Family Bed / Co-sleeping with more than one

[ComradeJing]

I was really against co-sleeping (only due to the SIDS risk though) with DD until her sleep issues became so bad at 4 months that it was the only thing that got me through.

However, DH, myself and DD (now 16 months) have found that we love it and are not ready to give it up now that DC2 is on the way. We followed all of the safe co-sleeping rules.

Are there any rules for safe co-sleeping with 2dc or is it a real no no? Am I mad for even thinking this is possible with a little one and a toddler? DD will be 22 months when the new one arrives.

I am currently co sleeping with DS 15 months and DD 3.2 years. DD had a very short spell (about 1 month) in her own bed but wanted to come back in when DS was born.
I'd recommend a bedside cot for co sleeping with two. I have a cosatto and for the first 3-4 months DS was happy to be slid into there when he had dropped off. Now, I sometimes end up using it as extra space for me as the pair of them like to snuggle up together before I go to bed!

I think that if you continue to follow the guidelines and make sure you are always between them you should be fine.

I absolutely love it - going to bed seeing them snuggled up together, seeing them smile as soon as they wake up and of course if they are ill/have a nightmare I'm there immediately to comfort them. They are always really excited to see each other in the morning and DS scrambles over me every morning to get to his sister. :)

I'm pregnant with DC3 now though so goodness knows what I'll do when they arrive! (bedside cot on each side?!)

Since your DD1 will be not quite 2, it's definitely safer to have a parent in between her and the new baby. They don't have the awareness before 2 - actually as a rule of thumb, I'd be tempted to say don't let them share a bed (ie right next to each other) until the little one is over 2 and/or DD has stopped falling out of bed if she doesn't have a bed guard. DS is 3.7 and still falls out of bed so I probably wouldn't trust him next to a baby - they say it's the same kind of awareness.

Definitely get a co-sleeper cot, even if you convert a cot or cotbed into one. (Cotbed would be best if you have the room as they're all designed to stand up with 3 sides and they're bigger.)

Buy the book "Three in a bed" I love it. One of my best books ever.

It is totally doable. Like PP said, just make sure you are between baby and toddler. We would have baby, me, toddler (or two !), DH.

I also wouldn't put baby & toddler in bed on their own in the evening. We would put toddler down at 7pm but keep baby downstairs until we went to bed.

I still sleep with both mine and they are 5 and 7. The seven year old does have her own bed but is never in it, and the just-turned 5 year old is so adamant she doesn't want her own bed that I've let her sleep where she likes, and where she likes is cwtched up next to me! It was such a squeeze that DH was giving up and sleeping in the seven year old's bed. I've just bought an extra single to but up against our bed that now makes it a super size bed that looks ridiculous but at least fits us all.
DD2 has slept against the wall since she was a baby.Then there is me, then DD1, then DH.

Thanks everyone!

Yes, we absolutely won't put the babies together. At the moment DD goes down in her room but we bring her to bed when we go to sleep or she wakes through the night.

We'll see how we go with it all but will definitely look at the side sleeping cots.