WWYD? 5-month old starting to snuggle

[Peace+Hope]

hi mamas, i'm happily bed-sharing with my five month old little guy. when he was three and four months, he was sleeping a 6 or 7-hr stretch at the beginning of the night, consistently. but, for about a month now, he's sleeping shorter stretches and wanting to eat more often in the night. at first i thought it was a growth spurt, but it's been weeks now.

part of it imo is that he's more aware and more easily woken. also, a new behavior he's exhibiting is that he wiggles over to me and snuggles up to sleep. even in his sleep. i can't shift at all or it disturbs him, and we used to sleep with a few inches separating us. even if i move him after he's nursed, he works his way back to me within a few minutes OR wiggles until he wakes fussing which is no good for my husband.

so, i'm wondering if now may be a good time to begin transitioning him for the first part of the night (til he wakes to eat for the first time)? i'm worried that he's becoming more dependent on having me even closer to sleep, and i may be creating problems for myself...

i should add that i'm not planning to do a family bed situation for years.... just looking to adjust as needed to our sleeping relationship to achieve the best rest for all of us.

what would you do?

[St. Margaret]

You could always try it! DD went through phases of needing to be closer and waking and being on the boob or not, it just depended, but what's the harm in seeing if a little space helps you both sleep better? It's not like you won't still get lots of time together snuggling, and his option of still being close/getting in bed with you when he needs is what makes for a sense of security most likely. For us, we tended to just snuggle all night but it was easier on me (the other option was a bed in another room) but of course DD started out alone while I was up, and eventually asked to start the night in the bed in the other room (the kid room sorta). It was gradual and gentle, and it could happen at any point for a kid, so why not try?

[Sfcmama]

That sounds similar to what we went through a few months ago. We set up a sidecar crib because DD had outgrown the cosleeper. She started out the night in the crib and eventually migrated into the bed. I also remember her wanting to nurse a lot more at night once she had really starting rolling around - it was like she needed it to keep herself still long enough to fall back asleep. After awhile, she got iver it and went back to sleeping longer, deeper streches. HTH!

[Super~Single~Mama]

I had that happen too! At the time it was easily solved, b/c he didn't care who he snuggled with, and my ex literally never moved in his sleep. So, I would cuddle baby up next to him since I do move in my sleep. That phase lasted a few months, and then it was over.

We did transition to ds sleeping in his pack n play for the first part of the night sometime around then, but it was no biggie - when he woke up I'd nurse him and then snuggle him up to daddy.

Now he's 20mo, and takes up the whole bed when he's in it. He still sleeps in his pack n play for the first part of the night, unless he's having a hard time with it and then he just comes to bed with me.

Enjoy the snuggles! After a while they don't have time for them anymore

[Peace+Hope]

thanks everybody! i think i will try him in his hammock the first part of the night.... will be interesting to see if he even stays asleep in it for the several hrs b/n his bedtime and ours. i hope i'm ready ((sniff))