I am really looking for advice here. We just got back from visiting our daughter and had her stay with us for 3 nights in our hotel. We were able to speak with the foster mom and knew that there would be things in her routine that we would have to deal with once we got to that point. We understood this and are fine, its more important to us that she is receiving one on one care.
Initially we had never even considered co sleeping. For us it was a variety of reasons and we just kinda assumed that she would be used to sleeping in a crib. Wrong. Since she was a day old she has been co sleeping with the foster mom.
The first night there I tried walking with her around the room to get her to go to sleep. Nothing. After about 5 minutes I decided to just snuggle with her in bed and see what would happen. And she was out like a light, pure magic. That was all she needed. Now I am a very light sleeper. The slightest movement or noise can wake me. DH on the other hand is the complete opposite he is such a hard sleeper and is constantly turning in bed and flinging pillows everywhere. Once Olivia fell asleep we put her back in her carrier (like a car seat) and put the carrier in the middle of the bed and we layed right next to it. As long as she knew we were close and could see both of us she was fine.
Now I'm kinda at a loss as to what to do when we bring her home. I really don't want to disrupt her whole schedule right away but am not sure how long term co sleeping would be. The one thing that really scares me is the natural concern of what if. What if I roll on top of her? What if she gets trapped under the blankets? But even those I can deal with. My absolute biggest concern is that since we have been married there have 2 times during the middle of the night that DH holds onto a pillow and as he goes to turn he lays the pillow over my head with his hand on top. Both times I woke up gasping for air but was able to move the pillow no problem. Right after that I gave him a nice kick to wake him up and read him the riot act. I just don't see how I can put her at risk. DH never intends to do it and always feels bad in the morning. That and he is an on call fireman. So whenever his pager goes off at night (which is VERY VERY loud) he flies up in a hurry and runs out of the room. Noth the best thing with a baby in bed.
Is it best for DH to sleep somewhere else for a few weeks until I can gradually switch her to the crib? How do you transition a baby to a crib? Are the risks too great to try to continue co sleeping? I just really don't know what to do. Ideally it would be nice if she could learn to fall asleep by being rocked because she is going to be in daycare and I am not sure how much time they would have to lay down with her. Any advice or tips to make things easier?
Initially we had never even considered co sleeping. For us it was a variety of reasons and we just kinda assumed that she would be used to sleeping in a crib. Wrong. Since she was a day old she has been co sleeping with the foster mom.
The first night there I tried walking with her around the room to get her to go to sleep. Nothing. After about 5 minutes I decided to just snuggle with her in bed and see what would happen. And she was out like a light, pure magic. That was all she needed. Now I am a very light sleeper. The slightest movement or noise can wake me. DH on the other hand is the complete opposite he is such a hard sleeper and is constantly turning in bed and flinging pillows everywhere. Once Olivia fell asleep we put her back in her carrier (like a car seat) and put the carrier in the middle of the bed and we layed right next to it. As long as she knew we were close and could see both of us she was fine.
Now I'm kinda at a loss as to what to do when we bring her home. I really don't want to disrupt her whole schedule right away but am not sure how long term co sleeping would be. The one thing that really scares me is the natural concern of what if. What if I roll on top of her? What if she gets trapped under the blankets? But even those I can deal with. My absolute biggest concern is that since we have been married there have 2 times during the middle of the night that DH holds onto a pillow and as he goes to turn he lays the pillow over my head with his hand on top. Both times I woke up gasping for air but was able to move the pillow no problem. Right after that I gave him a nice kick to wake him up and read him the riot act. I just don't see how I can put her at risk. DH never intends to do it and always feels bad in the morning. That and he is an on call fireman. So whenever his pager goes off at night (which is VERY VERY loud) he flies up in a hurry and runs out of the room. Noth the best thing with a baby in bed.
Is it best for DH to sleep somewhere else for a few weeks until I can gradually switch her to the crib? How do you transition a baby to a crib? Are the risks too great to try to continue co sleeping? I just really don't know what to do. Ideally it would be nice if she could learn to fall asleep by being rocked because she is going to be in daycare and I am not sure how much time they would have to lay down with her. Any advice or tips to make things easier?