Cosleeping with 1 month old...

[butterybean]

Just after a couple of opinions really. 1 month old DS tends to nap in the evenings and is breastfed on demand. While we watch tv he sleeps on DP and wakes for feeds every hour or so from about 6pm to 10pm. He is EBF.

We take him to bed around 10pm where he co sleeps. We have a next to me crib but he doesnt like it much. He will go in it if fast asleep but if he's not in a deep sleep it wakes him. I think he likes the warmth and smell of us...our bedroom isnt cold but its not overly warm (old house). He sleeps well if next to myself or DP, so isn't clingy towards just one of us.

He usually has a feed (I do it lying down) at about 11pm, 3am and 6am. Sometimes a 1am feed too. Sleeps solidly inbetween.

We are following all the cosleeping guidelines. It works for us at the moment, I'm aware of the 4th trimester stuff so was going to carry this on for another couple of months then slowly try to get him to sleep in the next2me crib as the night feeds become more infrequent.

Anyone else had success with this? My mum thinks I'm mad and that he'll be clingy and will still be in our bed age 2. Is there anything I should be doing to make the transition easier in a couple of months. Or should I ditch the cosleeping and insist on him going in the next2me and just bring him into bed for feeds?

[Adviceplease360]

Stick with cosleeping, you are more likely to nurse for longer while cosleeping. I have co slept with mine and find we all sleep better. Ignore the people telling you he will be clingy etc it won't make any difference. Good luck

[FATEdestiny]

You do need to set your expectations that without sleep training your baby may well still be cosleeping at 2 years old.

There's no benefit to you going into cosleeping expecting to do it for just a few months and then expecting to magically turn a baby depending on you for comfort into an independent sleeper. Without some degree of crying and stress, that's unlikely you happen for several years.

[teaandbiscuitsforme]

I love cosleeping. By far and away the most restful way to BF. Personally I'd say keep an open mind about the cosleeper. It might become easier to put him down in it; it might not. If it doesn't, I'd continue to cosleep if you are keen to breastfeed for a reasonable length of time.

Just be aware that Baby sleep is not linear and BF baby sleep even more so, so there will be periods when you feed more overnight (illness, developmental leap, teething, just because it's Friday, etc) and there will be periods when you'll feed less. That's quite normal for at least the first year with a BF baby.

You can 'train' them to sleep more independently if you like (dummy or something to replace the comfort they were getting from you, only feed at certain times, etc) or you don't have to. Personally I found it so much easier to gradually start to night wean my DD from about 16mo and she went into a single bed in her own room. I'll probably do the same with 11mo DS who in currently cosleeping with and BF over night. I realise 16mo plus sounds like a really long timescale but my point is that you don't need to be worried at this point that because you have chosen to cosleep, you'll never get them out and will have a toddler permanently in your bed. It just doesn't have to be like that if you don't want it to be.

[Frazzled2207]

Carry on doing what you're doing
I did with ds2 though dh was in the spare room which helped a lot. Once he was asleep I'd roll down the far side of the bed.
As long as you follow guidelines it's fine

Ds2 is now nearly 3 and in his own room most of the time. From about 5 months he went to bed in his own cot quite happily though for quite a while after that we would co-sleep after he woke.

[Frazzled2207]

Sorry forgot to say I would suggest aiming to get him to sleep in his crib for the first sleep of the night (probably easier to wait until you start putting him upstairs on his own at bedtime), then once you've cracked that try and get him to resettle after his first wake, then second wake etc.
Bearing in mind he will (hopefully) sleep for longer periods between feeds.