We are new to the cosleeping world. We didn't plan on it but it works wonderfully for us. I don't see us stopping anytime soon but I'd love to know about your experiences. Do you plan on ending the arrangement? What is your routine like? I am curious to know more but don't know where to go!
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We are just coming to the end of our co-sleeping days, sadly.
What we did:
We put our mattress directly on the floor pushed against the wall in the corner. P would start out the night in her RnR/PnP/crib and then after her first waking would come into our bed. In the first days she would sleep only between me & the wall then as DH got used to her being in bed with us & P started getting more demanding of her own space she would also sleep between us... just depended on which side I was nursing her.Around 11 months she started sleeping longer stretches and then at 11.5 she started not wanting to sleep in our bed after her maybe waking... I've certainly tried, but it ends of with her moving all around not getting comfortable & then me putting her back in the crib. ='(
We were prepared to have her in own bed much longer but I'm so proud she has learned to sttn all on her own! *bittersweet*
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Definitely did NOT plan on the arrangement but ended up being perfect.
When we brought DS home from the hospital I started him out in the Rock N Play next to the bed. I slept with my hand on him until he woke to be nursed. I was nervous putting him in bed with me, being so tiny. So for a while I just stayed awake holding him until he was good and sleepy and then back in the RnP next to me.
As he got bigger and I got more comfortable, he stayed in bed for nursing throughout the night. I'd start bedtime by putting him in the RnP and then when he woke for the first nursing, I'd keep him in bed with me until morning.This continued until he was 9.5 months old (moved from RnP to crib at 4 months). He started sleeping through the night and there was no need to get him and bring him to bed with me. That first night, I woke up a million times checking on him.
He's 16 months now and asks to go to bed. Points upstairs and grabs his lovey when he's ready to go to sleep.
I still cosleep anytime he needs me, sick, teething, etc. or just wants to cuddle - he's not really a cuddly baby, so that's more me, haha
I don't know how I would've survived going back to work at 7 weeks if it weren't for cosleeping. It was the only way I could get some sleep at night. Interrupted sleep, sure, but it was sleep. I would've cried if I had to get up from my bed that many times during the night. I do believe that you have to do what's best for your family though. This just ended up being what worked for us.ETA: forgot to add - I put a side rail on my side of the bed when DS became mobile (I kept the RnP next to the bed for a really long time, just in case he rolled off - he never did/has).
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We also stumbled upon a sleeping. A is 6 months and I don't see us stopping anytime soon. We start her off in her crib for her first stretch asleep with you usually two hours or so then switch her to our bed for the remainder of the night.
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We fell into co-sleeping when LO was a few weeks old, and it's been wonderful!!! LO sleeps between us in the bed. When she was little she slept in a co-sleeper in the bed, and now she just sleeps between us.
We were first planning on moving her to her own bed at 8 months; but LO is 10 months and still in bed with us haha (and we're totally ok with that). I'm not sure when we will move her, but when we do she will transition to a floor bed in our room.
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Following!! We are co-sleeping as well....definitely wasn't in the plans but it works wonderfully for us. Would love to hear stories/experiences. It's hard hearing negativity towards it all the time, makes me dread conversations about our LO's sleep.
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We cosleep and love it! She sleeps in a sleep cot in our bed, between a rail and me. It makes middle of the night nursing a breeze and I get more sleep.
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@runsyellowlites: we are starting to get longer stretches in the crib which is sad and glorious all at the same time.
@rachiecakes: @Mrs. Lantern: We have a side rail too! I was petrified of LO rolling off the bed (he never did) so finally I caved and bought a rail - That is when I knew we were committed to this!
Interesting that the older babes in this thread started to outgrow it.
@Mrs.B: We get about 1-2hours unti lthe first wakeup. I can usually soothe back down and then anywhere btwn 9-11pm he is in with us.
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@littlebittyhouse: I have an older baby who hasn't grown out of co-sleeping. She'll be one next week and shows no signs of wanting to leave our bed. Her empty crib is next to our bed.
We didn't plan on co-sleeping either! We do plan on ending our arrangement at some point, but when, we don't know.We don't have a bed rail. We were going to buy one but then we moved her crib into our room hoping that she would sleep in it as long as it was next to me, but that wasn't the case.
She tosses and turns so much now, it's so fun to watch her. I love how she always ends up nuzzled in to my neck or shoulder, she loves cuddling with her mom.
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@littlebittyhouse: The rail works so well since since it gives us more room in our queen size bed! And we can reuse the cute rail in LO's toddler bed in the future.
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@littlebittyhouse: We also have a side rail.
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I full time coslept from months 5-8, while she was sleeping really badly. We'd nurse to sleep and then put her in her crib next to our bed. Then she'd wake around midnight, and we'd go to bed. I'd nurse her, and then hand her sleepy back to my husband. She slept between him and the wall, and they just snuggled all night. At 8 months she started wanting to nurse for hours at a time, and I was just done. So we moved her to a nursery downstairs on a floorbed, and her sleep got much better. At 19 months she sometimes wakes, and my husband goes down and snuggles her up. He'll usually spend the rest of the night with her.
I was glad to get her out of my room and get my adult space back. Besides that, I liked cosleeping. I think it's great to do as long as it works, and then do something else.
