Co-Sleeping with a newborn

[EMandM]

How do you ladies do it?

I am a first time mom with a beautiful 9 day old son. I always assumed he would sleep in a crib next to our bed, but now that he is here, I'd rather him be in bed with me. I have read a bit about co-sleeping, but all I seem to get is no thick blankets, no crevices, etc.

How do you do it? Does baby sleep between you two or you and a rail? Do you sit up to nurse at night, or nurse side lying? Are you paranoid about suffocation? I have large breasts and am terrified of falling asleep nursing, I don't want him to suffocate. Is this irrational?

Any tips or even scenarios of how it works for you would help!

Thanks Mama's!

[triony]

Until recently our baby slept on top of us. That way he stayed warm, and we knew where he was. I didn't do side-laying nursing position until he was old enough that I could tell he would move his head if his nose got blocked. He also slept in our arms, cradled with our arms propped up by pillows.

[Super~Single~Mama]

b/c of my birth injury (really bad 2nd degree tear) I couldn't lay on my back, or even move easily for a really long time. My son and I slept in the side-lying nursing position - I would fall asleep while nursing him, and so would he. It was the only way I could sleep - if he wasn't touching me I couldn't sleep at all.

[HeliMom]

We kind of slowly worked our way into it. My DH is a huge co-sleeping fan so DD slept between us in a snuggle nest at first with her up and head height and us with our big comforter at waist hieght so there was no comforter touching her at all. Eventually we got more comfortable and put her by herself in between us. When we travel and find our selves in a smaller bed we kind of do a diagonal sleep position. I also bought a tres tria bumper for naps since DH is at work.

Now that she's 15mo she sleeps where ever, even on the outside edge and never rolls off.

[dakotablue]

We started for the first few weeks with DS on top of me. Then always on the one side of me, side sleeping, Dh on the other side of me. We then side carred a crib, which just means I'm not as worried about rolling off, but DS rarely sleeps in the crib. Sometimes I let him sleep between us, but Dh doesn't sleep as well then.

[Nicole730]

I always do side lying nursing with baby falling asleep at my breast - and usually me too! I have largish breasts (like G or so when nursing...) and I've never been afraid of suffocating with my breasts.

[ZeezMom]

For the first few weeks, I propped myself up with an abundance of pillows. I arranged them so that I could tilt my head back & slightly recline comfortably while holding DS kangaroo style. I usually did this skin to skin so that nursing was a breeze during the night. (It's nice & cuddly, too!)

I know one woman who sleeps in a recliner with her newborn the first few weeks, which is not a bad idea, either.

[Hannah32]

My son is about a month old and we are partially co-sleeping, but not by choice. I'm honestly not a fan of it, but it was what worked, so I threw my preferences out the window and just did it.

We only have a full size bed, so I realized I needed to buy a co-sleeper. We're setting up the Arm's Reach today. The way I did it was to push the pillows way back and scoot myself down, away from them. I turned one pillow vertical and rested my head on it, but the pillows are kept away from the baby. I use my arm as an extra block for the pillows too. I curled my legs up below him and used my other arm to keep one hand on the baby so he can't fall off of the bed and so I can feel him breathe. We also took the comforter off the bed, so all that's there is a sheet and a thin blanket (lots of holes). I will only bring the thin blankets up to baby's waist.

It works especially well now that I'm side lying nursing. It took me a week or so to master it, and my son is a month now, and has better head control. Often, I don't think he's really awake during a feeding, as opposed to when I was sitting up, which I think woke him up more.

Lately, I've been able to peaceably settle him back in his bassinet after a feeding some of the time. I'm more comfortable with that honestly and I think it's a good sign for the Arm's Reach. Kind of like a middle ground.

[kriket]

We have our crib side-carred. Here is a link for instructions.

We only have a full sized bed, and DH is 6'3" and I am 5'8".

This way, you can lay half in the bed, half in the crib when you are nusing, or while baby is drifting off, then you can scoot over into your own space.

Our crib hasn't always been side carred, we used to just sleep with him in the crook of my arm. It was MURDER on my back. I got almost zero sleep, and was in pretty severe pain every morning. Sidecarring the crib was a miracle.

[Starry-eyedMom]

For the first couple months, I also use one pillow (narrow end) for my head, push all blankets down and swaddle baby or use a sleep sack for her covering. I do side-lying for nursing (either breast reaches as I am large-breasted ). I like baby to sleep in the crook of my arm--no way to roll over. But if not, I seem to be very aware of baby so I'm not too worried. I keep baby on my side of bed, away from other children. I bought a fairly cheap rail (Summer brand), which helps me feel better about her rolling or being pushed to the edge.

I also think sleep positioners can be handy, but I haven't used one since my first.