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

[vlc]

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!

[Jackstini]

Excl bf for 5.5 mo - dd in Moses basket right next to bed, swaddling worked.
Carried on bf for 2.5 yrs - dd in cot with v nice bfing chair next to it.

[mumofnineangels]

I have exclusively breastfed all 9, however have only brought numbers 5,8, and 9 into bed. Each baby is different. I must say I am more likely to get a good nights sleep, if my youngest is in bed with me.

[robinia]

Co-slept with all my 5 - partially with first two and more or less exclusively with last three. Just couldn't hack sitting up in bed to feed - cold, tired, uncomfortable - when I could lie down all snuggly and warm and hardly wake up at all.

Always had babes on outside of bed, nowhere near dh, and with cot wedged against side of bed so no danger of them falling out. Side of cot was down so if by any chance I was awake at end of feed I could try getting them back in the cot - best tips for this are to have duvet as undersheet and nice warm fleece type on top of duvet so all snuggly and warm when put baby back in.

Had them all out of my bed by between 4 months and 10 months with no difficulty at all (last babe was exclusively co-slept from birth to 4 months and then went in his cot, still in my room, exclusively from around 4 months so no rods for my back there ;) )

Re. nappy changes - I never changed nappy in middle of night unless it was dirty (or had leaked of course) and tbh dirty nappies didn't happen at night time after a couple of months anyway.

[NotanOtter]

mumofnineangels you NEEEEEEED a profile!

[papooshka]

Breastfed exclusively for 6 months but carried on for a year...my DD never co-slept with us, she was in a moses basket next to the bed for about 3 months then in a cot in the room till 6 months, then into her own room.

TBH I couldn't have slept well with her in the bed, I used to put her back in the cot after every feed.

A few times I fell asleep but on the whole she was back in her cot and settled herself...

Fingers crossed the next one will be the same (37 weeks!)

[verywiseowl]

Exclusively b/f for 4 and 6 months respectively. Co slept with neither.
(though DD did a fair bit of sleeping on me ...)

Went on to b/f for 12 and 20 months.

[pikeymum]

I exclusively breastfed both my babies, and never co slept (apart from very occasionally with DS) They started in a moses basket by the bed, then moved to a cot. Both sleep well, and have always been happy to go to sleep on their own. I'm sure it all really depends on the baby though. You do whats best for all of you at the time don't you?

[missinglalaland]

I breast fed my two girls until just beyond 2 years. Co-slept with both. I would have died of exhaustion otherwise!

I always put them in the cot initially, but brought them into bed with me and my husband when they woke in the night. When they started to sleep through the night, co-sleeping effortlessly stopped. Easy.

[deaconblue]

both of mine exclusive breast fed (dd still at 7 months). Never co-slept and she never feeds between 7 and 7. I want my sleep!

[Sassyfrassy]

I breastfed dd1 until she was a year old, co slept occasionally. Am breastfeeding dd2, we co slept for the first three months and she now comes to bed with me in the morning.

[glitterbird]

Not read the entire thread but I have exclusively breast fed DS is now 5.5 months old and never co slept, he slept in his moses basket and when to big for this he happily moved to his cot.

every baby is different but was never a problem for me

[mummy2rachel]

I exclusively breastfed and did not co-sleep. I find that I cannot sleep properly with baby on the same bed. She sleeps on her cot beside our bed and it is no problem getting up to feed her at night.

[AnnVan]

I'm exclusive bf my 10 week old, and we don't co-sleep. he's in a moses basket next to the bed at night. I sit in bed and feed him then put him back in his basket. No way I'd be able to sleep with him in the bed.

[kalo12]

still bf at 9 months ds never took a bottle, never expressed, never co sleep, ds sleeps in his cot in another room, he wakes up loads in the night but this is mainly cos he is allergic to lots so solids upset him, will probably bf til at least 18 months, not really by choice but ok with it, have resigned myself to not sleeping for two years, and i look surprisingly good for an average of an hour sleep a night for the last 10 months.

i lost loads of weight tho so my advice is eat loads and loads and don't worry about getting fat cos once you lose it all its so hard to eat enough to maintain supply

[aberdeenhiker]

I've exclusively bf both my boys (ds2 is six months next week) and we don't co-sleep. Every baby is different and so are parents - my DH and I don't sleep well with the kids in the bed so we've been strict about putting them back in their cots but other friends have found the exact opposite (slept better with their babies in with them).

