Co-sleepers - don’t you have to get up to change baby anyway?

[Member475802]

First-time mum-to-be-alert! My husband and i really loved the idea of the Snuzpod, but have been put off by our parents saying ‘but you have to get up to change them anyway, so what’s the point?’...good question. The idea that you can just reach over in the night to feed them (without disturbing husband) really appealed, but is that just being naive? I’d love to hear people’s thoughts/experience/opinions on this, as these babies are an expensive business as it is, I don’t want to make an unnecessary purchase. Oh, also, how easy is it for the mother to get in/out of bed with the cot attached to the bed??
Thanks :)

Same as us by sound of it 3littlebadgers! Yes OP, we only ever had one large cot too.

Sorry I didn't actually answer your OP. I don't ever remember having to change them except in the first few weeks, when it was all a complete haze and there was no real sleep pattern to be disturbed anyway.

I have a corned pushed up next to my bed, with the side removed. In theory baby sleeps in it, but in practice it houses blankets, muslins and a box of nappy changing stuff, and the baby sleeps right up close to me.

My baby is 4+ weeks old and is still pooing vast quantities of yellow sludge several times a night :) I change him on the bed, laid on an old terry nappy/towel. I don't get up to use the changing table.

In my experience (three DCs), there is something psychological about your feet hitting the ground during the night. The many night wakings seem to have far less impact if I can stay in/on bed to change/feed/wind than if I have to get up.

Sorry, I have a cot bed pushed up against my bed, not a corned

I think that I only had to change my DS a few times during the night and just did it on the bed. I kept everything I'd need on the bedside table just in case.

I found getting in and out of bed a bit tricky but I had an emcs and was pretty poorly for a few weeks. I think it would be fine otherwise, it was certainly much easier and no problem at all once I'd recovered.

I solved this dilemma by dh doing all night time nappy changes. That way cosleeping meant I never had to get out of bed

I was changing at night but then was reading some sleep advice which said to avoid changing them in order to give them as little stimulation as possible at night... 'That's fine by me', I thought! Especially when they're a few months old and they can go in the 12+ hour absorbancy nappies, as pp said there isn't really a reason to change them unless they poo.

I think plenty of people have answered the nappy question.

DS2 is 9 weeks and I have the current issue that when I sit up and feed him in bed I always fall asleep and wake an hour or so later with a crick in my neck and a numb bum. I then try to transfer DS2 back to his crib and he invariably wakes and I have to start again. I think problem is that by then he's in a light sleep cycle so the transfer wakes him.

So I'll occasionally bring him into bed and feed him lying down, which has benefit of not needing to transfer him and it's no problem if I doze off too.

However, he'll often wake a short time later anyway as he needs to be winded. So like you I've been asking myself "don't co-sleepers wind their babies?"

Also, being snuggled up and warm next to you doesn't mean they won't wake or won't fuss etc.

DS1 woke frequently but would have a quick feed and then go immediately back to sleep - no winding no fussing. He'd have been a great baby to co-sleep with!

DS2 wakes less often but can take an hr or so to resettle, regardless of if I feed lying down or sitting up.

So I imagine the reality of co-sleeping/feeding lying down isn't always as blissful as people make out.

Which really goes for anything, not just this - most things really depend on your baby

The Snuzpod, as lovely as it looks, will be outgrown before you know it. Some savvy PPs suggest going straight for a bedside cot; I concur. Chances are you will love cosleeping and will want to continue past the stage your baby would otherwise need a new bed. Also, a bigger cot can take a bit of weight: I just roll over when DD2 wants a feed and often end up snoozing with my upper body actually in her cot, which is just fine with our Cosatto Close To Me bedside cot. I agree with Sandboy; there really is something about feet hitting the ground. With DD1, I was tired beyond belief in spite of cosleeping and I put it down not learning to feed lying down, so feeding sitting up, and jumping out of bed to change nappies. With DD2 I was probably awake more, but a million times less tired. I firmly believe it was because I learned to feed lying down, and that I decided only to change poopy nappies, and to change these in bed (with a little head torch). I wish you a really cosy, snuggly time sleeping together. I am in bed with both sleeping DDs at the moment, snuffling in the dark... bliss for all concerned x x

Only.ever changed a pooey nappy at.night and did it laying them on a towel on the bed by the light of my phone!

Oh yes a head torch, before I got.a.fancy phone.I.had a.head.torch!

I.agree.feeding and.changing in bed, minimal light, no playing/chatting. Night terms have always been very dull in our house so they learn night is for sleep!

I didn't co-sleep (apart from the few times I fell asleep unintentionally when bfing!!) however I found my dd hated wet nappies so I did have to change her nappies quite a lot. Have since discovered she has quite a few sensory issues so I don't think she is the 'norm' though.

We had normal cot attached to bed and set up at mattress height, just removed 4th set of bars completely untill ds learnt to sit up then fitted 4th side and dropped mattress level down and pushed it back from bed, did have to roll out of bed at the side,

Re nappies was in after having dd changed her wet nappy at stupid o clock, she screamed so much a nurse rushed in to see what was wrong, asked me what wad wrong and I said nothing just changing nappy, nurse told me unless it's poo don't upset her by changing her at night again

Ps lots of Vaseline for first week is your friend to stop black tar poop sticking to all and sundry and requiring two adults and a blow torch to remove or maybe that was just dd

As many have said, modern nappies mean after the early days you rarely change at night!
I have a sleepyhead on the bed next to me, but a snug pod would be a similar deal!
Traditional Co sleeping (direct on the mattress) was not for me personally - and I have been exclusive breastfeeding for 4 months, so a Co sleeper bed is a good investment if like me you prefer not to Co sleep directly.

