Has anyone ever co-slep from birth and ff?

[you]

We co sleep with DD atm who has just turned two, but it didn't become a regular occurance until she was 6 months or so.

I've just found out I'm pregnant again and would like to co-sleep with this baby too (no idea how we're going to tandem this, but will worry about that later!) but will be FF from birth and most of the literature is understandably about bf babies. Does it work in pretty much the same way, I get the feeling I'd be so nervous co sleeping with a tiny baby!

[you]

Just to add, there are very good reasons why I will need to FF (though I'm very sad about it) so please no questions regarding this :)

I know ff won't give us the natural protection regarding SIDS however I'm inclined to think she will still be happier and safer in bed with us than in a cot.

[Newbabynewmum]

I have co-slept from birth and FF - my DD is 8mo and we still co-sleep.

No extra issues as far as I know. Do you have any specific questions? Let me know! I love co-sleeping, not sure when we'll eventually stop tbh! X

[beetlebat]

We did this too, though more by accident than design and stopped when DD was 3 mths. A lot of my friends thought it too terrifying to comtemplate in case they or their partner accidentally rolled onto the baby but I never found it a worry- it just seemed a totally natural thing to do. I FF from birth (again, not from choice) and can't see why it makes any difference whether you BF or FF in terms of co-sleeping.

I'm not sure if this follows, but I credit co-sleeping with making DD a fantastic sleeper from just a few weeks old and would definitely do it again.

[Gilberte]

I think it's supposed to be safer to breastfeed and co-sleep than formula feed and co-sleep though I can't remember the exact reasonswhy. Is it possible bf mums sleep more lightly. I think their sleep patterns are more in synch with the babies probably for hormonal reasons but as partners who don't breastfeed are also often in bed with co-sleeping babies, I'm not sure why that wouldn't increase the risk anyway. I wonder if Deborah Jackson's three in a bed sheds any light on this.

[Newbabynewmum]

Unfortunately doesn't correlate to good sleepers, sorry! My 8mo DD has slept through the night 3 times in her life

I still love co-sleeping though!

[cheesebaby]

Gilbertes is correct mostly; Research shows that when bf mums sleep with their babies they tend to curl around the baby in a 'protective c' position, with their arm above the baby's head and knees drawn up under baby's feet (obv this facilitates access to the breast, but also stops the baby from moving up under the pillows, down under the duvet, and protects from partners in the bed). The same research show that ff mums tend to position their babies differently in bed, usually higher up, with baby's head level with their own head, and not in the 'c' position. This isn't a definitive difference, however, and I suspect that having slept with one child already, you will have developed a certain degree of atunement.

[Chundle]

I co-slept with both my babies for a short while. Both were Prems so tiny, dd1 NG tube and FF and dd2 breast and bottle afte a while. No probs except they were very small and I did have to make a 'cocoon' in the bed for them so they didnt get lost in it :) dd2 is a terrible sleeper and still comes in with us sometimes and Shea nearly 2.