FTM Needs Cosleeping Help

[az100]

FTM here with an almost 10 week old baby. LO has reflux and a suspected dairy allergy. We have been addressing the reflux with traditional meds, and I am now dairy-free and soy-free to address the suspected allergy. Despite LO's digestion being a little better, our sleep issues are worse now than they were when he was 2-3 weeks old. He will only sleep in our arms. This includes naps and night-time sleep. For naps we just grin and bear it and hold him. He is not a fan of being in wraps or carriers, so we spend a lot of time in the glider with him in our arms. Occasionally I can take him into the bed with me so long as his body is against mine and his head is on my arm.

Nighttime is even harder because DH and I need some sort of sleep. Right now, LO sleeps on DH's chest. We can also sometimes get him to sleep in the crook of one of our arms. I am scared that chest sleeping and sleeping on his side in our arm is unsafe. It is also extremely uncomfortable for both DH and me. Any advice on getting LO to sleep on his back in the bed? Any other advice?

I am a bit of a reluctant co-sleeper because I am an extremely light sleeper, but at this point, I will do anything to get more than 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

[Maluhia]

I think you are in a hard age - and with refulx and any other allergies the list goes on and on. We did side-lying cosleeping with DD on my arm (her head) at that age, that way I could wiggle my arm a bit to get her back to sleep and got a few big chunks by that. More than two hours of sleep is probably going to have to come at naps when your DH takes baby for a walk right after a big feed or something similar at that age however, it is just really young and often a time of very very little sleep.

[meemee]

i would try different angles to see which one would suit you.

but most of dd's life was spent using my arm as a pillow and having her feet touch my body. she slept on my chest for the first 3 months of her life and also had colic. actually i felt totally safe about that. the baby swing helped with the colic. have you tried a baby swing?

neither did dd enjoy teh carrier or wrap. honestly neither did i. i carried her in my arms and then on my shoulders till she was too heavy for my back.

[Kiwiontheloose]

Can you nurse her off to sleep in a side lying position, with her body all smooshed up against your stomach, and then when shes asleep gently skootch her up a bit so her head in on your upper arm/shoulder - so she's elevated and on her side to help with the reflux?

I had a reflux baby, and to be honest the 2 things which got her sleeping a bit better (from waking screaming every 30-45min to sleeping in 2hr blocks) was losec (started at 14weeks) and a paci. Obviously not the solution for everyone, but it took us from nights of hell to normal nights where we actually felt like we were co-sleeping because we wanted to, not because it was the last available option.

[blimbrick]

Ahh I remember those days, my LO went from being able to be put down alone to sleep to wanting to only be held...my advice is, nap when your babe naps during the day if you can (forget about everything else), and try having LO sleep on your chest, even go skin to skin if clothing doesn't work. I propped myself up a little in bed (I am a light sleeper too). If I remember correctly it started for us around 8 weeks, don't remember how long it lasted. I can say though that I am more sleep deprived now, at 9 mos., then I was back then. I was also still off work at 10 weeks and could sleep whenever. Now I have to be up at 5 AM after really tough nites...can you put LO down after about 20 mins, when the deep sleep stage has set in, or is wakeup immediate after that? I had to do a lot of reading to figure out sleep cycles and etc. so I knew when I could put him down without him (hopefully) waking right back up.
This will pass, I promise!

[ASusan]

DS slept on my or DH's chest for a long, long time. He still likes it there when he's having an itchy eczema night. *We* were never concerned for safety in those positions. (On chest or in crook of arm - DS loves DH's armpit and has recently taken to mine - finally! - after nightweaning.)

If you're a light sleeper, can you start your sleep in another room for 2 hours while DH sleeps with the baby, then move to the family bed when DS wakes for a feeding? OR, after an early morning feed (4am-ish) can you move from the family bed to another bed while DH sleeps with the baby until he has to get up for work?

It made life so much easier that DS could sleep in either of our arms - and he would go to sleep for either of us (instead of just mom exclusively).

And, I thought "FTM" in your post title meant "Female to Male" (sex change). I figured out full time mom??