's worth to try to make a baby hold off on nursing if they wanted to, especially if they were lying right next to my boobs.
How do you know for sure that you or your spouse will not squish the baby or the baby will not roll off the bed or suffocate?
(We have a full size bed...our bedroom is so tiny that a queen or king would not really fit so we will not be buying a new bed unless we move.)
Well, I don't. That's my big problem with cosleeping. There is ALWAYS the possibility that it could happen. DH is currently sleeping on the floor next to the bed (his choice. He wasn't happy with the tiny sliver of bed that I allotted him in order to have enough room for DS so that I felt comfortable. We also have a sofa bed, twin bed, air mattress and couch that he could sleep on but chooses not to. Don't feel bad for him :giggle: ). He leaves this week for month-long training, so I'm really hoping and working on DS being in the cradle by the time he gets back. Rolling off isn't an issue at this point (he can't roll and I have a firm pillow next to the edge of the bed).
The fear of smothering him terrifies me and is constantly on my mind.
We have a queen bed.
What does your spouse feel about co-sleeping?
(I don't know how many do this but I am not willing to sleep with the baby and kick dh to the couch or leave the room with the baby to sleep elsewhere....that will most likely happen on occasion especially at first but for us will not work long term.)
He feels the same way I do. He prefers to have our bed to ourselves and doesn't sleep well with a baby in it, even if he had more room. He, like me, isn't against anyone else cosleeping, just feels it isn't right for our family.
Equivocal
08-25-2009, 03:58 AM
We had fully intended on my daughter sleeping in her own bed. But with a traumatic delivery and being that I was purely exhausted... and did not want to be away from my baby. We co-slept.
My partner slept in the same bed until DD was about a year old, then she went to the guest room (she has a sleep disorder and any slightest movement or whimper and she was awake). She does not sleep with us now and it's been over a year.
My DD (25 months) has her own room, her own bed... but has slept in it maybe one night her entire life.
It was easier for me to get sleep. Easier to nurse. Created warmth, so we didn't have to cover her in a super thick pajamas or turn our heat up a lot at night.
Next child - we will not co-sleep.
katt
08-25-2009, 04:12 AM
f you co-sleep, do you also do feeding on demand? What do you think about co-sleeping but having a night time feeding routine? (as in not nursing everytime the baby wants to but rather following somewhat of a schedule)
We feed on demand, even now at 2.5 years. Um... well, I feel that if baby is hungry then feed him/her. We never did a feeding schedule, they are not conducive to a good nursing relationship and it is MUCH easier to feed baby when they want it.
How do you know for sure that you or your spouse will not squish the baby or the baby will not roll off the bed or suffocate?
I slept for the first 6 weeks with the baby on my chest. I didn't move and DH is very aware of where the baby was. Then he moved to the middle of the bed between DH and myself.
How do you know not to roll off the bed? You just do. We take precautions, kept the blankets low, pillows high, boob close by.
What does your spouse feel about co-sleeping?
He LOVES it. He loves waking up to a happy baby and getting to spend a lot of time snuggling (when the boy lets him). He makes comments about how sad he'll be when the boy decides he wants his own space.
Overall, i LOVE co-sleeping. I've gotten TONS more sleep then I would have had I had to get out of bed every time my baby needed/wanted me. I'm right there, DH is right there. We love it.
Yes, he does tend to take up a lot of room, NOW, as a toddler. He'll end up sideways or arms flung out, but as a baby he barely moved.
You can always sidecar a crib if you need more space. Take the rail down, pull the crib in tight next to your side (you can use bungee the crib to the bed to get it nice and tight) that way baby is sleeping with you, but not on the bed.
HadassahSukkot
08-25-2009, 05:46 AM
My DH was more pro-cosleeping than I was, as he coslept a really, really long time. In my family, we only coslept if we slept badly or were sick.
DH sleeps very lightly. I'm the deep-death sleeper... and I think some of that has to do with my health issues. I probably need a sleep study.
Anyway, we do nurse on demand, the LO sleeps in the middle between us... We're thinking of getting an arm's reach co-sleeper for our newer addition, even with us having a King bed, mainly due to worry over Jonathan squishing the new baby and not knowing how to sleep or behave around an itty-bitty.
