Co-sleeping thoughts, recommendations? - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[mariee]

We coslept with our son from day one, but didn't bedshare.  DH was never comfortable with that as an option and I'm really not either.  

We used a mini cosleeper right next to my side of the bed.  We never attached it because I liked rolling it around the house during the daytime so that our son was often sleeping in it near me wherever I was.  I love the mini cosleeper.  They are expensive, but I think they are better made than most pack and plays, since they are really intended for everyday use.  The sheets are wicked expensive and kind of coarse-feeling, though.  I always thought that was weird, but after time and washing, the sheets eventually softened.  The mini is really easy to change sheets on.  You essentially just undo two velcro straps.  

Eventually, we bought the full size cosleeper and continued to use it next to my side of the bed.  In retrospect, I wish we had bought that initially and just used it from the start.  Would have saved us money.  Its a little more difficult to change the sheet on the full size, since you have to bend into it to remove the sheet.  We used the full size for about a year, until DS was about 17 months.  Towards the end, we had to add some padding under the sheet for him because the platform was really hard.  

A white noise maker has made a huge difference for us.  We used one from the beginning and I really like it.  It helps so that you don't hear every single little rustle that the baby makes at night, and I think it helped drown out some of the noise that we made as we got into bed, as well.

[mariee]

This is a total side note but feel like I have to add it in...we have a 3 bedroom house and we have had so many family members ask where baby will sleep.... our ds and dd have their own rooms...well baby will be with us for the first year or so and then will go with a sibling.... where else would baby go??? I'm wondering if people think we need to add another room onto our house??? Really? I mean I did grow up with my own room but there were only 2 of us. We have lots of friends with larger families 4-8 kids and the kids share rooms and it works out beautifully :)

My MIL constantly asks us this!!  We have a two bedroom and have a two year old who sleeps in his own room.  She claims the new baby "needs her own space" too.  

Thankfully, her 85 year old beloved aunt speaks up and reminds us all that her own sons slept in the master bedroom until they were at least two years old, all the way back in the 1950s.  Ahh, I love her!!

[spughy]

Unless the child is capable of crawling off the bed, yes, that's safe as long as the general setup is safe.

My DD wouldn't sleep on her own AT ALL for the first few months anyway so that was just never an issue.  She slept on my lap or in a carrier or stroller for naps and I went to bed with her at my bedtime when she was generally ready for it too, after a few hours of nursing quietly in the evening.  From my experiences as a post-partum doula I've learned that's not unusual at all - in fact pretty normal.  So I wouldn't worry about it.  If you end up doing it it's safe, but chances are for the first few months the baby will have the same hours you do.

[Melany]

Originally Posted by akind1 

Sidecarring is the only thing that got two mattresses on an identical level for us; the Arms reach wasn't on the exact level as our mattress, it was a little lower. If it's a space issue, maybe look at a mini crib to sidecar?

Do mini cribs have a removable side? We have an AR in the garage, but last time we had a baby in it, we didn't have a bed frame on our bed. Now our bed frame pushes it a few inches from the bed. I don't want to store the bed somewhere, Let alone I don't have the space to store the bed (sleigh bed) somewher. We were married for 10 years before we had real bedroom furniture and I didn't realize it wouldn't work with the co-sleeper.

[akind1]

I think you can remove a side from any crib. The ikea crib I use didn't specify what side was removable, I just assembled it less one side.
We have always laid baby down in a bed without an adult. Assuming bed is already safe for co sleeping. Now, I do not do this if I will be on a floor separate from baby, but as long as we are on the same level, yes.
Once baby is mobile, we use bed rails. By the time baby can really crawl or stand, we teach how to dismount safely from the bed.
Even when our kids stay with grandparents, they co sleep (even though at home the kids have their own beds. The grands like it, I guess)

[buko]

I don't know that it's a great idea to remove a side from just any crib, but it might be okay. I had read it was best to use a convertible crib-- one that was also made to be used as a "toddler bed," with 3 sides. Idk, but the Ikea crib we are registered for is supposedly convertible-- I think all Ikea cribs are.

