co-sleeping with newborn - Page 2

[BeckyBird]

Hi Azhie! Here are some of my own personal cosleeping tips:

• Always sleep facing toward the baby. Never sleep with your back to the baby.
• I never, ever put the baby between my husband and myself. He is a heavy sleeper, so I would sleep with the baby next to the wall. Make sure there is no gap between the bed and wall.
• My daughter was born in the winter, so it was pretty cold at night. I used a crocheted blanket, the kind with holes throughout. That way, just in case she ever did get the blanket over her head (she never did) there would be enough holes to breathe through.
• After nursing the baby, you can scooch down in the bed, so your head is closer to the baby's head (almost face to face). Instead of sleeping with the baby down by your stomach/waist, your head and the baby's head can be at the same level. I did this often.
• If you are sleeping with your head close to the baby's head, you can arrange your pillow so your head is right on the edge, and there would be no part of the pillow near the baby's head.

Of course, you will want to have a safe sleeping area to start with--no gaps between bed and wall, no fluffy blankets and pillows by baby, etc.

I coslept with both children.....still currently cosleeping with DD (18 mo).  I am always cautious, and I never take cosleeping lightly. However, although there is a small danger with cosleeping, I found it much more frightening to sleep with the baby away from me. Not judging the crib people, but I personally could not handle having a newborn in a crib away from me!

Wait until you have the baby in your arms, and see what feels right to you. That is my best advice of all!

[lkvosu]

Pretty much exactly this! Very practical advice. This is almost word for word what we did.

Originally Posted by BeckyBird 

Hi Azhie! Here are some of my own personal cosleeping tips:

• Always sleep facing toward the baby. Never sleep with your back to the baby.
• I never, ever put the baby between my husband and myself. He is a heavy sleeper, so I would sleep with the baby next to the wall. Make sure there is no gap between the bed and wall.
• My daughter was born in the winter, so it was pretty cold at night. I used a crocheted blanket, the kind with holes throughout. That way, just in case she ever did get the blanket over her head (she never did) there would be enough holes to breathe through.
• After nursing the baby, you can scooch down in the bed, so your head is closer to the baby's head (almost face to face). Instead of sleeping with the baby down by your stomach/waist, your head and the baby's head can be at the same level. I did this often.
• If you are sleeping with your head close to the baby's head, you can arrange your pillow so your head is right on the edge, and there would be no part of the pillow near the baby's head.

Of course, you will want to have a safe sleeping area to start with--no gaps between bed and wall, no fluffy blankets and pillows by baby, etc.

I coslept with both children.....still currently cosleeping with DD (18 mo).  I am always cautious, and I never take cosleeping lightly. However, although there is a small danger with cosleeping, I found it much more frightening to sleep with the baby away from me. Not judging the crib people, but I personally could not handle having a newborn in a crib away from me!

Wait until you have the baby in your arms, and see what feels right to you. That is my best advice of all!

[nm7300]

Lots of good advice above! We started with a snuggle-nest-type thing, but DS didn't like it, so we quickly just had him in the bed. We have a king-size bed. I always kept him really close to me & far from DH. I would lie on my side, curled up around him w/ my arm bottom under my pillow extended, so I could feel if DH got too close (he never did). We also use separate sheets and blankets (as in, DH has his own sheet & blanket, I have my own) to avoid the possibility of one of us pulling it up over the baby. DS is 10 months old now & we are still happily co-sleeping. Couldn't imagine it any other way! :)

[MsFortune]

I think a lot of it depends on what kind of sleeper you are.  For example, my sister sleeps like the dead.  I don't recommend her doing it.  She's just too out of it when she sleeps.  I'm a light sleeper.  It worked for me.

My advice though to people considering cosleeping - get your baby used to sleeping without you, too.  You may not want to have to lie down with your baby every time s/he needs to sleep, because sometimes this can last for years and it's a really hard habit to break.

With both of my babies - I would feed sitting up then put them into the crib (next to bed) when they were still a tiny bit awake, so they got used to going to sleep on their own.  I'd then get a few hours of alone time until I went to bed and brought them into bed with me.  

[bignerpie]

Somewhere along the line I heard or read that co-sleeping works because even though you may be asleep, you are still aware of your surroundings. You might move around in your sleep, but you're still in the bed when you wake up. Your brain is still aware of your boundaries and keeps you from falling off the bed. The same thing happens when your baby is in bed with you. As long as there is nothing impairing you, like drugs or alcohol, you will still be quite aware of what your baby is up to while you're sleeping.

I also believe that having a baby changes the way you sleep. I used to be quite a heavy sleeper, but since my son was born, the slightest noise by him will wake me up. That doesn't mean that I am being woken up all night... quite the opposite! I get more sleep when he's in bed beside me because I don't have to fully wake up to make sure he's ok.

Like BeckyBird said, just do what feels right to you!

[springbride]

Has anyone tried these ?  Or anything similar?  Any reviews/thoughts?  We are going to transition DD to a twin bed sometime in the fall and I thought even if I hate then for cosleeping I can use them for her bed?  

thanks.