The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

I was so dead set against having her in the bed with us, but she sleeps so well when she does.

Where do I put her? How is she supposed to be positioned?

I put her in between us and her head is usually in the crook of my arm so I can put my arm around her...but it leaves my arm hurting when we wake up and I need to turn on my othe side through the night because my hip starts to hurt.

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

That's how I would sleep and did some damage to my shoulder. It was the only way I could ensure that DH wasn't throwing the covers off & over the baby.

Unfortunately I don't have the answer. I co-slept with Joseph and rarely with Maddie. In the end, DH thinks that's why Maddie doesn't like to cuddle as much.

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

I have Nate's co-sleeper on my side of the bed. In the last month or so, he starts out in his co-sleeper and then wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep in it. So I usually lay him on my side between me and the co-sleeper. We have a king size bed, so I just move towards the middle.

We tried letting him sleep between us, but neither of us slept well bc we worried about rolling onto him.

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

my daughter had horrible colic and this was the only way i could get her to sleep, and exactly what happens to you used to happen to me my arm and my hip would kill me by morning, because i was afraid to move because i didnt want to wake her up!

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

this is the only way Bryan sleeps soooo but he sleeps really well and I have no problem with it and neither does Dh we actually like having him there. Anyway, when he was smaller I used to put the sleep positioner in the middle of the bed and stick him in it - it worked perfect because he coulnt roll or move much and it was a barrier for us. we would swadlle him also becacause he moved his arms so much now that he's older we each hold his hand so that he falls asleep it works for us.

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

At that age Patrick used to sleep on my chest. That is the only way I could get him to sleep for a long period of time.

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

I don't recommend doing the crook of you arm long term if you are cosleeping all the time. If you can get her used to being near you but no on you per se that would be better.

I know a friend of mine made her daughter a bed in their bed by folding sheets so that she was a little higher than them and they would swaddle her and lay her to sleep on that and would keep her hand on her until the baby got in to a deep sleep.

Here's a link for safe cosleeping

CoSleeping

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

My experience with my kids has been sleeping with their heads on my arm so I know DH wont roll onto them and the blanket wont go over their faces. As the months go by from infancy to toddlerhood the more I snuggle the more they want to squirm. Now as the night goes on Jeremy doesnt want to be cuddled and he pushes me away so he can flail. By 14 months Emma was so "momma dont snuggle me" that we moved her into her crib. I am hoping it will be the same way with Jeremy.

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

When Claire was very little, I was too afraid of DH rolling on her or covering her with blankets, so I slept in the middle with her between me and the side of the bed. I put her in the sleep positioner with the sheet up to her waist and then tucked tightly into the mattress. She really didn't start to move around until 5-6 months old and then we switched her to the middle of the bed and haven't had any problems.

I really believe that when they are that young you really cant form bad habits, they just need comfort from mom because they are so new. Definitely do what works for you to get a good nights sleep!

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

Re: The dos and don'ts of cosleeping....

I also was so against it but some nights we realy needed sleep. When we do (which is half the night every night) we remove allthe pillows and we each hold one hand down. When he can't sleep because og gas we also hold hisfeet up

btw i feel so muchbetter wheni see these posts because i know other babies have transitioned from cosleeping to independent sleeping. and we are not the only ones doing it.