How to cosleep snuggled up w/o getting baby caught in your blankets?

[NewSolarMomma]

I am new to cosleeping (and parenthood in general), and am doing this with my 3mo old. He has his own spot between me and DH, with plenty of space around him so he doesn't get caught in our blankets and such. This is the "safe" arrangement, but is not too satisfying! Sure he's nearby, but he might as well be in a different bed!

How do you all sleep where you are touching, without getting baby caught up in your blankets? He wears a sleep sack so doesn't have blankets of his own. i want to snuggle but don't want to hurt him! help

[Shami]

I did a lot of side lying nursing and I would fall asleep with babe's head under my armpit.  I just had blankets up to my waste and a warmer shirt on.  When my arm got uncomfortable I flipped over to the other side of the baby.

[beebalmmama]

I did a lot of what you are doing in the beginning with ds 1. I also ended up getting a lot of sore shoulders and back pain. I was less concerned when he got older and he was such a snuggler when he could move on his own anyway.

I took a much more relaxed approach with ds 2. He was under my arm/arm pit and snuggled next to me. I would lay on my side towards him and have my arm stretched out in front of me at the bottom of my pillow. This worked for me. I would scoot away from him if I needed to get off my shoulder. Blankets I would keep lower around my waist. I actually had a couple of maternity night shirts that had a really low v-neck so I could nurse from the top and not have to pull my shirt up which kept me warm.

[melkaya]

I'm new to it too. I have a 4 month old. For the first couple months he slept between dad and I. I would keep him on a blanket and slide him up and down the bed for nursing.So he'd be down by the boob and then when done, or whenever I'd wake, I'd slide him back up so his head was level with ours. Then back down for nursing. That way I could pull the blankets up. But we have a new arrangement now. We pushed the bed up against the wall. Now baby is between me and the wall and I can pull the blankets up and he can stay where he is. I always tuck the blankets under me, just to make sure that none get on him. But I still find myself constantly checking. I honestly doubt that will ever change. 

Sometimes I wish I had gone with the co-sleeper though. But we can't really afford anything extra like that.

[hasya]

We kept her nursing pillow like a U around her legs so that we don't get too close to her. We use only light cotton bedsheets to cover ourselves. We live in a very cold place but it works. If I am too cold, I just wear a sweatsuit and socks to bed. Once she started rolling over on her own, we stopped using the pillow, because she gets close anyway. I tuck the bedsheet underneath me and when she's nursing, underneath her too. My husband tucks his underneath him too.

[To-Fu]

I wear a nursing tank to bed with a cardigan over it in the colder months, which allows me to keep everything but the boob covered when I need to night nurse. 

I also sleep with the baby snuggled right up to me.  He's in warm clothes and I have a blanket either up to only my waist, or I do the diamond blanket thing.  What that means is that I sleep with the blanket pulled up in a diamond shape so the tip is over my shoulder and not over the top of the baby next to me.  Both adults have their own blankets in bed. 

I also do the thing where I sleep with my arm under the pillow until about halfway through the night when it hurts and I need to switch sides.  I also keep a pillow behind my back and one between my knees for extra support. We have a king and four in the bed, but it's never been a problem.

[JMJ]

When she was that little, I slept with her in my armpit with my upper arm out straight or curled under my pillow.  When it's cold, I sleep with a warm shirt on top and blankets around both of our waists.  When I want covers up higher, I wrap the covers around my arm and put my arm around her waist.  That way, I'm covered, and the covers stay low on her.