As far as cons.. I can't think of many that aren't just minor irritating things - like waking up to my DH's pj bottoms in my face because our little one thinks it's funny to wave them around when he wakes up (I told DH to put them somewhere else because I'm not getting them in my face again. He'll go without or put them up properly in the morning :giggle: I was not happy after that happening for a week). The only other thing is waking up to a cup in my face "DANKE!" says the little one, as he's finished drinking and wants me to take it so it won't spill.
Other than that, we're all good and fine with it. :)
wordmama
08-25-2009, 07:02 AM
I had never even heard of co-sleeping when I had DS. But even that first night in the hospital, it felt more natural to me to have my baby in my arms and not in a plastic bin beside me. When we got home, we had a beautiful cradle handed down from my DH's family and I placed DS in there at night. But then I found more and more DS would end up snuggled in my arms. It just felt right.
And once he was a month old and we could nurse laying down, we got SO much more sleep! He didn't have to get to a full-out cry to get my attention and I didn't even have to move to nurse him.
DS moved into his own bed when he was a little over a year. He is an excellent sleeper (goes to bed at 8 and wakes up at 7) and there is no draw-backs to our co-sleeping start. If anything, it gave him a very positive view of bed time.
Dr. Sears has a page about the scientific benefits of co-sleeping (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/handout1.asp) and a good article on how to safely co-sleep (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t102200.asp).
curi0usgir1
08-25-2009, 03:29 PM
I had never even heard of co-sleeping when I had DS. But even that first night in the hospital, it felt more natural to me to have my baby in my arms and not in a plastic bin beside me. When we got home, we had a beautiful cradle handed down from my DH's family and I placed DS in there at night. But then I found more and more DS would end up snuggled in my arms. It just felt right.
And once he was a month old and we could nurse laying down, we got SO much more sleep! He didn't have to get to a full-out cry to get my attention and I didn't even have to move to nurse him.
DS moved into his own bed when he was a little over a year. He is an excellent sleeper (goes to bed at 8 and wakes up at 7) and there is no draw-backs to our co-sleeping start. If anything, it gave him a very positive view of bed time.
Dr. Sears has a page about the scientific benefits of co-sleeping (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/handout1.asp) and a good article on how to safely co-sleep (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t102200.asp).
I'm really glad you posted this. I have a friend that co-sleeps and it's been really hard for me to be encouraging b/c I've been told for so long that once you try to get them to sleep by themselves they'll have a much harder time sleeping through the night.
Liddle1
08-25-2009, 04:02 PM
What do you feel are the pros and cons of co-sleeping?
pros: reassurance that baby is ok right beside you, don't have to get up to nurse, baby has more physical contact which has a billion positive effects on baby
cons: when they crawl you have to take precautions they don't get off the bed (we put our mattress on the floor), some babies or mamas are woken more. my baby is a bed hog ;) , you need a waterproof sheet on your bed
If you do not co sleep, why not? (Not at ALL being judgmental...I really want to hear both sides.)
I didn't want to, because I wanted my own space at night. But I ended up giving in.
If you co-sleep, do you also do feeding on demand?
yes and no, for a while I was bottlefeeding at night trying to wean him
What do you think about co-sleeping but having a night time feeding routine? (as in not nursing everytime the baby wants to but rather following somewhat of a schedule)
it depends on the baby. mine screams bloody murder if he doesn't get his nipple.
How do you know for sure that you or your spouse will not squish the baby or the baby will not roll off the bed or suffocate?
I always put the baby on my side of the bed with a safety rail up
What does your spouse feel about co-sleeping?
he doesn't like getting woken up but knows that it's the only way i can survive right now
Erinne
08-25-2009, 04:04 PM
I was on the fence before my baby was born, but now I love cosleeping. What we did was put our mattress on the floor and we got a crib mattress that's on the floor next to it, pushed into a corner so she couldn't roll off. She's never actually slept on the crib mattress, but maybe later. Honestly, I was worried about rolling onto her before she was born too, but now that she's here and we've slept together, I just *know* it won't happen. You really are more aware than you think you'd be. As for feeding on demand, I suppose it would be harder not to if you cosleep, since you'd hear baby's requests, but maybe that's for the best. My husband doesn't seem to have strong feelings either way, but the baby definitely sleeps on my side and I'm the one doing the nighttime parenting.
calideedle
08-25-2009, 04:42 PM
You already got a ton of great advice! We love Co-Sleeping and have for over 5 years. It is amazing.
