[holdingmyson]

My son is 3 weeks old and absolutely refuses to sleep in the bedside armsreach bassinet that we have. It was frustrating at first, but he sleeps so well in our bed that my husband and I just put the bassinet in the living room for naps! haha.<br><br>
Anyway, I am so paranoid. I keep the baby off to the side on my side of the bed (my husband is a deep, very deep sleeper and is unaware of himself when he sleeps) and wedge him in with rolled up baby blankets on both sides of his body. This works most times, and he sleeps 2 or 3 hours before waking up to nurse. I dont let myself fall asleep while nursing him, because I am afraid to cover his nose and/or mouth with my breast (I lay down with him to nurse at night). However, when I move him after he is done, I dread him waking up because I am so exhausted. Right now, he is very congested (still trying to figure out why) and will wake up sooooo easily, poor guy.<br>
I don't like to lay him on his tummy or side, for fear that he will smother himself and I won't hear it while I sleep. I sleep deeply sometimes, especially when I am tired. I know most women say they have a sense of their child, even when they are sleeping, but I can't say that I experience that. Not sure yet.<br><br>
Basically, I guess I just need some support on how to make the family bed work. Safety is the main thing for me, but to keep Eli in our bed is also a necessity. I think I also sleep better when he is closer to me.

 

[cileag]

I started out with the armsreach and now I side carred a crib and found that works SO much better. I really disliked the "lip" of the co sleeper, but wanted more room in bed for all three of us and felt more comfortable having a designated space for baby too. Otherwise, you could place a thick blanket or several under the armsreach mattress to make it level with your bed and then when baby was deeply asleep, I could just scoot baby over and she usually didn't stir.<br><br>
Otherwise, tips for co sleeping that helped me was to wear a long sleeved shirt to bed, so I could skip the covers, and I swaddled P. tightly and then she slept kind of on her side, and that worked position wise enough so we felt pretty safe.<br><br>
And P. has been stuffy since birth--cutting out dairy helped significantly as did the use of saline drops before bed.<br><br>
Good luck!

 

[holdingmyson]

Ok! Yeah, I wouldnt mind sidecarring a crib, but if I even touch Eli's side or something he will wake. Plus I like him close, even if we are squished (my husband and I).<br><br>
I havent had dairy, bananas or white potatoes (mucousy foods) for his sake, and he is still stuffy <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad">. Waiting to hear from the doctor. Do they make saline drops for babies specifically?

 

[crunchy_mommy]

I had the exact same fears when DS was younger, but he is now 15mos & we co-sleep fear-free (OK mostly fear-free!!) now. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"> I keep DS & DH separate for the same reasons as you. I wear a long-sleeve shirt so my arms are warm & I can keep the covers lower, and I also sleep with his body near my head rather than near my chest. Not sure if I'm describing that properly <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> but it makes it so I really couldn't roll over him (my head would be on his belly) or cover his head with the covers or anything. Oh and I dress him warmly since he is only half-covered (or less since he wiggles a lot now). We also have our mattress on the floor so I don't have to worry about him falling out of bed, and the bedroom is completely child-proofed which also gives me peace of mind.

 

[cileag]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>holdingmyson</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15416133"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Ok! Yeah, I wouldnt mind sidecarring a crib, but if I even touch Eli's side or something he will wake. Plus I like him close, even if we are squished (my husband and I).<br><br>
I havent had dairy, bananas or white potatoes (mucousy foods) for his sake, and he is still stuffy <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad">. Waiting to hear from the doctor. Do they make saline drops for babies specifically?</div>
</td>
</tr></table></div>
Do you swaddle? Using the miracle blanket swaddle really cut back on P.'s startle reflex. She is still swaddled at 6.5 months.<br><br>
As far as I can tell the only difference between the adult and kid/baby saline spray is how much comes out at a time. We gave her 2-3 drops in each nostril by gently dripping it in (she hated it if we squirted it) and then let it sit for a few minutes and then one at a time, kind of squeezed the bogeys out. Most of the time she tolerated it fine, sometimes it really pissed her off. (But almost always left her breathing significantly better.)