[akind1]

It really should be fine - it's braced on 3 sides, and has the mattress support for stability. Looking at BRU mini crib selection nearly all of those are convertible too, so it should be really ok.

Arms reach co-sleeper: Really, you don't need to buy their sheets. For the Full Size - any brand pack n play sheets will fit. I bought flannel, minky, and quilted ones for a little added cush for the baby - the mattress is quite firm, and I had winter babies.  For the Mini - may want to check to see if bassinet sheets would work. Some people even use king sized pillow cases (but wouldn't work with the arms reach, since it velcros to the support)

[mariee]

I wouldn't remove the side from any regular crib.... I think its a little too risky since you still have that space between your bed frame and all.  The whole risk of entrapment thing, you know?  

Can you just use the AR pulled close to your bed, but with all of the sides up?  And akindl is right, on the mini you can actually use a pillowcase in place of a sheet. You just have to cut a couple holes in it to put the velcro straps through.

[Melany]

Originally Posted by akind1 

Arms reach co-sleeper: Really, you don't need to buy their sheets. For the Full Size - any brand pack n play sheets will fit. I bought flannel, minky, and quilted ones for a little added cush for the baby

My daughter would only sleep on the flannel sheets! If she hit a cold standard sheet, it woke her up, even in the Co-sleeper. I think she got used to our flannel sheets when she slept between us. My husband prefers them year round and she co-slept in the, too. In fact, she has flannel sheets on her twin bed, now. 

[akind1]

If you see the site on sidecarring a crib, with any crib (even a convertible) you either pulll the crib mattress flush with yours, and wedge behind it pillows/foam/.etc or find foam at a craft store to fill the space between, else you are right, there will be space and possible entrapment.

you can see examples in this link: http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/turn-your-crib-into-cosleeper.html

[SamiPolizzi]

I thought I had our sleeping arrangements all figured out, but now I'm not so sure. I was planning on just having the baby in bed with us. My DP is not a heavy sleeper and barely moves at all in his sleep, so I'm sure it will be fine. However, my DS (who will be 4 when the baby is born) still gets up and gets in our bed a lot of the time and there's just no way all 4 of us can fit. So now I have no idea what to do. We can't even use a cosleeper or anything because our bedroom is tiny. Our bed pretty much takes up the whole room. Not allowing DS to sleep with us any more is not an option. Ideally, it'd be nice if we could put a bigger bed in DS's room so that one of us could sleep in there with him sometimes, but I'm not sure that's in the budget right now. Hmm...

[akind1]

If you don't mind a used mattress, maybe check craigslist? I am so glad my other two are in their own beds (one in a full, the other in a queen) so we can go to them when needed.

[chocolatechip]

I did sort of figure that the baby and I would probably have similar schedules in the beginning, but it's good to know that can be pretty typical! And I appreciate knowing that it does make sense that if a bed is safe for co-sleeping, it's also safe to put baby down on (while not being *too* far away, which makes sense). 

[cabbitdancer]

I hadn't known that cosleeping was a "thing" when I picked it up. I was sore from my c-section and hated having to pick my daughter up from the PnP when I went to grab her at night. I think she only slept in that thing for the first night and then I decided that cosleeping was just easier on all of us. She slept in the crook of either of my arms until she was big enough to start rolling herself over and then we picked up a rail to put on the bed. She slept with us exclusively until we moved when she was about 2.5 and got her own room and her own bed. :)

My biggest concern is what to do with her when she wants to come sleep with us after the baby comes. A friend of mine suggested setting up sleeping arrangements for her beside the bed (which is what she's done with her son), but she doesn't seem to care for those. Our bed is much too small for the two of us, plus a 5-year-old and a baby. :P