Anyone managed to go from co-sleeping and bf to sleep to getting dc to sleep in a cot a few weeks/months down the line??

[bean612]

What it says, really. Am co-sleeping with 10-day-old DS at the moment and bf on demand including at night, out of necessity because he just won't settle in his moses basket (day or night). I don't mind at the moment but am really hoping to be able to move him into his own bed at some point in the near-ish future. Is this just a crazy dream, do you think?? Any advice/experience much appreciated!

He's 10 days old?

Of course - it'll be fine! Just keep trying and you'll get there.

I know, I'm overreacting aren't I? The trouble is, he's DC2 and DD (now 4) was an appalling, appalling sleeper, and it drove me and DH almost to the edge. She started similarly, only sleeping on us, feeding constantly (well beyond newborn stage) couldn't put her down for 9 months, was still waking 6,7,8 times a night at the age of 2. She's actually only been sleeping through the night since she was about 3.5. I guess I'm just really worried about it all happening again, so much as I'd like to chill out and go with the flow, I'm finding it really hard.

You can get them to sleep however you want for 3 months, things get easier after that to try to put routines etc into place.

Look at troublesome tots website - I found it really interesting. Good sleepers are born not made tho- my ds was easy (relatively) but my dd is awful!

What helped with my DC was putting a muslin over them while bfing so it got warm and smelled of me then lying them on it so that the transition from warm arms to cold basket was minimised. We also (for first few days) put a hot water bottle in the basket before we put them in it. Some of my friends swear by swaddling but my DC weren't happy until they'd wrestled out of it!

Good luck!

Yes, we did it at 12 weeks as I couldn't deal with DS in our bed any more. The back/shoulder pain was horrendous.

It took three nights of DH sitting by him reassuring him before he learned to self-settle. Now he is 9mo this has gone out of the window thanks to teething etc, but it DID work.

bean are you sure your dd didn't have reflux or something?

I understand though. Both of mine were appalling sleepers but dd (dc2, 14 months) is much better in terms of sleeping in her cot etc even though we coslept for longer.

I did half and half with mine. No plan really - just depends how they and I were feeling! To get mine in the cot I would have to warm it first with a hot water bottle and remove it before I put them in and also they slept on their tummies (I know this isn't really recommended but mine were low risk SIDS and one was colicky and the other was refluxy). I bf them to sleep, waited a few minutes, did the floppy arm test to make sure they were in a deep sleep and transferred to warm cot or moses basket! Good luck - it's an exhausting but special time!

Ds was weaned from bf and sleeping all night on his own in his own room at around 18 months. It took a couple of weeks but wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be considering how long it took to get Dd's sleep sorted.

Iggly, yes she did have (silent) reflux, absolutely, which is partly why I so on edge about DS. I just don't know how we'll cope if he has it too. Well of course we WILL cope, because we'll have to, but it was such a terrible time and I'm dreading the thought that we might have to relive it. DS was really unsettled yesterday evening, but I'm telling myself it was just the usual witching hour sort of behaviour rather than anything more sinister. I seem to be feeding him almost constantly, including back to sleep multiple times in the night. Normal newborn behaviour, I'm sure, but it's also reflux behaviour. I guess it's too early at this stage to tell the difference.

I am so on edge. Should have previewed!

Yes both of mine did. I was like you with my second but I took action earlier once I was sure (6 weeks or so in). Hard times!

DS2 spent most nights in bed with me for months, and stayed in my room til 8 months. I then moved him to his own room, but continued to feed him in the night til 10m. Those last couple of months were a killer as I was actually having to get up in the night, but DH and I felt it was time for he and I to sleep in the same room again! At 10m I stopped feeding him at night - it took a few weeks and was hard, but he is a much better sleeper than DS1. I was very worried I would have another terrible sleeper, but he is very different, so there is no reason to think your DC2 will be the same as DC1. From about 18 months, he's generally slept through. I know to some people this is not great sleeping, but for me it is!

At 10 days old you really need to be doing what you can to get some sleep and recover and not worry about how he might be sleeping in X months' time. And feeding continuously is normal at this stage, and if you are BFing is a really good thing.