co sleeping 6 months old?

[iccarus]

Hi, my baby boy, now 6 months, has always slept in either a moses basket or his own cot but this last 3 weeks we have started to use a sling during the day to make breast feeding more discreet and he has fallen asleep in the sling afterwards. I've also started bringing him into bed with me when he wakes for his early morning feed, usually between 5 and 6am. He feeds lying down in bed and then usually drops back to sleep cuddled up, which has been really nice. I've noticed that I feel our bond has improved since weve done this which is great but I'm now struggling to get him to go to sleep on his own at all. He cries when I put him in his cot until I lie down with him and then he simply has his dummy, closes his eyes and drops off. If i try to move him to his cot then, it sometimes works but if he wakes up and realises then we have to lie down again. I'm not sure what to do now really. My mum says I've confused him by letting him sleep with me some times and not others. I don't want to refuse him cuddles as it seems really harsh and I have enjoyed being closer to him, but I'm not ready to go to bed with him every time he needs a nap and am worried about co sleeping all night because of sids risk. Sorry for really long post, any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.x

I coslept with my three babies (now 12, 10 & 5) until they had finished breasfeeding at about 15 months. We all survivied, and I only stopped feeding them because they got a bit too physical in the night and I was losing sleep.

It worked for me and DP, but I still am glad that none got squashed. I feel we got away with it.

I never could master the art of getting them to sleep in a cold bed on their own. I was a martyr to DC1 and had to lie down with her till she was asleep. I really resented it at times, and she cried for a few nights when she did leave the bed. I was a bit harder with the other two and they could go to sleep without me. They never had a problem moving to their own beds, but then did have an elder sibling inthe room, and so weren't so alone.

Whatever gets you through the night......

You can co-sleep safely, and if you follow safety guidelines then SIDS should not worry you.

If you like sleeping with your little one, it feels natural, and means you both get more sleep, do it. Plenty of little ones grow out of the co-sleep habit without tears when parent and child are ready.

If you decide you don't want to co-sleep, setting other night time sleep associations might help e.g a comforter for him in his cot which smells of you, or a familiar musical toy played as he drops off each night.