[beep_4]

Our daughter is 11 days old today. She has slept in bed with us since the day she was born. When I was pregnant we bought a 'snuggle nest' and co-sleeper to prepare for this. The problem is that she refuses to sleep in either one. The only way she will sleep is on my stomach (stomach to stomach) or in the crook of my arm (me side-lying). We are concerned about the safety of this (with our blankets/pillows around) but cannot get her to sleep in the nest or co-sleeper. Even when transferred while she is sound asleep she will wake up once her body hits either one and start to stir, fuss and eventually be in hysterics.

Truthfully I sleep like a dream while holding her but don't want to put her at risk. My husband is also extrememly nervous with the whole thing.

Please help!

Celeste

 

[mamanurse]

We also had this "problem" when my dd was nb. I hypothesized that it was the coldness of the sidecar that was making her wake up. We put a hot water bottle with warm water in it in the sidecar before she fell asleep. After she was asleep, we moved the water bottle and put baby in. It worked like a charm for us and I hope it does for you too.

 

[sweedma]

Our ds was the same...and it introduced us to cosleeping, which we hadn't planned on doing! I'd say do some reading on safe cosleeping -- Dr. Sears at http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t102200.asp is good -- and get rid of your fluffy blanket and go ahead and sleep like a dream with the little one in your arm.

You and dh both certainly have to feel comfortable with it, but as long as you're doing it safely it will be hard for your dh to argue with the results -- happy baby.

 

[Valian]

For lots of babies a co-sleeper is still to far removed from you, that is completely normal! My Ds went through a (several weeks long) period of only sleeping on my or Dh's chest. We slept on our backs with pillows proping our arms so we were holding Ds even as we slept. Then, suddenly, Ds was okay laying down on his own, so I started sleeping next to him.

Let's see if I can describe it. I sleep in between Ds and Dh. Dh and I have covers over us, but none over Ds. Ds sleeps below my pillow, about eye level with my boobs, the very end of my pillow is above his head, but my arm is also under my head and keeps them seperated. Am I making any sense here? This is what we did until it seemed Ds needed some more space (around 4mo) so now we sleep a little further apart.

Kudos to you for trying to find a way to allay your Dd's fears!

Dh and I both agree there is nothing sweeter than waking up to the smiling, cooing face of your baby.

: We love lounging in bed together.

 

[blsilva]

We never used a cosleeper of any kind. Both of my sons slept nestled next to me, usually as close to the breast as possible.

We took off all the fluffy blankets & pillows, and felt very safe.

 

[Mama Poot]

Hello there! My 2nd is the same age as your baby

We have a co-sleeper that makes a great changing table

He sleeps in the crook of my arm too. I swaddle him tightly in a receiving blanket- he won't sleep otherwise, and I keep the sheet and comforter below chest level so there isn't anything around him that could suffocate him. Someone mentioned the co-sleeper being too chilly, and I think that's the problem we're having. We have to keep the ceiling fan on, otherwise it gets too stuffy. Henri needs and loves to be warm and snuggled up next to me and DH....not to mention nurses all night long, and I don't always feel like sitting up/waking up to do that. As long as there isn't a lot of fluffy bedding close to the baby, you should be fine. Also, try to make sure baby doesn't roll over too much. I try to keep Henri on his back while he's next to me.

 

[muppet729]

My DD was supposed to sleep in a crib like "normal" kids

Just kidding! I was most nervous about this aspect of AP but it soon became an obvious necessity as dd would not let us put her down while she was sleeping (still doesn't at 32mo)

What we did was put the mattress on the floor (queen) and add a twin next to it for DH. Then I made sure that I had enough clothes on to stay warm and used a light sheet or quilt to cover my lower half. I also soemtimes used a recieving blanket to cover my top after she had finished nursing (although back hten she didn't ever seem to unlatch). I also had my arm above my head and kind of circled aroudn the top of her head sot hat I could keep tabs on where she was. She has never liked to be covered up (still doesn't) and so we just made sure that she had a good sleeper on and let her lay uncovered. With as often as she woke up to nurse, I didn't worry about rollign over on her after a couple of nights of trying it.

 

[mom2nat&will]

we too have a cosleeper however my ds who is now 3 months stillprefers to sleepOn me stomach to stomach! GL to you

 

[fireshifter]

DH and I didn't plan on co-sleeping. He is overweight and a restless sleeper. I am a light sleeper. DS slept in the bassinette for the first 4 months and then outgrew it. We side-carred the crib and he slept in that for about a month until we went on a two week trip and slept with him the whole time. Now we're co-sleeping for the time being.

Things change. 11 days from now, your baby may not sleep at all on your tummy. DS could only sleep on my tummy when I was upright and that lasted for the first two weeks until his snuffy nose went away.

Also, DS was born in the winter and DH likes it to be REALLY cold in the room to sleep, with fans on and such. We had a small bag filled with seed corn (rice would be fine too) and a small bit of lavendar. I can't remember what they're called, but you can microwave them for a minute and it provides just a subtle heat that lasts about three hours. It was perfect for DS to snuggle with when he was in his bassinette. They also make great icepacks or heating pads.

HTH

 

[alegna]

For millions of years babies have been sleeping next to mamas. Be logical. Be safe. But don't worry.

FWIW I still used my pillow and dd has always been under our covers. Not once was it a problem.

-Angela

 

[Amila]

Aw, your little one sounds just like my DD...she is now 3 weeks old, and we first tried the Arm's Reach Mini...no luck, then the Snugglenest, which worked for about a week. She just wanted to be ny mama. I too was so freaked out, but we reintroduced the co-sleeper and she kind of sleeps in that now half the time. I put her down in it when we are all going to bed, then when she wakes up to bf I usually just keep her with me until she needs a diaper change...since we are both getting up I will then put her back in the co-sleeper. The next time she wakes up we both just end up sleeping in in the bed. I find I am a lot more comfortable when DF goes to work and it is just the 2 of us in the bed- more room. I would say though, that her sleeping on you is probably safer than next to you if you are worried about pillows and blankets, as long as you are a light sleeper and aware of her presence- we take naps like this. Either way, you kind of just do what you have to, and will find that things are okay, and you get more comfortable as she gets older. Good luck!