Exclusive breastfeeders past & present...a little poll for you.

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A dear friend of mine is expecting her first baby soon. She is very committed to exclusive breastfeeding. She (as I did) bought a cot, moses basket, carrycot etc in the very reasonable expectation that the baby will sleep peacefully in one of them.

My own experience is that after only a few days of concerted effort trying and failing to persuade dd to sleep in her amby hammock, I gave in and co-slept out of desperation, and never looked back. I personally would not have succeeded in excl bf for 6 months if I has persevered in seperate sleeping arrangements. For me, the one enabled the other.

I was just wondering, though, what the MN experience has been. If you successfully bf exclusively, did you co-sleep occasionally, regularly, or never?

Just curious, really!

Same as OP here - DD was a rubbish sleeper and always woke after a minute or two if I put her down. Co-slept out of desperation, and bf her to sleep every night until she was about 28 months. Sometimes I still join her in her single bed in the middle of the night if she's having those vivid 2 yr old dreams that freak her out.

I used to feel like I was making her that way, but I've since accepted she is just a milky child and needs reassurance at night. I have friends who have not co-slept and tried to persist with sleeping routines, etc, and they are always knackered and up several times a night. All children are different, and I believe you should do whatever makes it most painless for parents and children.

DS was exBF (and still BF at nearly 3 1/2) and we didn't co-sleep. Once he was a few months old and we'd sussed feeding lying down, he would stay in bed with us after a feed for an hour or so until he started fidgeting too much, and then we'd put him back in his cot.

He comes into our bed most mornings for a cuddle and milk, and sometimes we'll all doze together - he's much more pleasant to share a bed with now!

Breastfed excl for 13 months and DD never co-slept. Was in her own room from 6 weeks...

never co-slept.

DS's were both exc bf
we swaddled ds1 and he liked lying on his side not on his back so he was swaddled like a maggot and then on his side in the carry cot next to the bed.
He got into feeding every 2 ish hours within the first couple of weeks and so I would pick him up and get back into bed, feed him - then put him back into his carry cot.

DS2 didn't like being swaddled at all! but like DS1 within a couple of weeks was into more of a 2 hour tick so we did the same.

I was very anxious about co-sleeping and with hindsight it worked well for us that although we had a couple of weeks of me being a walking zombie through exhaustion we got undisturbed sleep quite early.

I tried very hard not to co sleep with my DD, only taking her into bed for her 6am feed.

She feed 7pm, 11pm, 3am for the whole 6 months till we started weaning. I was on my knees as I came up to the six month mark, but was totally obsessed with reaching it, being unable to think straight will have had something to do with that.

DS is 15 weeks, and co-sleeps about half the night - from the early hours feed 2/3am onward. It is enabling me to do more than just survive the days, I enjoy it as he sleeps blissfully well, and it means that DH who is very very busy with work, gets sleep.

But I feel guilty, because I didn't do this with DD, and I have a lot of hip pain from lying on the same side all the time, I am worried that actually having him in with me is teaching him to not self settle, and to snack, and part of me wants to stop. But in the middle of the night I have no resolve. I am vaguely hoping that he will become more settled spontaneously, and soon he will manage the whole night in his cot. He has to be in our room at the moment, but I want him to share with DD by the time I go back to work, 5.5 months to crack it.

We exc BF until 6 months, and co-slept a bit, most nights during growth spurt time as she could just pop on and off boob whenever she liked. Last time we co-slept was 4 months, she is 7 months now.

Exc BF until 6mths, when we introduced solids but continued BF. DD is 10.5mths now, we're still BF and she wakes at least once in the night. We've never co-slept, except recently on holiday when she was poorly and it was very cold and her sleeping was all over the place. She was happy in her crib initially, and since 7mths in her cot in her own room.

Have been excl bf DS for 12 weeks and intend to continue as it's going so well We fall into the category of sometime co-sleepers, I guess: he starts off in his moses basket by the bed, then when he wakes in the night I either wake up and feed him then put him back, wake up and feed him then bring him in for cuddles, or half-wake up and bring him in for feeds lying down so I can instantly drop off again, depending on how tired I am and how cold it is. He ends up in bed with us more often than not, but the length of time varies - last night, for example, he woke 3 times for food and went back in his basket after all but the last feed, as he was basically fast asleep and I was enjoying having free sleep.