[WTSS]

exclusively bf dd1 till 19 months and currently exclusively bf ds1.
never co slept. don't see at all why anyone would think it was necessary.

[WTSS]

exclusively bf dd1 till 19 months and currently exclusively bf ds1.
never co slept. don't see at all why anyone would think it was necessary.

[Alishanty]

I excl bf my ds for 6 mths, introduced solids and finally gave up bf at one year. I am currently bf 3 1/2 mth old. Have never co-slept. My dp is a large man and we never felt comfortable with the idea, would not have been enough room in the bed imo. I have always had the moses basket/cot jammed right up against my side of the bed tho so no getting out of bed in the night. My ds always settled straight back into his bed after a feed, my dd was harder but eventually got her used to it with persistance! The times rare times I brought them into the bed, say if dp wasn't there in the morning I have never been relaxed enough to sleep. I wouldn't personally put them in their own room until they reliably started going through the night or stopped bf, purely cos I am lazy. Ds was 18 mths when he went into his own room.

[SachaF]

Have only read first page of threads but in answer to OP:
DC1, bf exclusively 'til 24 weeks (ie no food), all milk feeds bf until 10 months and then stopped bfing at 13 months (pregnant and throwing up....). He slept in his own cot next to us for 10 weeks, then into his own room at 10 weeks as he was waking me up too much - still did 2 feeds/night in the rocking chair in his room.
DC2 is bf exclusively (10 weeks), sleeps in a bedside cot (so almost co-sleeping as I can just reach an arm over to her) and often comes into bed at 5am.
DC1 was a winter baby - the thick duvet put me off of co-sleeping. I am still using only a 4-tog duvet with me for DC2.
So exclusive bfing with two babies with different sleeping strategies - whatever works for you at the time!

[Milkycheeks]

Not read all this but just to add that dd was exclusive bf for 6 mo, & is still bfing at 15 mo. She was in moses basket then cot by bed for first 6 months then own room. has only co-slept once when we all had stomach bug a few months ago - i'm a really light sleeper & wouldn't sleep well if she was in with us. She does now come in with us for her early morning feed & i try to doze but she's a little wriggler & doesn't feed for that long now anyway.

[mybabywakesupsinging]

ds1 didn't really sleep anywhere, but when he did deign to do so at night it was in his cot. Spent a lot of hours co-waking, though...
He ebf to 6 months, self-weaned about 11 months.
ds2 prefers to sleep lying down, gets quite grumpy if held to sleep, loves his cot (grumbles about travel cots). He ebf to 6 months, is still feeding at 19 months. No way would I co-sleep with him, he rotates 360 degrees several times a night .

[gillythekid]

Yes it is possible! DH is 19 weeks and sleeps in his cot next to us and has done so since day one, it works for us as we all sleep better in our own space but I guess everyone does what suits them.

[wintersapproaching]

Both of mine exclusive breastfeeders, neither co-slept. I found mine had better night feeds if I got them up and fed then winded then resettled in their moses basket/cot etc than when they fed lying down in my bed (they mostly vomited it back up or seemed to be unsettled for a period in the night which I am sure was wind)

[Lizum]

My DS is 2 1/2 weeks old and apart from one night at the beginning when we topped up with formula he's exclusively breastfed. He was feeding every 3 hours until last week when it went all wobbly and now he seems to feed continuously from early evening until 3 or 4 am. I was/still am worried about co-sleeping- my husband smokes (although never in the house and he's cut down to a few a day instead of 10 or so) but the last 3 nights I've brought DS into bed for the first part of the night to feed and sleep as I've been too knackered to get out of bed to feed him. I've made sure he's only covered by his blanket and not our duvet. Not too worried about him falling out as his basket is jammed up against the bed and we sleep on a futon only a couple of inches off the floor.

[Highlander]

I didn't co-sleep with either of mine until they could roll over , but even then they would be put down in their own cot until I went to bed.

So I guess I co-slept regularly?