Just wondering how others co-sleep. We normally do not co-sleep. DD was perfectly fine being swaddled and nursing to sleep, then being moved to her crib from 10pm to 5:30am (give or take) from 6 1/2 weeks until 6 months. I guess we were spoiled for those few months. We only co-slept when she had a rough night, and then I stayed in the exact. same. position. which really started to hurt my body.
Now everything has changed and DD doesn't sleep nearly as well. (teething maybe? milestones?) She is 50/50 on the nursing to sleep swaddled, the "bad" half of those times she arches her back and grunts loudly to get out of the swaddle and only settles when I nurse her in bed, and then co-sleep. The few times she falls/stays asleep nursing, she only stays asleep in her crib for a max of two hours. Then she cries and DH brings her to me to co-sleep for the rest of the night. (Where she wakes quite often to nurse, which confuses me because she didn't seem to need night nursing from 6 1/2 weeks - 6 months. I was hoping she'd co-sleep but not need to nurse, since she didn't need milk before at night.)
So, my point is (sorry for being long winded) that she and I have been co-sleeping (with a somewhat disgruntled DH, because we "scoot" closer and closer to his side of the bed) for over two weeks now, every night without fail. The way I cope with it (i.e. so it doesn't hurt so much) is to turn away from her and sleep on my other side, once I know she's asleep. She'll sleep anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours in bed with me before needing to nurse again.
Usually she likes to be cuddled close while nursing, and then once she needs to stretch her arms and legs to fall asleep...it's like, watch out, mama! make room for me! and she stretches out in a big X and doesn't settle with me touching/restricting her. (except a hand on her chest is okay, I just mean holding her arms or legs.) So then I inch away, and turn over.
I feel a little disconnected from her when I turn away, but I still wake up when she needs me. I think I am still aware of her, and I often feel her hands moving on my back when she's searching for me.
So, if anyone can comment on the closeness factor, or any other factor, since I've now written a novel
because I've read about mama and baby sleep cycles getting in harmony, etc, but does that work when she is not up against me, feeling me breathe?
I am so much more tired co-sleeping this way, but at least she is sleeping.
ETA: I said to my (disgruntled) DH that obviously she is trying to tell us that she needs to co-sleep right now for whatever reason, and he doesn't say much, just responds about how he doesn't want her in our bed "long term". He won't say what that means, and he doesn't have any ideas of how to get her back into her crib now. So I am feeling pressure from him, a weird, abstract, intangible pressure.
Now everything has changed and DD doesn't sleep nearly as well. (teething maybe? milestones?) She is 50/50 on the nursing to sleep swaddled, the "bad" half of those times she arches her back and grunts loudly to get out of the swaddle and only settles when I nurse her in bed, and then co-sleep. The few times she falls/stays asleep nursing, she only stays asleep in her crib for a max of two hours. Then she cries and DH brings her to me to co-sleep for the rest of the night. (Where she wakes quite often to nurse, which confuses me because she didn't seem to need night nursing from 6 1/2 weeks - 6 months. I was hoping she'd co-sleep but not need to nurse, since she didn't need milk before at night.)
So, my point is (sorry for being long winded) that she and I have been co-sleeping (with a somewhat disgruntled DH, because we "scoot" closer and closer to his side of the bed) for over two weeks now, every night without fail. The way I cope with it (i.e. so it doesn't hurt so much) is to turn away from her and sleep on my other side, once I know she's asleep. She'll sleep anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours in bed with me before needing to nurse again.
Usually she likes to be cuddled close while nursing, and then once she needs to stretch her arms and legs to fall asleep...it's like, watch out, mama! make room for me! and she stretches out in a big X and doesn't settle with me touching/restricting her. (except a hand on her chest is okay, I just mean holding her arms or legs.) So then I inch away, and turn over.
I feel a little disconnected from her when I turn away, but I still wake up when she needs me. I think I am still aware of her, and I often feel her hands moving on my back when she's searching for me.
So, if anyone can comment on the closeness factor, or any other factor, since I've now written a novel
because I've read about mama and baby sleep cycles getting in harmony, etc, but does that work when she is not up against me, feeling me breathe?I am so much more tired co-sleeping this way, but at least she is sleeping.
ETA: I said to my (disgruntled) DH that obviously she is trying to tell us that she needs to co-sleep right now for whatever reason, and he doesn't say much, just responds about how he doesn't want her in our bed "long term". He won't say what that means, and he doesn't have any ideas of how to get her back into her crib now. So I am feeling pressure from him, a weird, abstract, intangible pressure.
