Cosleeping with newborn and worried about safety- please help!

[JFTB1177]

I'm cosleeping with my newborn (9 weeks old), it really makes nursing sooooo much easier as I'm sure you all know! I coslept off and on with my 2nd child too (didn't with my first) during his first few months.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! But I am a bit worried about safety; I woke up twice so far to find my baby with my covers up over his face! :( He was just fine but now I am reconsidering if I should continue? I can't afford to buy one of those Arms Reach cosleeper things. The only other place he'll sleep right now is his swing.

Any tips or advice?

[Emma Bryan Fuller]

for the early weeks I had a wicker basket(moses basket) on the bed, side against the wall. They are cheap and I used one for the reasons you described.  All the best :)

[MSWmama]

We couldnt afford a new Arms Reach, but were able to get one for pretty cheap off Craig's List. I also think Dr. Sears has some safe cs advice on his website. I would definitely ditch the covers for now and just wear warm pjs, until he gets a bit older. Or only have the covers up to your waist. That's what we did at first. Good luck!

[JFTB1177]

Thank you ladies, for the tips! I will see where I can find a moses basket. I will check out Dr Sears' site and maybe you're right about ditching the covers (so hard though lol!).

If anyone else has anymore tips, please post them here... thanks! :)

[greenmulberry]

I have a 9 week old baby as well.

I sleep with the blanket up to my waste and just wear a warmer top. I put the blanket over her legs but under her hands, because she loves to flail around and I found that can flip the blanket over her head. I also only use a cotton woven blanket that should have good airflow if she gets her head covered.

[McGucks]

We had a changing pad (about three inches high in the middle, maybe five on the sides) that was purchased at Target.  We put that in the bed so we could co-sleep without my worrying so much.  I know to some people that this might not "count" as co-sleeping, but it worked for us.  I could pull him off of it to nurse and put him back on it afterwords.  I could have as many covers as I wanted on me that did not get near him.  Good question, new mama--congratulations and good luck!

[Autumn Martin]

We cosleep, with our first we bought one of those in bed "cosleepers" for inbetween us, but my first was not content unless he was right up against me. So we ditched that. We brought home our second son and coslept with both boys from the day our second came home from the hospital. We always used covers, but most of the time we had our boys laying with one of our arms cradling them so their heads were just naturally raised up a little almost laying on our shoulder/chest. This eliminated any of the worries of the blanket over their faces. Now ages 3 and 5 we are all still in a family bed :)

[Shellree]

I used a regular bed pillow....laid him ontop of it and put it in the middle of us. I was always worried about one of us rolling on him or the covers going on top of him. It cradled him perfectly and kept him secure to where I could feel where he was at all times. He was up a little higher between our head pillows instead of down in the covers so I used a small blanket on him and rolling on him or covers wasnt a big issue. Good luck and enjoy your new baby!!!!1

[LLLHeather]

Dr. James McKenna is a leading mother/baby sleep researcher and his data is very informative.  Just google his name and you'll get to his website complete with safe co-sleeping tips.  He also has a terrific book called "Sleeping with Your Baby".

[lewint60]

I've also just worn a Snuggie while sleeping with a newborn. My covers came back when my baby was 3 months old.

[shine1d]

Hi! I have an 8-week old and that happened to me twice so far and I got really worried, too. I got an Arms Reach co-sleeper off of craigslist.com and she has not even slept in it once! She cries when she is in it and just wants to be near mommy and daddy's warm bodies.

I decided what works for us is for me to slide down to her level and put my face near her face. This means I don't really sleep on much of a pillow (I can maneuver the end of a pillow near me) but since I won't pull the covers over my face they don't end up over her face. I also now sleep with a cardigan on so my arms are warm and I can easily nurse. If I sleep on my back I put my arm around the top of her head (if that makes sense) and the covers haven't ended up on top of her since those two times!

Co-sleeping is the best thing! Everyone always says to me, oh, you must be so tired as a new mom; but nope! We're sleeping well. Good luck!

[tex.mom]

Mine didn't really like the arm's reach co-sleeper either (also bought used off craigslist), but I did like it for napping so I could get up and do things a little more comfortably.  In bed, I tucked a light-weight quilt really well into the bottom/sides of the mattress so it couldn't come up above my waist.  I used a very light-weight, small cotton baby blanket up top.  And as newborns they slept in the crook of my arm with head on my shoulder, while I mostly just slept on my back.  This way I woke up if they moved around too much.

