Sleeping arrangement questions... - Page 2

[SynEpona]

DS more or less co-slept till he was 3, either in our bed, or in his bed next to our bed, and now at 4.5 he sleeps in his own bed in his own room, and goes to bed quite easily most nights :) So, whatever we did, it worked out ok!

However DH got kicked in the head more nights than he'd have liked, as DS was a sideways sleeper, with his head by me and his feet by DH. DS also nursed all.night.long for a long time ... so before DD arrived, that's what I was expecting to be dealing with.

Of course, she is a totally opposite eater/sleeper! She eats pretty quickly, and settles back to sleep on her own more or less, doesn't fall asleep while nursing.

All that background to reply to this:
 

Originally Posted by Lynann 
I know once this baby is born I'm not going to want to get out of bed to put the baby in the bassinet, when it will be so much better to have the baby right next to me.

DH was really not on board with fully co-sleeping after the kicking with DS! So we have the bassinet beside my side of the bed, and I can actually just sit up a bit and reach to get DD out w/o getting out of bed! For the first couple weeks, I kept a change pad/diapers/wetbag etc. in a little pile at the foot of the bed. I really didn't get out of bed at night, and she also slept in the bassinet for most of the night. There is usually a patch between 3-5am that she sleeps with me.

Now, I only get out of bed to do a diaper change in the middle of the night, but still don't have to get out of bed to feed her! It's working pretty well so far .. she does sleep with me a little bit most nights, but that's b/c it's easier for ME, she doesnt' care! Everyone is getting much better rest this round, and I was totally not expecting this!

She is a totally different baby than DS, which I knew she would be, but the ways they are different surprised me I guess. She eats & sleeps much better, but is harder to soothe in general, as feeding her does not solve all her problems the way it did for DS. She also doesnt' just settle automatically when in a sling, so the babywearing is not an automatic easy way to get things done!

[katiemaeeee]

Just wanted to chime in here that we LOVE our Arm's Reach co-sleeper!!! I got so lucky and found one at a thrift store when I was about eight months pregnant!! It is the one purchase that we made, almost everything else was given to us second-hand or bought for the baby shower and I am SO GLAD we got it. Because we had to stay in the hospital the first seven days most of the nurses would not let us co-sleep in the hospital bed and Caroline got used to sleeping in the hospital bassinet beside the bed, which I am sure helped ease the transition a lot.

But, my DP has sleep apnea and wears a bi-pap machine at night (thank goodness because before he got that seven years ago he was constantly waking me up gasping for air in the middle of the night). He also takes medication that could make him a heavier sleeper, although I have never seen this to the case, but not wanting to take any chances we wanted to be extra careful. So, although I know Caroline would be fine in bed with us, I just feel better keeping her on my chest or in the co-sleeper while I am sleeping.

I also LOVE that its also a perfect little diaper changing station at night and that Caroline usually holds on to my finger while we're sleeping. Its working so well for us. But, I think we are pretty lucky because DD does such a wonderful job of staying asleep when we put her in there.

As far as having another kid, not sure what we would do!! Best wishes to all the other Mamas and DH's!