To wonder if parents who cosleep with toddlers have very biddable children?

[abacucat]

Many parents co sleep with babies, but I always wonder about parents who co sleep with toddlers and young kids. IME toddlers are fidgety, have a propensity to starfish, and basically be awkward buggers who would make the parents getting a good nights sleep, totally impossible. So do parents who co sleep with toddlers and slightly older just have lovely kids who sleep in a way that means their parents can also sleep well?

Our 3.5 year old has been sleeping with us the past few nights because she's ill. We have a super king bed; husband has 50%, Im perched on edge, small child is lying on me. Some nights we get both kids in bed.

I love them dearly, and I know I'll be sad when they don't come in bed, but I'm truly in favour of 'everyone in their own bed'.

With both of my DDs we coslept with them as babies, DD1 wanted to be in physical contact with me, DD2 was happy in a cosleeoer cot next to me.

The both moved into their own rooms, but then tended to come into us in the middle of the night. Luckily DD1 grew out of it before DD2 started. They have both been able to appear in our bed without waking us up.

DD1 is a biddable child and would just snuggle up to one of us. DD2 is less biddable and sometimes snuggles up to DH, but is much more wriggly and DH sometimes goes into her bed, leaving her to wriggle next to me (I don't mind).

The main thing for me is that we cosleep because I can't be arsed to try to get a child back into their own bed in the middle of the night. Obviously they aren't sleeping through if they appear in our bed, but letting them in maximises our sleep.

We co slept from birth. I once read a book about co sleeping that stated that if you regularly co-slept your child would not be fidgety or starfish. Well they were wrong.

2yo DS happily makes his way all around the bed while asleep but once we come to bed we move him to his sidecar cot and he sleeps there in all sorts of positions. I think we’re all just used to each other. We’re about to add DC3 so we’ll see how we all manage.

We’re not rich just can’t be arsed to get up in the night and living in a small house prefer to use our bedrooms for other purposes (study/play)

Lol. No. I had a total arsehole.

If I'd had a biddable child, I would not have slept on a mattress on the floor, crack den style, with her for three years.

The biddable one went in his own bed, in his own room, at five months old. That's why we had that other one.

NB: I love her really (now that she actually sleeps... in her own room)

If I'd had a biddable child, I would not have slept on a mattress on the floor, crack den style, with her for three years.

This is brilliant and 100% the case for us.

DD 19 months sleeps with me, on my arm all night so I get a dead arm. Prefer it to the hours of crying when she goes in the cot (next to our bed even with the side down)!!!

Mine likes to wiggle and push me right to the edge of the bed. I wake just enough to carefully move him back to his zone but he always finds his way back

I don't mind that much though. He's awesome.

My eldest is a co-sleeping dream, warm, snuggly, quiet - I often used him to ward off my dh in the bed (a snorer). Youngest spends his time wiggling and grabbing my nipples, gahhhh. Both peacefully snoozing beside me right now though, long may it continue!

I don't co-sleep generally but DS age 3 probably creeps into my bed a couple of times a month. He is not fidgety at all , just lies still and sleeps so I don't really notice.
DD 6 is another story- she's like a full on fidgety octopus whether she's asleep or awake. Luckily she's always liked to sleep alone and we only have to endure it if she's poorly!

I'm a light sleeper so particularly hate sharing with kids but I guess heavier sleepers might find it less annoying

Nope. He wriggles like mad. Being kicked in the face but able to go back to sleep is preferable to being up all night :p

I co slept with all of mine till they were 3 ish and they all slept fine, no fidgeting or climbing on me.
Really miss it now they are older

Mixed here. Co slept as a baby, lovely. Moved through to her own room ok but stints of coming in with us, initially quite a lot, now maybe once/twice a week from 5am (nearly 2 now).

If me and DH are in with her she turns into an octopus. We’ve discovered if he goes to the spare room while I go and get her she settles much better for me alone, snuggles in and we all get another hour or two. I do wrap her up and hold her to my chest fairly firmly to settle her back to sleep and once her breathing steadies I know it’s safe to release her! I love it

Mixed Anglo/SE Asian family.
Co-slept with all three as babies.
DD1 left for her own bed at 2.5
DS left at 3
DD2 stayed until kicked out at 7

Essentially we had a massive bed. 2 x Kingsize futons. It is impossible to successfully co sleep in a 'sprung' bed - as baby/child moves every time you do. A futon means everyone can get up move around , (leave after story time) without disturbing. We also all had sufficient space. Tried it once in a hotel kingsize bed and wanted to go sleep in the car. Nightmare.

Co-slept with both of mine from babies, they both stayed on and off until 5/6 but also had their own beds in our room. Also had a medium sized dog in the bed. Plus both of us always. Bed is a small double. It was cosy. Miss it now.

My dds were beautifully behaved but impossible to share a bed with. They would turn so they were laying across the width of the bed, put their cute little feet into the small of my back and firmly push me out!

Would be impossible to sleep peacefully next to my toddler. He is on the move all night