[mama java]

My youngest is currently 3 months old. What I do is get under the covers (pull them right under my chest, maybe have enough to cover my outside arm) and put LO on top of the comforter. He lays on my arm near my shoulder...I'm basically holding him, just laying down. I find he tends to snuggle near my collarbone, but it's easy to nurse him - all I do is slide him down further while he is on top of the blankets. He's usually dressed in a sleeper, but lately we've had the windows open, so he has a blanket that I tuck around him. Since I'm holding him, his blanket doesn't move much.

[teraze]

I love to bed share.  My concern for suffocation has always been greater than that of SIDS, or other accidents we are so warned about.  To help ease our minds with this, we each have our own blanket.  Me, my son (a knitted/crocheted one with holes), and my husband when he does sleep with us.  (My husband snores.  Sometimes...a lot of the time...it's easier if he sleeps on his own.)  If you are still concerned about your babe getting cold, dress him in a baby bag or some other comfy pajamas.  We've also put his head a bit higher than our own (while still being mindful of our pillows).

Now that my 5 month old's a lot bigger and we're better at breastfeeding, I keep him right next to me under one cover most of the time, so we can breastfeed laying down.

Every now and then when my back's out of whack and my husband is sleeping elsewhere, I'll put my babe in the middle of our king, so I feel safer stretching out a little bit.  Inevitably, my babe and I will end up cuddling, but the space is nice while it lasts.  (It's hard work, mothering!)

[Dr.Worm]

Just wanted to tell those of you with the arm's reach cosleeper I saw a thread on here a while back saying they were recalled.

[Tracyloo]

For the first couple of months, I had my daughter snuggled next to me and I wore warm clothes (sweatshirt or sweater) and the blanket up to my waist and tucked under my hip so it wasn't loose. I had my daughter swaddled in the beginning, then we used sleep sacks and/or light weight blankets, and now I have migrated her into an Arm's Reach Co-sleeper with 2 light weight blankets for most of the night . (We got the co-sleeper from a friend who was done with it- maybe you can borrow one?) I have had the co-sleeper set up next to the bed since she was born as a barrier b/c I am paranoid of her falling off the bed. I love snuggling with her, but my hips, arms, and shoulders ache so badly from sleeping in the same position curled aroound her all night. I have her in the bed with me for parts of the night, but I have to change positions, so I put her into the co-sleeper or I can't move when I wake up! Now that she is getting more mobile, I am also concerned about her moving around in the bed, getting under the covers, etc. so I will probably use the co-sleeper most of the night. The good thing is with summer coming, you can have less blankets on your bed at least :-) As a side note, I don't think moms should judge or worry about being judged about if they are truly "co-sleeping" (ie. using co-sleeper device doesn't count). Do what works best for safety AND what helps everyone get a good nights sleep. Good luck with getting it all worked out!

[kamikazismom]

I co-sleep with my 4-week old, and I keep all the sheets and blankets on my husband's side of the bed.  I just wear extra warm pajamas and go without a blanket.  Good luck to you!

[Misku]

I co-slept with my newborn (and am still co-sleeping with her now that she's 9 mos old!), and really loved the ease of breastfeeding, like you. This is how we avoided the blanket-on-face issues: I wore a nursing top (without a bra) to keep my upper body warm, and tucked the covers under me at belly-level. My baby has her own little duvet. We haven't had any problems with this system, and now that I'm more comfortable co-sleeping and less afraid of harming her in my sleep, we sometimes cuddle under the covers together, and sometimes I even enjoy pulling the covers all the way up my body. I think tucking them under yourself helps a lot, as does having a separate blanket for the baby. And it will get easier as she nurses less too. I hope that's some help. Congrats on your baby!

[sweetstar]

Originally Posted by Dr.Worm 

Just wanted to tell those of you with the arm's reach cosleeper I saw a thread on here a while back saying they were recalled.

http://www.armsreach.com/safety/safety_facts.html

This recall does not involve returning product to retailers or Arm's Reach Concepts, but rather it is to provide instructions and an Assembly Sticker.

we don't use our cosleeper much yet w dd#2 but did a lot w dd#1 who spit up all the time and just wasn't easy to sleep with.

i really appreciate this post!

[JFTB1177]

Wow thanks for all the responses! I have started (as some of you mentioned) putting LO up near my head and tried using a sleepsack or dressing him in warm sleepers. :) Thanks again everyone!!