A question about co sleeping

[goodstuffhappens]

Much to my surprise, I am co sleeping with my youngest. It is the only way I get any sleep and I'm reluctant to stop.
She is currently 8 weeks old so I'm not worried about routines etc.

However, sometimes when people are assuring me it's fine to do this, they say things like 'my kids slept with me until they were three... It's fine.' I REALLY don't want to do this for any longer than 6 months. SO, is there anyone out there who slept with their baby at first but managed to have their bed back by 6 months. My only major doubt about doing this (feels really right otherwise) is if its going to be truly impossible to get her to sleep alone in the future.

TIA

i cosleep with dd 11 months. she goes to sleep in her own cot then i bring her in with me when i go to bed. it's hard to plan ahead with a baby.

Co-slept with ds1, he was on his own cot before 6 months and when he was a toddler he hated sharing a bed with us ( when visiting friends and family). DS2 is now 2 and still often ends up in our bed, however we've never made an effort to change this.

Thank you for your replies! I have a few questions:
Christmas - how do you get your dd to settle in her cot if she's used to co sleeping?
Journs - how did DS1 let you know he was ready for hs own space?
Thank you!

i usually feed her till she's sleepy then lay her in her cot. i find if i sit by the cot and act sleepy/pretend to sleep she nods off too. if i feed her un my bed she expect to stay there. some nights if i've stayed up late or need my bed to myself she sleeps longer in her cot though not yet past 3am.

to begin with i did feed her to sleep but not so much now.

I started putting both my boys to sleep in their own cots by the time they were 6 months, and they would come into our bed if they woke through the night. DS1 would sleep through the night most nights from 3 months and by the time he was 6 months he wouldn't settle in our bed if he did wake, he preferred his own cot. DS2 on the other hand didn't sleep through til around 20 months, but would settle straight away if we brought him in to our bed. He still wakes some nights/ early mornings but always settles straight away if we bring him in with us. I'm sure if we made the effort we could get him to stay in his own cot, but we don't mind him coming in.

My DS co-slept because it was easier for me. I was never sure if he prefered it to his cot. Anyway, I would start him in his cot in the evening. By the time I had gone to bed he would wake about 11-12am for a feed and generally he would just join me in bed til morning. By about 4 months I was putting him back in his cot after feeds more and more. It was definately well before 6 months I had him in a cot in room next door as DH moved back in our bed at the same time. The transition was really smooth - but there were stil odd bouts of co-sleeping after that point, espcially around teething/illness. I don't believe you're neccessarily Making a Rod for your Back by co-sleeping, based on my experience.

I co-slept with my DS for the same reasons (didn't expect to do it, but it worked wonderfully). At 6 months he still wasn't ready to go into his own cot (although to be fair he didn't actually have a cot at that point.. we got rid of the crib and didn't get a cot until much later), but at 12 months he was and we gradually got him to sleep in his own cot.

I'd say it probably took about 1-2 months to fully get him to sleep in his cot and not come back into the bed at any point. I didn't feel I'd made a 'rod for my own back' or anything like that.

He is now 19mo and very very occasionally comes into our bed, usually only when he is very poorly and calpol doesn't do enough to take the pain/discomfort away.