Cosleeping the first few weeks - Page 2

[symesa]

Can't you just use a contoured changing pad instead of a true "cosleeper" kind of thing? I like multi-use items!!

[HerthElde]

Originally Posted by alegna

I'll tell you what we did with dd that we're planning on doing again.

We have pillows.

Baby is down at boob-height, so away from pillows.

Sheet and light blanket pulled up to my shoulder then down to baby's waist.

The end.

-Angela

Yep, that's about it for us, twice now and we'll do it that way again. And I do let my cats in the bed if they want. And . . . you know, I guess I ignored all the crazy safety rules, for the most part, and just allowed my instinct to take over. Dd1 slept in the crook of my arm and I was unable to turn my body away from hers for probably the first year and a half. Dd2, although she weighed the same at birth, was much sturdier and I just didn't worry as much . . . it's possible I'll be sleeping with a newborn, 2yo and 4yo all at the same time this time. It'll be what it'll be.

Oh, and babe and I slept on top of flannel receiving blankets so that if one got wet, I could grab another from the stash near my head and place under-breast again

[Molck]

Thanks for all the responses; this thread has been very reassuring. So insane how I can go from totally comfortable with my plans to filling with doubt at the slightest hint from my MW or her assistant that I might be wrong about something birth related (in this case, the assistant sent a blanket email to all the clients that we might want to check out a website; buried in it was some negativity about cosleeping-- I have no idea what her own take is on the subject. Gah! Crazy hormones...).

[battymama]

Well i was a co-sleeper with my mum, so maybe thats why i am so comfortable with it, but we wont be doing anything special, one pillow each, normal blankets, it will be winter here so rather than blankets we will put the heater on. Babe between DH and i, when baby is a bit bigger we will sidecar a cot, mainly for the room and as a saftey guard. But DH is a super light sleeper, and i have no doubt that i will be aware of the baby. I think some of the rules i have read are crazy, and are probally just an attempt to make co-sleeping seem over complicated. Do people honestly believe that it is less safe than a baby alone in a room down the hall?

[theatermom]

Originally Posted by Molck

Thanks for all the responses; this thread has been very reassuring. So insane how I can go from totally comfortable with my plans to filling with doubt at the slightest hint from my MW or her assistant that I might be wrong about something birth related (in this case, the assistant sent a blanket email to all the clients that we might want to check out a website; buried in it was some negativity about cosleeping-- I have no idea what her own take is on the subject. Gah! Crazy hormones...).

Don't feel bad -- there was co-sleeping negativity in the packet I received from the BC, and I honestly, after 7.5 years of co-sleeping with 3 different babes, considered buying a co-sleeper for a moment. There's so much hysteria on this subject, that it's hard not to get caught up in it.

[NatureMama3]

I wish you all could have my midwife!

all there was in the birth packet/client info she sent me was pro-bf, pro-cosleeping, anti-circ and brewer's diet info. That and a tiny "birth list" with things like clean towels and juice. She's a mama to 7 who b/f and coslept herself.

[happyfrog]

we cosleep. oldest kid is 4, youngest kid is 2. well, oldest kid is in 'his' room, but my dh sleeps in there wtih him. i have younger kid with me in 'our' bed (dh and my king sized pillow top bed).

our beds are on the floor. less likely kid is gonna die if crawling off.

when kid is real small - newborn to 6 months or thereabouts, i keep child in the center of bed and i am on outside. my nipples are so long and my breasts so long/big that baby can hook up/unhook whichever breast s/he wants w/o me flipping kid to other side of mattress to side nurse.

we have 'normal' bedding on bed. pillows, sheets, blankets, comforter. kid is usually nestled in my arms anyway. baby breathes same way i breathe i've discovered - discovered that 'trick' with first kid who had a lot of apnea issues adn would stop breathing when in a crib alone. . . so we became co sleeping folks. . .

i don't know about you, but i'm not a heavy sleeper. the day i had my first kid, i lost the ability to sleep thru anything. i wake up at the slightest sound of anything, so i am real aware of pretty much everything all night long. . .so i'd notice if my kid were not breathing right or whatever - which is how i learned about my first kid with apnea . . and then also realized that the baby breathed when i breathed, so it was a no brainer to bring baby to bed with me - and keep baby nestled in my arms at all times. . .he never had apnea episodes as long as he was in 'my space'. . . but if i left the room and dh was caring for him while i peed or soemthing, he'd stop breathing. very freaky expereinces.

i'd say use common sense with however you decide to cosleep. i thougth about railings and stuff, but we haven't seen the need. having hte beds on the floor works for us. yeah, it's a bit uncomfortable getting OUT of bed when you're very VERY pregnant, but otherwise, not that big a deal. . .

bettyann

[bugnbean]

Exactly what Angela does