A quick couple of questions for all co-sleepers...

[mummy2b2011]

Hello!
A quick couple of questions for all you co-sleepers: what do you do with your DC in the first part of the night (7pm-10pm??) when you go to bed? My DD won't sleep alone and sleeps on DH's chest for a few hours, but I don't think this is ideal. She's been doing it since she was born (now 20 weeks) and just loves to be on/next to me/him. She actually sleeps far better on him than next to me in the big bed where she just wants to feed all of the time (but that's a separate issue!).

I've been thinking that I might be able to feed her into a really deep sleep on the big bed and then creep away, but am not sure this would be completely safe (though she can't even roll yet... not sure what I'm worried about happening!).

Also, how old was your DD/DS when they moved out of the big bed; was it of their own accord and 'natural' or was it a battle? We co-sleep because my DD won't have it any other way; I was quite reluctant at first, but now I see all kinds of benefits from having her close. I don't want her to struggle to sleep alone in the long term, however, so would like to hear some reassurances, please .

Thanks!

where does she sleep in the day? i used to keep mine downstairs with us in the evening till we went to bed, ds1 had a small hammock he loved to nap in and ds2 slept in the bouncy/rocker chair.

it's so cute to hear she sleeps better on your dh's chest - my babies all just scream for me and would never settle with anyone else.

I used to feed ds to sleep in bed and then creep away. He slept really well in the first part of the night though and wasn't disturbed by me coming to bed later.

He moved into his own room at 5 months with no struggle at all - the only problem was for me because I had to get up and sit in his room to feed. I won't be moving the next baby out until they stop wanting a feed at 3am!

At first my Ds2 slept in the bouncy chair till we took them to bed, that was fine until Ds1 started to get so noisy. Now we do the same as RitaMorgan, on good days.

okay,with DD she slept best on DP's chest,this was mainly because she had reflux and liked to be upright,once she was in a VERY deep sleep he would take her upstairs and i would lay down in the bed,he would gently lay her down and then she'd feed to sleep,once she was (again) in a deep sleep,i would roll/creep away,pop pillows either side of her and the duvet rolled up at the end,we also had a video monitor for extra reassurance.

DS is a bit easier,we had him downstairs with us until he was about 13 months,mostly next to me on the sofa or on my chest,but when he was tiny he was in a hammock (highly recommend until they can roll!) recently once he has fallen asleep downstairs,we take him up,pop him down in his 'bedside' cot and he will normaly just fall asleep,he sometimes has a quick feed though,then i creep away.

i saw these recently though and i thought they'd be great for a little baby,i reckon they would make them feel like they were still being held,and stop them rolling/fidgeting out of bed,i wish id known about them 3 years ago!

oh DD moved out of our bed into the bedside cot at around 12months then into the cot at 15 months,then into a bed at just under 2yrs...
DS will be with us for longer i expect,as he isnt as fidgety as DD and happily stays in his cot through the night with the odd feed,
rather than rolling into our bed and lying sideways and demanding milk every 10 min's!

she was very happy to move into her 'big girl bed' and knows she is welcome to hop in with us in the morning.

sorry for the essay

oh yes, forgot we had a bedside cot! so baby went from bed to the cot next to bed, then across the room (not impressed!) to the door to his own room (v.v.unimpressed!!) we got there in the end though, but i do have vivid memories of lying next to ds1 while he protested for at least 1/2hr every single night that i wanted him to sleep in the bedside cot with me lying next to him instead of in my arms