[Baby Makes 4]

Both of my boys were summer babies so sleeping without blankets was no big deal. My oldest slept in my bed until he was 3 and my youngest started making his desire for personal space very clear at 6 months so we moved him to his own bed at that point.

I've never coslept with a newborn in the winter. We have an Amby Baby bed in our bedroom and will use that at least some of the time. Our bedframe is highly unsuitable for cosleeping (metal bar frame with bars plenty far apart for baby's head to slip through) so our mattress and boxspring will go on the floor.

Our bedroom is usually around 55* at night. Fairly chilly but we like it that way as we sleep with piles of quilts and blankets.

How do we stay warm? We have central heating and tenants in our basement suite. My youngest son gets nosebleeds if the furnace is on too much at night so just cranking up the heat is not an option.

Do we need to get a space heater for our room or is there a safe way to do blankets?

If we wear warm pajamas (we are all naked sleepers in this house) and the baby wears a sleep sack can we still have a light blanket or do we have to go completely blanket-free?

At what age can blankets come back into our bed?

I don't have a sleep sack in a newborn size, should I get one?

We have a heated mattress pad that we use to warm up our bed on cold nights, can we use that or do we need to remove it?

Any thoughts or advice for me?

 

[MAveggiemom]

Well, my son wasn't a winter baby, but he was a spring baby in New England... so I had to address the blanket issue when he was a newborn too. Here's what we do:

We DO have sheets and blankets on the bed, but nothing super fluffy. Usually a sheet, cotton-stuffed quilt, and maybe one other thin blanket if necessary. In the beginning, I didn't sleep AT ALL, because I was so terrified of suffocating DS. I would lie stiff as a board a foot away from him in bed and not move a muscle all night, thinking that I would accidentally pull the covers over his face. Well... I finally figured out a solution.

I lie on my side next to him and pull the covers up to my shoulder. Then I wrap the covers around my top arm (just clutch the edge in your fist and spin your arm around). Then, when DS was a newborn, I laid my arm across his hips or thighs. Now, I lay it right across his belly (since he's bigger and my arm isn't heavy enough to bother him). This allowed me to have the covers, and to be certain of where DS was and sleep not worrying about what I might accidentally do.

As for clothes, my DH is a naked sleeper too so sometimes it's been challenging. I generally wear a long-sleeved deep-v-neck shirt to bed in cold weather, so I can nurse easily but still have my arms covered. DS wears a cotton footie sleeper, with a long-sleeved onesie underneath when it's cool.

Anyway, if you're really concerned about this, you can bundle LO up and then give you and hubby different blankets. Or if you sew, you can split your current sheet and blanket up the middle and finish the ends. Just a few ideas.

Anyway, most co-sleeping families I know DO use blankets (and pillows!!), just think it through so you can be secure in your decision. Do you think indigenous families in cold regions sleep without a covering of some sort? No - they snuggle up under whatever they've got to keep themselves and their babies warm at night.

Just my two cents. Sweet Dreams!

 

[Tdunahoo]

I had my son last January and I didn't really change my blanket situation at all. I would just pull the blankets up to a certain point so I felt warm but DS was still safe (usually his legs and butt were covered). I think we became so in tune that I stopped worrying about him suffocating since every time he moved I was up too.

Happy sleeping and congrats on your soon to be arrival!

 

[Miss 1928]

Elosia was born in February and we've co-slept since birth.

: Brrrr! Don't do away with your mattress pad!
We use a heated mattress pad too, we turn it on about a half an hour before bedtime, and then unplug it -- not just switch it off-- when we get into bed.

We've always used a fluffy down comforter in winter. When Eloisa was a newborn I simply was aware of her at all times, so I was never truly concerned about the comforter. She slept in my armpit and I slept with the comforter lower. I had to use 2 pajama tops sometimes to keep my sholders warm, but it worked. When she was 1 year old she always kept herself scooched up by my head -- unless she was nursing-- so, again, I didn't worry about the comforter. Now we have a toddler bed side-cared to our bed. She nurses then rolls into her toddler bed where she seldom keeps her blanket on for the whole night.

When she was a newborn I dressed her in a onsie, footed PJs, a sleep dress/sack and a hat.

 

[sapphire_chan]

skin to skin is the toastiest I've found. Given how low you keep your bedroom (we do 68, anything less and I'm reluctant to get out of bed when needed) maybe put your LO in a hat and you wear a long sleeved pajama top?

 

[editornj]

There is a thread somewhere on here (fun to read) about all the so-called "rules" people break with co-sleeping.

It was chilly when DS was born, and I just dressed him in long sleeves and pulled the comforter up to his waist. I snuggled up close and I felt like at times my body heat was too much!

You'll work it out, even if there is a wee bit of trial and error. Just do what you're comfy with. Lots of luck!

P.S. I can't stand to have any body part except my head exposed when sleeping, so I have an extra blanket I sort of keep behind me and pull over my shoulder. I just make sure it's not near DS's face. HTH.

 

[teafairy]

We also use blankets because if we turn the heat up too high it is too dry for all. I pull the blanket up over my shoulders an then pull it down next to me and just over ds's body. I wear an undershirt with 2 slits in the front for easy access. We onlyhad a problem once with covers over his head- Dh pulled them up unaware. I heard the breathing change with ds immediately and got the covers down. Ds also pushed them away with his own arms.