I'm exc bfing DS2 atm, nad we do co sleep sometimes. He starts off in the moses basket next to our bed, and most of the time I put him back in it after feeds, but if he seems unsettled or the feed is going on for ever then I bring him into bed with us.

So a bit of both.

I never co slept with DS1, but he always fed very quickly, was happy in the basket or cot, and slept through by 4 months, ( lucky me) so I never did.

I find I don't sleep very well with bsbies in the bed, so I always try to get DS2 back into his own bed if I can.

I never co-slept and i breastfed until dd was 13 months. My ds is 5 months exclusively breastfed and i have never co-slept with him either, he sleeps in his cot next to me so i can easily feed him in the night and pop him back afterwards.

I exclusively breastfed my DS but never co-slept for a few reasons.

I always found feeding while lying down v uncomfortable (huge norks, couldn't find a position which didn't smother him).

And DH and I were terrified of crushing him in our bed which resulted on neither of us actually getting any sleep between feeds anyway.

I inherited a gliding nursery chair which was a godsend, I did all the feeding in that with a pillow and V cushion (the only really comfortable feeding position for me anyway).

20 months and we're still nursing!

I exclusively breastfed ds1 for 16 weeks and ds2 for 20 weeks - until they started solids.
Can't cosleep, wouldn't have slept a wink. Found it hard enough sleeping when they were in the same room - so they were both in their own rooms from a few weeks old. Of course they occasionally came into bed with me if they were unsettled (particularly ds1 who was never particularly easy, and particularly in that early morning period when its not worht trying to get them back to sleep i.e. 5am onwards) but on the whole they slept in their own moses basket or cots.

DD is 18 months old. We co-sleep, she was exclusively bf to 7 months and is still bfing.

I don't co-sleep because I bfeed though. I co-sleep because it's the right thing for us.

ex bf for about 6 mths x2

never coslept, just doesn't work for me, I can't sleep with babies in the bed

in fact both of mine were in a cot in the next room from 6 weeks

ex bf for 6 months, co slept for part of the night (still do from 5am onwards, and he's 10 mo now)

a friend also ex bf for 6 months and never coslept

Excl BF first 6 months and coslept after the first 3 weeks I think. Still cosleeping and BFing now at 16 months!

I do think they two go hand in hand - it feels natural (and easier )

Coslept after first few weeks wiht both but witha cot attached to side of the bed as our bed only just fits DH and I!
Both moved into own room at 5ish months but ended up in our bed if necessary.

BF exclusively for 6 months, initially DS was in his crib (most of the time) but we gradually changed over to co-sleeping permanently by the time he was about 3 months old. We started moving him back to a cot at about 7 months and he stopped co-sleeping altogether at about 9 months.

I'm still BF a couple of times a day and he's now a year old.

I Exclusively bfed my 2dds. DD1 slept in her own cot which had one side missing and was attached to my bed. So i basically slid her into my bed for a feed then slid her back into the cod.

With dd2 i had the same arrangement but found that she spent most of the time in my bed with me, i was majorly sleep deprived even when doing this. and now i sleep in her bed with her and cannot get back into my own bed she is too used to me being there. I suppose this stage will pass soon enough though and at least i will have no parenting regrets

B/f ds for 13 months (weaned at 4 months - didn't know better 8 years ago)

He slpet in a crib in our room for the first 6 months, then went into a cot in another room.

However, he did sleep thourgh from about 2 weeks - too well, as we had to wake him for a while to give hem extra feeds to encurage weight gain.

DD1 was not breastfed and I did not co-sleep. Reasons for not bf too complicated to go into. I didn't really co-sleep because I was uninformed and was worried about rolling on her etc.

DD2 was exclusively breastfed and I co-slept until she was about six months then she moved into a cot but still in my room.

both of mine exbf til 6 months - ds coslept out of desperation til about 5 weeks then he was in the cot in our room til about 7 months.

dd never coslept - she wasnt much of a one for sleeping past 4.30am so dp took her downstairs then and paced etc, after about two months she was happy enough in her cot in our room and she is now sleeping 7-7 at 6.5 months in her own room - I miss her though as she has only been in there a week

I would have coslept if dd was one of those babies - like my ds - who would drop off back to sleep immediately after a feed.

Exclusive bf with 3 and never co-slept.

b/f with 2 (one to 9 months and one to 21 months) and never co-slept; exclusive for first 5 months - then solids