Co sleeping

[Heartburn888]

I have posted w couple of times about my newborns nightmarish sleeping which I have gathered is pretty normal. Anywa, I have been safely co sleeping with him for the last couple of weeks. I have been following the lullaby trust for guidance on this and also from my health visitor.

My question is am I making a rod for my own back here? I have read about the fourth trimester and have been letting him have as many mummy cuddles as he wants but I don’t want him to turn into a needy baby. It also doesn’t help he is full of cold.

Any advice please

Difficult to answer as so much depends on what your baby is like and how your family operates. People have strong opinions on this though.

He'll be in his own bed by the time he's a teenager.
No, you're not making a rod for your own back. Children who feel safe and secure become more independent because they also feel secure in themselves.
We co-slept with DS. He went off into his own room quite happily as a toddler because he knew he could always come in and find us if he woke up in the night. But he rarely woke up. I ended up sleeping more with the cat.

I’ve co-slept with both my boys and it was a bit of a life saver for me in terms of giving me a good night sleep. DS1 started sleeping in his own bed around 2 years and has been a good sleeper since DS 2 is more reluctant to leave - he starts off in his own bed but more often than not still comes in with us (he’s 8) but we love having him in with us /we have a big king sized bed and he’s not wriggly. I know if we were determined about it he’d sleep In own bed all night and at this age sleep training would take a night or two but I do love cuddling him at night and I’m aware he won’t be little for very much longer.

That made me chuckle

I genuinely don't know how breastfeeding mums cope without co sleeping! I did it with both of mine and they were in the own beds by 3. I found it vital for maintaining the closeness and bond when i went back to work too.

I co slept with both mine, especially the youngest and loved it... it helped us all get much needed sleep and that in turn made for a more chilled out Mum. The transition to their own beds wasn't as difficult as I thought it'd be

I bf and co-slept with my son till he was 1. He was a needy baby but I think that was unrelated to co-sleeping. At 1 moved him to his own room and stopped bf at night, just offered water and cuddles if he woke. At 3 he is now a fantastic sleeper. I’d do whatever you have to do to survive the night!

We coslept in various forms (in the bed and then with a sidecar cotbed) until 20 months. She then moved to her own bed and room easily. It’s definitely not making a rod for your own back and is completely normal, many people stop cosleeping easily well before I did but DDs room is on a different floor so I didn’t want to move her before that.

Thank you so much for your comments. I am breastfeeding and usually he will nurse until he is back to sleep or dozing and sometimes I will lay down and have him lay on his back and he will feed from me until he drops off himself.

Totally get the bond and closeness aspect I do love having him close to me and I feel he likes it too as I’m all he’s ever known

I will keep on co sleeping until he’s older 👍 thanks all x

I posted something similar to this recently. I really didn't want to co-sleep, partly because I was listening to my mum/mil who told me I'd be making a rod for my own back. Then I listened to some lovely posters on here and decided if it got us both more sleep, let's try.

Since then my routine has been try to put my lo down in her cot, if she's fussy I try to soothe her but if she won't settle after x amount of time I bring her into the bed and we co-sleep. When she wakes up for a feed I'll try to out her down in her cot again and we do the same thing.

I really don't think it's spoiling her, she sleeps better in her cot now than she did before I accepted co-sleeping as needed! And we're both happier because we're getting more sleep and I don't feel like I'm fighting a losing battle every night.

Like everyone else says, try to just go with the flow, it won't be forever.