Oh, I also wanted to add that it's a good idea to wean them off nursing to sleep at around 4-5 months, whether you co-sleep or not. They can become dependent on that to go back to sleep. We just started with rocking or patting in bed, and it worked well for us. It also made it better when she got teeth as we could brush her teeth before bed and not worry about food etc sitting there all night!
I defiantly would not do this. There are no problems with babies still nursing to sleep, or toddlers for that matter. All of my babies night weaned when they were ready as do many kids!
tmwmommy
08-25-2009, 04:51 PM
If you co-sleep, do you also do feeding on demand? What do you think about co-sleeping but having a night time feeding routine? (as in not nursing everytime the baby wants to but rather following somewhat of a schedule)
I absolutely feed on demand and have since birth. It is recommended that you feed on demand to maintain an adequate milk supply. My dd is super thin as it is, so she needs to eat whenever she is hungry, especially in the early months.
How do you know for sure that you or your spouse will not squish the baby or the baby will not roll off the bed or suffocate?
It's simple. Neither of us rolls in our sleep. I have never once rolled out of bed. The same awareness that keeps you from rolling out of bed keeps you from rolling on baby. We use mesh railings to keep the baby from rolling, especially when dh is on midnights and is not sleeping with us.
What does your spouse feel about co-sleeping?
He LOVES it. It was his idea to bring her in bed in the first place. We do have a queen sized bed so we all 3 fit. If we had a double bed it probably would be harder but still possible.
Good luck with your decision. While I feel very strongly that co-sleeping is best for us, every family is different :)
tmwmommy
08-25-2009, 04:53 PM
I defiantly would not do this. There are no problems with babies still nursing to sleep, or toddlers for that matter. All of my babies night weaned when they were ready as do many kids!
I agree. I nurse my almost one year old to sleep every night and for naps. She falls asleep nursing so I don't want to wake her up and make her fall asleep on her own. That doesn't make sense to me.
FaeryGnomeHome
08-25-2009, 05:01 PM
I have co-slept with all my children. My first I was a single parent and my daughter and I shared a twin bed until she was 3 1/2. My second I was a married mom to 2 children and the co-sleeping child was a preemie. My third I am again single:banghead: with a co-sleeping preemie. All experiences were different but wonderful. Currently I'm co-sleeping with child #2 and #3, ages 4 1/2 and 20months. When the older two(9 and 4 1/2) sleep at their dad's, they co-sleep with each other. It's just natural for them at this point I suppose. In the beginning as a married woman, my husband wasn't thrilled about it but realized quickly that it disturbed his sleep less to have the baby in bed with us because we could KNOW she was okay and breathing and I responded faster to her need to nurse without her waking him. He was sold on it quickly.:giggle: In the beginning he was worried about rolling over on our tiny preemie daughter but after a few days he was confident of my ability to shield her in my arms(after I solidly punched him for getting too close one night and waking us all out of a sound sleep!):giggle: I think co-sleeping really grew on him after a while because our second child slept with us for at least portions of the night until well after her second birthday when she was done nursing. My 20month old still co-sleeps but is in the process of being nightweaned. She's always nursed on demand but at this age and size, she's just comfort nursing and it was getting to be too much(upwards of 6 times per night). It's going extremely well and I firmly believe that if you approach it the right way, it can be a gentle process. She nurses eagerly at daybreak and all day and evening long but we sleep much better at night without her nursing all night and climbing all over me. I think it's just the natural progression of boundaries and manners in our nursing relationship. I fully intend of nursing as long as we both enjoy it, and certainly beyond age 2.
and to address safety of the child, we have a queen-sized mattress on the floor that we sleep on. I took it off the frame when she started crawling and it's well beyond the point that we need it off now. i could easily put the bed back up on the frame if i wanted to as she gets down without a problem. but i think it would be too tall for her to climb onto by herself so it stays down.
EmmaLaurel
08-25-2009, 05:57 PM
I love hearing everyone's unique takes on co-sleeping!
We currently co-sleep with our 5 mo old, though have not always. It was important to us to listen to her needs and do what seemed to work best. As a brand newbie she was in a co-sleeper between us (I could not have co-slept without this, I was TERRIFIED I would smush or smother her, she was so tiny). This worked GREAT since she needed to nurse a ton and when she was finished I could just lift her back into the co-sleeper.
Then she got bigger and started being woken up by our movements. We moved her into a Moses basket at the foot of our bed. That worked WONDERFULLY for a month or so. Then she was starting to get too big for the basket and we wanted to transition her out of that smoothly, so we put the basket in her crib. Such a smooth transition - she slept GREAT and so did we! (Her room is literally feet from ours, so she wasn't far away.) Then out of the basket and into her crib - still great.