Now I have said this DD is going to do a massive ploppy in the night isn't she.

Never changed nappies unless pooed and if breast fed didn't wind.

I bought the snüzpod and think it's great. Initially I had to spend a long time burping baby, but now (4 months) I don't really need to burp him as he is breastfed and he rarely has a burp. By the way, advice to you as a first time mum, I totally underestimated how much a newborn needs burping until their gut flora has settled and is working properly - for the first few weeks (maybe 6-8 weeks) you cannot spend enough time burping! It will stop them waking up in pain.
My baby is average size weight, and starting to fill the snüzpod, though I think he'd be okay in it for another month. I also think as he has got heavier, the mattress is now a little firm for him and he might be happier in a cot very soon. I still don't regret my purchase and it was definitely money well spent. So many of my friends with Moses baskets ended up with baby in their bed as they just wouldn't sleep in them. My baby has generally slept happily in his co-sleeper and it's lovely to feel so close to baby but not be worrying about rolling on him.

Wanted to add - it's probably tricky getting in and out of bed post c-section, but i had a natural birth and had no problems.
If baby has fed loads in night I change his nappy half way through night and change him on bed. I don't even wipe, I just put a dry one on really quickly on so as to not disturb his sleep.
Most co-sleepers hold their value to so can be sold on second hand for a good price. The chicco next to me is bigger than snüzpod and more likely to last the full 6 months if you haven't got room for a cot in your room but want to sleep in same room as advised for first 6 months.

Another who only changed nappies at night during the poo-with-every-feed stage, which stopped when ds was around 3 weeks old. You just don't need to with modern disposable nappies the way you did with the older style cloth nappies your parents may have used (not sure about modern cloth nappies as we only used them in the daytime, but imagine they're also better at night than the old terry nappies were). Ds didn't need to be burped...a lot of bf babies are the same, though not all. So it really was a matter of feed and sleep. I've got an arm's reach cosleeper for our next baby, due any day, just to give dh and I am bit more room in bed and to make things easier after my cesarean (didn't want to have cot set up from the start as its a cot bed, so pretty big).

We never changed DD at night- she only ever pooed while awake, and I'd never disturb a sleeping baby for a wet nappy. DD also never needed burping.

Even if you do need to change nappies at night, there's a world of difference between getting out of bed for a quick nappy change and having to stay awake for the length of a feed. Newborns can take ages to feed, especially when sleepy, plus breastfeeding hormones will make you sleepy.

Unfortunately whether its worth actually buying a co-sleeper depends on you and your baby. If you can breastfeed lying down and fall asleep that way, then realistically the baby will end up sleeping on your mattress after the first feed of the night. On the other hand, I didn't buy a cosleeper because I'd read lots of reviews online from people who never used theirs (as the baby just ended up in their bed.) I would have gotten heaps of use out of one though, as i never mastered side-lying feeding, and always had to put DD down after she'd finished a feed.

Whatever you decide, make sure your own bed is safe for a newborn just in case (there are heaps of checklists online.) Most new mums will accidentally fall asleep while feeding the baby at least once, so its best to make sure it happens in a relatively safe space instead of on the couch.

So jealous of all these bf babies who didn't need winding! Mine had horrific wind. I was told at antenatal classes that 'bf babies don't need winding'. Being my first I took that for granted and at about a week old the HV said to me 'poor thing has got awful wind, what do you do to try and get it up?' I was

Also the helpfulness of co-sleeping is not just about limiting how many times you get up in the night for feeds/changing. A lot of us find we fall into pre-arranged co-sleeping as it's the only way the baby will get any sleep and like PPs have said it's a lot easier and safer and will help you get more sleep than accidentally falling asleep with them somewhere more unsafe/without a safe set up. Like others I have taken the side of a cot for both DCs with the idea of shuffling them in it as much as possible after a feed.

Do be careful about the wind thing- every now and again try just putting them down and see if they have moved past the needing to be winded stage. And some of them are very competent self winders- just give it a try!

Mine moved past the winding stage at around 6 months when she could sit up on her own. Although to be honest she still has pretty bad wind now at 14 months, she just gets it up herself now!

Just to make you all jealous, my DD has been dry at night since I can remember. She also was one of those bf babies who only pooed every 3-4 days when she was tiny. Cosleeping was a doddle (and is something I am missing now she is a big 5 year old and wants her own bed ) You'll figure it out when your baby arrives. They are all different and you will need to do whatever your baby needs.

Hi

I have the Snuzpod, we got it as I had a planned C-Section. Personally I would give it a good rating.

Positives
Lovely quality materials
Mattress very good
Sides just zip down for you to get baby (what you are paying to premium price tag for!)
Top part can be used not on the stand if you are travelling away from home
Sell on eBay after-they sell for a reasonable amount

Negatives
Yes it is harder to get in and out of bed-As yet we haven't fastened the Snuzpod to the side of our bed as yet (25 days of use so early days.... as it would have been far too painful to get in and out of bed with my C-Section)
We gave a very high divan bed (Vi Spring) and the Snuzpod is only just high enough but we use a piddle pod (cheaper version of the sleepyhead) inside it which our baby settles in really well.

We started to change our baby during the night but unless he poops we don't change once he finally settles for his big sleep after 1amish...

Hope that helps?

H xxx

People advising on Co sleeping: do remember not everyone can - so other sleeping methods being reviewed as "they'll just end up in your bed" could be a worry.
Mine HAS to be in a side sleeper of sorts.
Works fine.