[SequoiasMom]

Hi-
I have an 8 week old and we kindof just started co-sleeping naturally. Now, she won't sleep in the cradle, and that's fine. Her favortite position is lying on top of me, chest to chest, but I have woken up to her sliding off me! Scary! So, I decided to kindof cradle her in my arm on the side and sleep that way, but sometimes I wake up and her face is in my side. Scary! Sooo...my question is, what are the best positions for co-sleeping? Do I need a special pillow or something? She is smaller than most babies (preemie now just 6 lbs.).
Also, she wakes about every hour at night to sleep (last night with the arm hold I actually got two 2 hour stretches of sleep!) and sleeps for like 3 hours at a time during the day. Does she have her days and nights mixed up? Did I encourage that somehow? How do I fix it? I feel bad waking a baby, so I have not done that.
Ideas, suggestions??:yawning: I'm delirious.

 

[Valian]

Congrats and welcome!

My preemie came home and started cosleeping with us at about 4lbs 8oz so I understand your concerns!

Ds always slept between me and the edge of the bed, never Dh and I. I used seperate blankets than Ds and kept my arm between him and my pillow. Because the dip in our bed would cause him to roll towards me, I did two things: (1) I positioned him at an angle with his feet towards me and his head toward the edge so no rolling, (2) I used one of those sleep positioners with soft foam wedges that velcro onto fabric. This also helped the sliding factor.

As for confusing days and nights--I can't tell from your description if that's actually a problem. Sleeping longer streches during the day than at night doesn't mean there's a mix up. Its more if the baby is awake/alert mostly at night and not at all during the day. Are you keeping it dim and then dark in the evenings or are all the lights on after dinner? Do you turn on lots of lights for nighttime feeding or diaper changing? Our technique was to just let the room go dark naturally and then use dim/nightlights. We were told and also experienced that some preemies are extra sensitive to light and will go to sleep during day time or in very bright settings to avoid the brightness. When we wanted to encourage/support Ds being alert we made sure to dim the lights in the room a little.

ETA: Certainly don't wake your sleeping baby--they need all they can get. Its a myth that keeping a baby awake will help them sleep longer later. I only woke Ds if I he needed to eat as I was concerned about maintaining his blood sugar levels.

 

[SequoiasMom]

Thanks Valian. I will try some of your suggestions tonight. I have been using the same blankets, so I will give her her own, and put her on the side of the edge of the bed. I was afraid she would roll off the bed! BUT, then I will use that positioner thing, and hopefully that will help. Thanks so much. I hope to get some sleep...just a little...not asking for much....

About the day/night thing. She's not more alert at night, she just seems to kinda fuss all night without much sleep. I keep changing positions, and nursing, of course. I don't keep it too bright, just the bathroom light to see and trust me, diaper changes are quick and event-less. So, with your input, I guess she is not mixed up, but maybe we just need to get our sleeping arrangements hammered out.

Again, thanks for the advice, and if anyone else has any, I'd be glad to hear it. I'd like to see as much sleeping at night as there is during the day! Wishfun thinking?