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I'll reply as I bed shared longer than most of the other posters, so it's a different perspective slightly. I bed-shared with Ellie until she was about 5. From age 0-2.5 we shared a bed all night. When she would go to sleep for the night until age 1 she would sleep in her crib, then when she would wake up I would get her and go lay with her in my bed and sleep too. After that she started the night in our shared bed (with rails) and at first wake-up I would go lay with her. At 2.5 I would start the night with Eric, and when she would wake some time in the night would go sleep with her in her room until morning. Now at age six she falls asleep by herself and stays all night in her room. She has been doing that for a little over a year (since age 5). Now Lorelei bed-shares...
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We still co-bed with our 2 year old most days. We transitioned at around 2, but she still really needs us. She has lots of night time awakenings and bad dreams.
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We also didn't plan on it, but we did it out of desperation. At 2 he's still with us and we're fine with it, if it helps him and I can rest easier because he's sleeping more soundly, then so be it.
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We always did a little cosleeping since DS was a newborn. It was usually just one stretch of sleep usually early in the morning and it wouldn't be every night. Just this last week, we've started co-bedding with him for almost the whole night now (he's almost 6 months). He is just waking up too much (every 2-3 hours) and not going back to sleep very well once put in his crib. He seems to sleep more soundly and we all get more sleep with him in the bed. I just wake up for a little bit to whip out my boob. He nurses and we both drift back to sleep.
I think he's going thru a lot developmentally and just wants to be close to me. So far, I'm not used to it yet, but getting there. I tend to like my own space when I sleep and I like to toss and turn which I can't do when he's sleep curled up next to me. I've found if I put a pillow behind me, it gives me support and I can last longer in that one position.
I'm trying to work out the switching sides thing. Ladies who nurse, how do you do it? Right now I grab him and roll over with him on my tummy, so we kind of roll to the other side together. What I can't figure out is should I switch him after he nurses so we're on the right side for the next time he wakes or switch sides once he wakes up?
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@mrskc: I switch when she starts waking up again. Either I fall asleep or she does so I don't switch sides right after. Sometimes I don't bother switching at all because she's not really hungry but needs some comfort nursing to drift back to sleep.
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I co-sleep for parts of the night as needed from about 8 months on. If my husband works, I usually go lay down in our guest room with C at the 3:30 wake up so we don't disturb him. If I work or we are both off, I usually take C to our bed since I don't really care about my husband's sleep at that point since he can help.
We are definitely getting to points where he wants to go back to his own bed (Yay!), but I'm perfectly happy to snuggle and bf from 5am on. We've night weaned for the most part, he just seems to want to be held.
@mrskc: I only switch sides once he wakes up again. I'm not about to risk waking him up again if we are both comfortable.
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We've been co-sleeping since she was a NB. That wasn't the plan at all, but that's just how it worked out. At first DH got the couch and left us in bed, then he slowly moved back in when she got a little bigger and he was more comfy with it.
She's 9 months now and I'm looking forward to finally transitioning her into her own room and getting back our bed! She's so wiggly and LOVES to dig her little head into our armpits! Lol! I'm waiting for her skin issues to finally be get better before we start. It comes and goes, so who knows when we'll be able to do it. I'm trying to follow Mrs. Bee's post on the best times to sleep train and the next window is around a year old. We'll see ...
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We do! I will say this for our arrangement: Outside of those first few months, I have rarely been exhausted as a result of poor sleep. Scout's honor!
LO sleeps well at 2yo, but didn't STTN until just before 2. A few wakings to nurse at night didn't bother me post-newborn phase and then only because side-lying nursing was hard. As for our 'exit strategy', I figure that he'll eventually want his own space. I suspect that is going to be fairly soon, but we're not in a rush. (I don't know any teenagers who still need mommy to fall asleep!) But for now he needs me to rub his back to get to sleep, so I'll do it, you know? -
@mrskc: this may not work for you, but I keep him on/in my arms. I definitely sleep lighter when he's on that side though.
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@mrskc: here is how we do it: http://www.isisparenting.com/page/ToNurseSideLying
I don't use all the pillows anymore, or the 'sausage' but the sausage was really helpful when he was smaller.
When I nurse on the 'top' breast I am almost on my stomach. Let me know if you have any questions!
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This is a really awesome thread!
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@katsupgirl: Ah ok. Yeah, sometimes I can't tell whether he's hungry or just wants to comfort nurse. So I'm trying to figure out at what point to switch breasts. I don't want them to be uneven!
@littlebittyhouse: Thanks for that link.
Oh man, my body is sore this morning. I'm not used to staying in one position all night.
Another question, any tips on getting a good latch? Last night my son was hurting my nips. I never have nipple pain. I think we were just both half asleep so he wasn't latched very well. Every time I tried to unlatch him, he got angry and I could feel him trying to find the nipple again. ouch!
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We became inadvertent co-sleepers as well. Owen has never been a great sleeper, and at two-and-a-half, he now starts the night in his own bed but moves into our room after he wakes up a few hours later. He sleeps really well with us, and I like having him there. Mr. Chalk has more mixed feelings on it, but on the rare nights when Owen sleeps for a long time in his room, he wakes up and wants to go get him.... so I think he likes it as well.
Eloise is still in the co-sleeper next to our bed. She'll outgrow it in the next few months, and will probably move into a pack and play in our room for a while. She has a crib all set up in her room, and would probably do fine there... but I like having all my babies nearby.
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