anxious about side-sleeping snuggler

[Flossie D]

DH and I thought we had it all figured out when we set up an Arm's Reach cosleeper while I was still pregnant. But two sleepless nights after coming home from the hospital, DS had informed us that the cosleeper would not do--that sleeping in our bed was his only option, and nursing the only way to get him to sleep. Two months later, this is still the case. I simultaneously adore this arrangement and am made anxious by it. When he falls asleep nursing, I often do too, and I wake to find him smooshed against my chest or with his face wedged into my armpit. Even the pro-family-bed experts say that the baby should be placed on his back to sleep, so I'm terrified that I'm breaking this rule. Any experience with this--either learning to be less anxious about it or figuring out a way to avoid falling alseep during nursing and/or getting him to sleep without nursing and/or getting him into the Arm's Reach thing?

[HappyMonkey]

My baby insisted on side sleeping facing me too.... and most other moms I talked to that cosleep said the same. I just made sure I had one arm up and one down (so arms were out of her way), so she was face to my nipples and away from my body! It's not that back sleeping is the best.. more than you want to avoid them sleeping face down until they have full control to roll.. so I considered side sleeping just fine.

[HappyMonkey]

Something else to remember.. one of the benefits of cosleeping is temperature regulation.. so they are sort of assumed to be touching you!

[Super~Single~Mama]

My 2yo slept like that until he was 6mo.  Not quite smooshed into my armpit, but snuggled up against my boob, on his side.  His ped (not totally supportive of the family bed, but didn't tell us horror stories either) told us that it was fine if he slept on his side or his back, but to wary of letting him tummy sleep.

[marinak1977]

DS was a side sleeping snuggler and I was very anxious in the beginning, but after reading more about the subject (mostly what Dr Sears has to say) I felt that skin-to-skin contact regulated his breathing and actually reduced the risk of SIDS. So as long as he was snuggled and his airways were clear and open (I made sure to keep blankets low and pillows out of the way) we slept that way. At about 6 months or so he started liking a little more space. Now he sleeps across the bed with his feet in my side.