Was sidecarring a good "middle ground" for your baby?

[Dixielane]

If you had a baby who was fussy and refused to sleep totally in their own crib -- but you needed more space in your bed, and a way to give baby her own "area", how did sidecarring work for you?

My DD is teething, in a clingy/very needy phase, and trying to get her to sleep in her crib is just not working. Everytime we put her down, she cries hysterically and NO ONE gets any sleep.

So I decided to try a sidecar, but wanted to hear from moms who are doing it/did it, how is it working as a transition, and if you did it with your older kids in the past, were they stuck in your bed till college (LOL)  ?

I am thinking of doing this and just putting off on any major "training". it seems impossible with whatever phase she is in right now.

Thanks

[Blue Light]

Yes, it has been a good 'in between' solution for us. I did not side car with DD1 but did with DD2 (1yo) about 4 or so months ago. I love having more space in the bed, having the ability to give her her own space, and since we were co-sleeping already, side carring set up the co-sleeping arrangement more successfully for us. 

She starts in her crib in her room (8pm) then when she wakes (anywhere from midnight -2am) she comes in with us. I'd like her to stay in her crib but she still wakes quite a bit and I just don't have the energy to stay up and rock her only to have her pop right back up. With the side car bed, I just bring her in with us - nurse if need be- and she goes right to sleep. 

DD1 still comes in at some point as well and I'm sure that having the side car bed for DD2 just signals to DD1 that our bed is a family bed (which I someday hope to resolve). I guess that is th only downside - we are all packed in every night. But DH seems to be okay with it and all in all we get more sleep than any other reasonable solutions for us. 

[Dixielane]

Originally Posted by Blue Light 

Yes, it has been a good 'in between' solution for us. I did not side car with DD1 but did with DD2 (1yo) about 4 or so months ago. I love having more space in the bed, having the ability to give her her own space, and since we were co-sleeping already, side carring set up the co-sleeping arrangement more successfully for us. 

She starts in her crib in her room (8pm) then when she wakes (anywhere from midnight -2am) she comes in with us. I'd like her to stay in her crib but she still wakes quite a bit and I just don't have the energy to stay up and rock her only to have her pop right back up. With the side car bed, I just bring her in with us - nurse if need be- and she goes right to sleep. 

DD1 still comes in at some point as well and I'm sure that having the side car bed for DD2 just signals to DD1 that our bed is a family bed (which I someday hope to resolve). I guess that is th only downside - we are all packed in every night. But DH seems to be okay with it and all in all we get more sleep than any other reasonable solutions for us. 

 Thank you! We hope to get a King soon, so that will help.

I was trying to let her sleep the 1st part of the night in her crib. Up till about 5 months, she slept 3 hour stretches in her PnP. But she outgrew the weight limit, and since then she stopped sleeping so good, and it possibly is also teething and I've heard around 6-8mo they get some seperation anxiety. I don't know if it was me and letting her sleep with us that caused her sleep issues, or just a natural phase she's in.

So sidecarring seemed like it would get us through..

[sillysmile]

We sidecar a twin mattress to our king (both on the floor, with the twin wedged between our mattress and the wall). It works very well in general, though lately our DD (24m) has been spending more and more time on our mattress than hers..

[LionessMom]

i sidecarrred a crib when DD1 was 4 mo old. i absolutely love it. DD2 will noe spend the first half of the night in there. when she wakes up to nurse i just gather her to me and we both go back to sleep. sometimes DD1 will come and crawl in the crib too and either DD2 will already be with me or they will cuddle together.