It's sweet and all but my little one, more often than not, won't sleep *with* me -- he must be *on* me. If I set him down beside me, he wakes up and cries.
We night nurse a lot with him on a Boppy and me on my side, and fall asleep that way, but I don't like the way he sometimes tips too far into my chest when he falls asleep and I'm already asleep. And it's very painful for me, since I have some back and neck problems.
Other times I stay awake and sleep semi-upright, on my back, with him on my chest. That works well for him and is more comfortable for me, but he moves a lot in his sleep (even if swaddled) which wakes me a lot.
I'm a single mom ... so far I've been in a guest room at Dad's and he'll continue to be nearby and supportive. But I already went through a severe case of exhaustion (so weak I couldn't lift the baby) and the physical rest is very important. I'm doing OK with the amount of sleep I get, but sleeping in odd positions without much ability to move is taking its toll.
He does it napping during the day too, so it's hard for me to nap. Once in awhile I have been able to have him nap in Dad's room, while I nap in the guest room, but of course with me going home today ... and I have cats ...
The one trick that has worked is propping him on a pillow until he's hard asleep - for some reason he's much happier reclined than flat. So he's happy enough to fall asleep without being on me, then falls asleep deeply enough to not mind when I set him a foot away from me.
But that's not helping me rest, because while he's on the pillow I have to stay awake (and upright so I don't accidentally fall asleep) to fix it when he flops off the pillow.
I also notice if he feels the mattress move he wakes up. I'm not sure whether it'll be better or worse to put him in an Arm's Reach Cosleeper attached to my bed.
It's my first, so maybe I'm also being too cautious about which ways to safely co-sleep?
We night nurse a lot with him on a Boppy and me on my side, and fall asleep that way, but I don't like the way he sometimes tips too far into my chest when he falls asleep and I'm already asleep. And it's very painful for me, since I have some back and neck problems.
Other times I stay awake and sleep semi-upright, on my back, with him on my chest. That works well for him and is more comfortable for me, but he moves a lot in his sleep (even if swaddled) which wakes me a lot.
I'm a single mom ... so far I've been in a guest room at Dad's and he'll continue to be nearby and supportive. But I already went through a severe case of exhaustion (so weak I couldn't lift the baby) and the physical rest is very important. I'm doing OK with the amount of sleep I get, but sleeping in odd positions without much ability to move is taking its toll.
He does it napping during the day too, so it's hard for me to nap. Once in awhile I have been able to have him nap in Dad's room, while I nap in the guest room, but of course with me going home today ... and I have cats ...
The one trick that has worked is propping him on a pillow until he's hard asleep - for some reason he's much happier reclined than flat. So he's happy enough to fall asleep without being on me, then falls asleep deeply enough to not mind when I set him a foot away from me.
But that's not helping me rest, because while he's on the pillow I have to stay awake (and upright so I don't accidentally fall asleep) to fix it when he flops off the pillow.
I also notice if he feels the mattress move he wakes up. I'm not sure whether it'll be better or worse to put him in an Arm's Reach Cosleeper attached to my bed.
It's my first, so maybe I'm also being too cautious about which ways to safely co-sleep?
