co-sleeping question

[Abvnx]

Hi, I'm a newbie here
I have a question about co-sleeping-

DH and I are open to co-sleeping but I am a rather...violent sleeper. At night I push my hubby and grab his face(rarely, but it has happened). He is a grown man and can shove me over or whatever. Having the baby sleep in another room just seems "wrong"(no judgment implied). I just have a gut reaction that the baby should be with me.
So tell me, how do you not squish your baby?

*note- DH and I have no kids yet. We have decided to start TTC. I am just trying to learn as much as I can.

[Chicky2]

Well, I would compare it to the fact that I use to be a very hard sleeper. Couldn't wake me for anything. After I had kids, though, all that changed and now I'm such a light sleeper. I would think most mamas just instinctively get that way. Are you planning to nurse? That just makes you so much more aware, I believe.

After alllllllll my millions of years (lol) of co sleeping there was one and only one issue ever where it scared me. W/my last baby I realized that I was sorta laying on her, and I'm not sure that she could breathe properly. However, the INSTANT she wiggled, I jumped and just knew that I'd been rolled over too far. She was fine, I was fine, but honestly, after all those nights, that was the only time I was unsure for even a second that my baby was ok. I cannot imagine how either of us would have slept if any of my babies had been in their own room, or even across the room, but that's just me. I will say that we used a crib sidecarred for years, and still do with our 3 yo. That gives so much more room!

ETA: the thing that worried me the most was my baby rolling off the bed. I always slept w/Baby on the outside of the bed, not next to dh, who I was afraid would roll on the baby. We usually didn't set up the side car arrangement until about 2 mos. Anyway, I would just put a big receiving blanket around Baby and tuck it under my body so Baby couldn't accidentally fall off.

[Abvnx]

Ok, good to know. It's funny how I can have one of our cats cuddled up with me, and I am fine with them(the would move if I pushed or even moved a bit), but I shove my husband to the edge of the bed. I do plan on breastfeeding for as long as possible.
Thanks

[Adaline'sMama]

I used to be a rock hard sleeper. Pregnancy changed all that. When you have to pee 4-6 times during the night, you start learning to sleep differently.Now that DD is here, I feel totally comfortable having her next to me in the bed. It's funny how much becoming a mom will change your sleep pattern. I haven't slept hard enough to be a violent sleeper since I was a about 5 months pregnant.

[RiverandJulie]

You could always start with a cosleeper, and see how you are feeling with it. Even if the baby ends up in your bed, the cosleeper is good on the side of the bed because it is a great place to store diapers, toys, blankets, change of clothes and all the other things you may need in the middle of the night.

[To-Fu]

Originally Posted by RiverandJulie

You could always start with a cosleeper, and see how you are feeling with it. Even if the baby ends up in your bed, the cosleeper is good on the side of the bed because it is a great place to store diapers, toys, blankets, change of clothes and all the other things you may need in the middle of the night.

Although I agree that your sleep will change when you have your baby (and even while you're pregnant). There are physiological things that happen to make it so.

Dr. James McKenna:

My own physiological studies suggest that breastfeeding mother-infant pairs exhibit increased sensitivities and responses to each other while sleeping.

Read more here:

http://www.naturalchild.org/james_mc...iological.html

Scroll down to "Biological Imperatives."

[Abvnx]

Interesting stuff. Is there a particular brand of cosleeper crib you would suggest? It seems like the regular cribs are getting recalled every day. Thanks everyone!

*edit- Ok I googled sidecar crib and I'm wondering if they can be attached to a platform/Ikea bed? Our bed has about a 5-6in drop from the mattress to the frame(wood) and the frame that boarders the whole bed is about 4-5in wide, if that makes any sense...

[isabchi]

Check this, http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/safe.html

[Amatullah0]

arms reach is nice, or you could also use a pack n play that has a bassinet.

Hmm, the platform bed might complicate things a little bit, something else you could try is one of those cosleeping thingeys. like this or, if your platform bed is low enough, it might be possible to put a mattress on the floor next to yours for baby. (make sure the bed is low enough, and the mattress is high enough so that when baby starts to roll over, s/he wont roll under the bed or get stuck between the bed and the mattress.

[RiverandJulie]

I have the arms reach mini, and am happy with it. I got it as a hand-me-down, so it was free, there was no particular reason I chose it.
It may not work with a platform bed though, because goes snug up against the mattress. But, in the beginning, your baby wont be rolling around, so you can put it next to your bed and it should be fine, but as soon as s/he starts moving, you will want to figure something else out.

[evabea]

I'm not sure if I'll end up getting a co-sleeper (I have a few more weeks to decide), but this one has good reviews and someone mentioned that it can be customized for a platform bed. Can be purchased or rented and they sell natural latex mattresses for it.

http://www.babybunk.com/