We nurse on demand and she typically woke up @ 5 and I would just bring her into bed with us. She would nurse back to sleep and we would all get up @ 7. I was starting to feel bad, though, like she was spending more than half her life alone in her crib (all night plus day naps). It was feeling wrong to me, but I didn't know if it was worth changing her routine.
WELLLL, this past week she has started teething or something and is such a sad grumpy girl - absolutely WILL NOT go in her crib or even sleep in our bed without us there (for naps etc.). So she is in bed with us all night. And I have to say... I love it! I thought I wouldn't get any sleep, but I sleep fine now that she's bigger and I know she can let us know or get out of the way of things. She snuggles up next to me or DH all night. We have a king and she sleeps between us. She is definitely nursing more now that she can smell the mama milk all night long, but it's fine - I barely wake up.
DH absolutely loves it. We have talked alot about how he sees this as such a big part of his parenting since he is not home during the day. He cuddles her and changes her diaper if she poops at night, and I usually get up before them in the morning to take a shower, so she wakes up and gets some good time to visit with him before the day gets started. I think it has really helped them stay closely bonded after he had to go back to work. We really believe in nighttime parenting! If at some point she is seeming to want her space again, we will go back to putting her in her crib, but for now this is what works for us.
I think that's the most important thing to keep in mind - you don't have to be all co-sleeping or no co-sleeping, and if you start out doing one thing it doesn't mean you can't change it (or that your LO won't change it for you!). If you pay attention to your baby's cues and do what feels most natural for you and makes them happy, then you'll be in good shape. :thumbsup:
GL, mama!
Lanasmom
08-25-2009, 07:56 PM
I'm going to take a little different spin on this....
We do NOT cosleep, but I am not judgemental against anyone who does. If that had been what worked for us, then we would have done it. DD was an excellent sleeper from the beginning, but a TERRIBLE nurser! My middle of the night nursings for the first 2 weeks involved using a Supplemental Nursing System b/c I didn't have enough milk. After that, I still didn't have enough and I just switched to a bottle part time. After all of that there was no laying down to nurse. DD just hated nursing. So there was no opportunity for her to fall asleep in bed with us. She did, however, sleep in our room until she was 12 weeks old. I moved her out of our room then b/c our sleep movement disturbed her. She is still a light sleeper.
All that being said, had DD needed or wanted to sleep with us longer we would have allowed her to. (We are selfish and wanted our sleep). With the next one that we are ttc right now...we will see what works!
Mama, you have gotten some great advice! Go with your gut, its how we get to be mamas!
karabeth05
08-25-2009, 08:14 PM
my babies slept with us from newborn to about 6 months. on one hand it worked great because baby was right there and it was super easy to nurse in the middle of the night (once we were past the diaper changing stage), but i never really slept very soundly when the kiddos were in the bed. i was always somewhat awake and very aware of where the baby was at, and they usually slept in the crook of my arm. i knew dh knew they were there but i was still worried that he would inadvertently roll over or elbow them or something so i was on defense all night long (and that was in a king size bed and i blocked a flopping arm more than once in those times).
once they got older, more wiggly, and i was just exhausted from not getting good sleep at night i transitioned them to a pack & play or bassinet by the bed and then to their crib. the transition with ds (at 4 months thanks to tons of pressure from my mom and MIL :banghead:) was rough...i don't think he was ready to go yet (he's always been a bit of a mama's boy :wub:) and he really wasn't a good sleeper until 2 or so. dd was a different story, she was ready to move at 4 months but we were in a small apartment so she had to share our room. i ended up putting her in a bassinet at the foot of our bed to separate our sleeping areas as much as possible, and she started sleeping MUCH better after that. we were up to several wakings throughout the night but once she moved just 2, then 1, then sttn.
as far as dh goes, he didn't care either way...i was the one up doing the changing and the nursing so he said if it was easier or more comfortable for me to go for it.
i would definitely try everything first before you rule it out...try a bassinet by the bed, a snugglenest, or try putting baby in their own room from day 1 and do what works best for your whole family. i swore my kids would NEVER sleep in my bed (my bff had a 5 year old in her bed still that she was having a TERRIBLE time trying to get him into his own bed). once your baby's here you'll have a much better idea of what you feel is right for y'all and go from there. :thumbsup:
