My baby only sleeps on the sofa!! Eek!! Considering sleepyhead grande?!

[Mum2be2017]

4.5m old, EBF.
Sleeps brilliantly from 730pm til midnight (breast fed to sleep) and put down on sofa where I have fed him. Then taken up to crib at midnight, often doesn't settle, can sometimes take an hour (we pre warm crib with hot water bottle) and use white noise. Results in cosleeping but we wake pretty much every hour. I'm so uncomfortable co sleeping as when I try to move away from him he wakes. Hubby is in the spare bed.

I'm aware of sleep regression so could be that...

He used to sleep amazing in the sleepy head, but we felt he was getting too big for it so removed.

Question is...shall we buy a sleepyhead grande or has anyone got any other ideas?!

Ps we've tried putting him in the crib from half seven but all hell breaks loose! Help!

[JauntyAngle]

Yes definitely try it! If he slept well in the smaller size then chances are, he will again.

I loved the sleepyhead, it was the only thing mine would sleep in.

[Jellybabie3]

We have brought the Grande. DS is 5.5 months and still in the deluxe. Hes an absolutely terrible sleeper thanks to the regression but i will be damned if I'm gonna risk it being worse without a sleepyhead!!

[FATEdestiny]

At 4.5 months, I would try swapping the crib for a cot. It may be a space issue. I would remove one side of the cot and butt it up to you bed, so it's like a sidecar (easily done with most flat pack cots).

You can then cuddle into the cot.

It's a gentle, gradually way to teach baby to go to sleep in the cot, not in your bed, but with you still there to cuddle close. I would often sleep with my entire torso in the cot at this age, arms encircling baby.

The benefit is that you can extract yourself back into your own space and teach baby to sleep independantly in the cot on their own. But in a slow, gradual way.

Dummy helps a lot for independant sleep too.

Sofa sleeping is really dangerous. Where does baby sleep in the daytime? You could do with a place for her to go to sleep safely while downstairs. A moses basket or travel cot for example. I always used a bouncy chair for downstairs naps, they are great.

[Mum2be2017]

Thanks for advice ladies.

Tried a dummy but he won't take it.
Can't fit a cot in our bedroom next to bed, but may try him in cot in own room.

Also, I'm sat next to him whilst he's on the sofa. So no chance of him rolling off/suffocation. So I don't deem it dangerous.

He's too big for a Moses basket!

Xx

[FATEdestiny]

You'll be up and down a lot through the night with baby in own room. It's a sure way to sleepwalk into unplanned cosleeping, when you're too knackered to do anything else.

An option might be to remove a chest of drawers or similar from your room into the nursery to make room for the big cot.

[Mum2be2017]

What would be wrong with cosleeping?

[crazycatlady5]

What would be wrong with cosleeping?

I think what FATE is referring to is unplanned Cosleeping, therefore not safe (falling asleep on sofa, in chair, etc)

[crazycatlady5]

Nothing wrong with safe cosleeping - I did it when I fell asleep sitting up with my 11 day old baby, have coslept ever since and she’s now 14 months :)

[mintich]

Mine loved the Sleepy head! I swear by it

[Mum2be2017]

Ah ok. I never fall asleep on sofa with him. I struggle to sleep whenever I'm near him as I've always got one eye open! Haa!

[FATEdestiny]

What would be wrong with cosleeping?

Absolutely nothing. Your OP suggests you would rather not cosleep, hence me suggesting ways to encourage independant (ie in the cot) sleep.

What I meant by unplanned cosleeping in this context was parents who end up cosleeping with their child longer term when this is not what they wanted.

So if you move baby into cot in own room, get up many times to resettle and then end up with baby in your bed anyway just because you're too knackered to do anything else ("sleepwalk into unplanned cosleeping"). As opposed to planned cosleeping, where you accept/plan for baby sleeping in your bed anyway.