What do I need to know for co-sleeping with newborn?

[Mummyof3tobe]

DD3 arrived yesterday. After a night in labour with no sleep and first night home last night with no sleep I'm considering trying co-sleeping - at least for a bit. Never did with the other 2 (as DH didn't want to spoil them, pah!) but since I am not going to get much chance to nap in day I need to maximise my hours in bed - not pacing between it and the Moses basket.

So what should I do / need to know?

Bump before I head to bed? Please.

i did this for a couple of weeks with DS (he's now 10 wo) & i'm no expert but from what i read at the time :

don't put baby between you & DP/DH

don't put baby under quilt. use blankets instead of quilt, use a cell blanket for baby.

keep baby away from pillows

don't co sleep if you've been drinking, if you smoke or could be drowsy due to medication.

don't co sleep on the couch.

i found it great in those early days despite being teriffied about co-sleeping, it was lovely & DS adapted to his basket quite easily.

hopefully someone with sounder advice will be along soon.

Heartbeep - thank you so much. That all makes sense.

I could google but too tired to read and process volumes!

It seems a gentler transition from womb for DD.

Congrats! I did this too and as I went back to work very soon it worked very well as I needed all the sleep I could get. I slept with my dd on the outside in my arm as was worried DH might roll into her, other than that exactly what heart beep says. It's lovely co sleeping although I have to say I didn't always feel I got that great a sleep in the early days as would often wake with a dead arm and just took a bit of getting used to. Much better now as dd bigger and sleeps in middle. Good luck hope you are lucky enough to have a good sleeper!

When DD was a new born she slept on my chest under blankets. She then graduated to next to me (on the side away from DH) with one of those side barrier things. I curled round next to her, or possibly had her head on my arm.

We loved cosleeping.

I followed Heartbeep's rules exactly too. DS1 and I coslept for a week or so in hospital - he had a ventouse delivery and had a very sore head. he only settled when cosleeping (We got away with it in hospital by pretending to feed whenever the nurses checked on us!) and we then co-slept a lot at home too, for the first 12 months or so. I was under the duvet, he had a cell blanket on top of it - and I definitely kept him on my side, away from dh, who regularly clonks me when turning over!

I was amazed at how my overtired/sleeping brain knew where he was - my arm would be vaguely around him, and I would wake hours later, with that dead arm, which clearly hadn't moved an inch guarding him whilst he slept peacefully. Ah memories! (He's just about to turn 13!)

Congratulations by the way

Ah lovely stories. I have the luxury of a king size double bed for DD and me to ourselves for now. I feel it is an aspect of motherhood I haven't tried/enjoyed so far so we'll give it a go.

Thanks for the hints and suggestions.

Enjoy - my DS is 7 weeks and we've just started too... I worried so much for the first week.. Too hot/cold, was I going to smother him?! Now we're really in our stride, he sleeps holding my hand and I wake to find him feeding! I'd only add to the previous suggestions is that I find it helpful to tuck the duvet under my body so there's no way it can end up on top of him - this happened when we started and I was very tired, I must have pulled the duvet up on us, it scared the living day lights out of me!

Reporting back - well it wasn't the best night sleep I've ever had! But better than the up and down to the Moses basket I think, and it was nice waking up beside DD and seeing her little face. Makes the exhaustion worth it.

(DH is already muttering about weaning her into Moses basket but we are just smiling and nodding at him.)

Well, if you do want to get her into the Moses basket at some point, you should decide soon when that will be. If you're happy to continue co-sleeping for the next year, great! But if not, I would advise thinking about moving baby at some point (like 6 weeks, 6 months etc).

Glad your first night went well! I remember how nervous I was the first time I had LO in bed with us. Bed sharing is just ace, and there really is nothing like seeing your baby gazing at you when you wake up!