Any co-sleepers out there?

[Epigirl]

AM after some advice about co-sleeping. Have slept with dd since she was 5 months old, she's now 23 months. ds is 12 weeks old and I am currently sleeping in one bed with him, dh in another with dd. This arrangement does not bother us at all (dh often worked shifts so sleeping apart not an issue for us) but I was wondering if anyone else out there has co-slept with 2 children at once?

dd now goes to bed by herself but tends to join us/dh in the night and we have a 6ft bed so space is not an issue but I'm worried about dd squashing a small baby.

Any opinions?

Same for me - the idea of shivering in the middle of the night beside a cot trying to get a child back to sleep just doesn't appeal... and the breastfeeding as well.

Apparently it is only fairly recently (in terms of human life) that we've had children in separate beds.

Perhaps I am being daft (once again, I am not for or against co-sleeping), but what happens if you have been out for the evening, had a few drinks, come home, relieved the babysitter, and gone to bed. Then in the middlf of the night DD or DS want to come into bed with you, do you allow it or do you say no. If you say no, would they understand or would they think they have done something wrong.

In similar circumstances, if you DD or DS stays out for the night, say at a relatives, so you can have a night out, do you let them co-sleep with your DD or DS?

Can't see that it really matters MUM2ELA - whilst it is important not to co-sleep with a baby if you have been drinking, you are not likely to be able to roll on and suffocate an older child however drunk you are.

The night of our wedding we left 14mo-old DS with a close friend & husband and (apparently) DS did sleep between them... honestly I never thought about it, before, but I can see why it might seem strange. I did trust my friend absolutely. It's the only night either child has ever had away from both me & DH. I would imagine by the time child is old enough to be in a stranger's house (like sleep-overs) they'll be ok about sleeping in own bed....

WE did once toy with idea of leaving our children (2yo & 4yo) with their childminder overnight. Far as I remember, CM said that on the few occasions she has done this before for very young children, she usually camps out in the same room with the kids. I could imagine the 2yo cuddling up with CM in middle of the night, but aGain, seems ok to me, because I trust CM absolutely. 'Course, whether CM wants the company, could be a different problem!

dd sleeps quite happily between my mum and dad when I stay with them and they all seem to enjoy the experience. I have ds in with me.

I had never thought of co-sleeping before having dd but it has been one of the most unexpectedly positive experiences I've had.

Agree with Oakmaiden totally on the drinking thing. It's never bothered me as I've never drunk much when bf anyway and by the time I stopped, they were no longer small babies.

Dd2 (2.5yrs) has been coming into our bed for about the last six months as she usually wakes up around 1am and refuses to go back to sleep on her own. As she has special needs, we are quite relaxed with her about sleeping. I did half-heartedly try controlled crying but it didn't work at all. She seems to sleep better in our bed, is happier and is definitely warmer. Dh does get a bit fed up about it though.

HV tells me that we should try to stop though as dd1 (4yrs) will get jealous (she always sleeps happily in her own bed). Anyone come across this situation?

My dd1(4) most nights clambers into bed with us, dd2 is now 8wks old and has also slept with us from the beginning.
We also have a 6ft bed which helps, also one side is up against the wall, in a corner as it were IFYKWIM, mainly because the bed is almost bigger than the room
This works because I sometimes put baby in corner, then me, then dd2, then h

Caroline5 - my eldest, aged 4 goes to bed first, then I go up with dd and put her to bed in our double bed which is right next to ds's bed. The first thing he knows about me and dd sleeping together is in the morning and he isn't at all jealous provided he can come straight into the bed for a few mins each morning. I am sure it is unlikely your dd will get jealous unless you make a big thing out if it and tell her she can't come into the bed. I find most HV don't talk sense a lot of the time (apologies to any HV out there!)

My thoughts exactly, Eulalia! dd1 joins us in the bed each morning and has never commented on dd2 already being there. So I think we'll just carry on as we are!