Bednest practical tips please

[Swannykazoo]

Hi all,
Emergency Bednest delivered yesterday for my 3 week old who consistently prefers a swashy mummy mattress to any nasty old cot. We've descended into co-sleeping, but also need to swaddle him to get him to settle more than 20mins as he's got a big startle reflex going on and I foolishly googled somewhere that co-sleeping & swaddling was dangerous so emergency bednest rented.
Sadly the lovely bednest was refused last night!

So: any top tips on getting my lovely baby to settle in it? Have tried the warming bed with hot water bottle, my shirt etc. Baby not fooled!
Also- the folding side that you're supposed to use is pretty uncomfy to lie on, slightly better when folded in half but still quite lumpy. Any modifications I could try?

I have a bedside table beside my head for clock/light/water/more water/nipple shields/kindle (life's essentials) and bednest at my middle. Any advantage to putting LO "upside down" ie 69 with me if you'll excuse the reference (god that seems far away now!) so his head is closer to me?
Any other top tips other than saying this too will pass and enjoying the baby time?

Anyone?

I had a bednest refuser too! Sorry, probably not what you wanted to hear but we ended up cosleeping. I found she didn't need the swaddling once she had me next to her.

The bednest became a useful store for my snacks and kindle.

I used to have DD's head at booby height btw. Don't see why you shouldn't 69 her if she won't creep over and be in danger of your duvet.

I had ds lying in co sleeper troll crib the same way as me, just at shoulder level, if he stirred I could just reach over and stroke his head/hold his hand, he seemed to be calmed by hearing my breathing too. To be honest, 3 week olds just want to be with/on you, it's still really little! My ds went down OK once sleepy, full & swaddled, though when he was really little I put him down asleep with white noise courtesy of Ewan the dream sheep

Aha - well its nice to know there's no magic trick I'm missing. I find Ewan the dream sheep incredibly soporific, son not so much

I couldn't sleep without Ewan now!

We had the bednest and ds was in it for over 6 months. Initially we were top to tail (ie 69) as I found it easier to pick ds up in the middle of the night if he was that way round. We had the side folded in half between nest and bed. When he was tiny i tended to always sleep holding his hand.

Have you tried playing with the angle? The base part is really adjustable. Ds hated lying flat (ib think he was a bit refluxy) and settled beat ofthe bed was tilted.

We had a bednest from birth and for the first few weeks DS wasn't thrilled at being so far from me - we tried all sorts of things, worn tees as sheets, swaddling etc. we also had guy issues so that may have complicated matters...

Anyhow what did work was a sheepskin rolled up on one side that made it seem a bit smaller, not as high as his face but up against his tummy.

I think he eventually slept fine for the first sleep, then was really noisy after the first night feed. Then at around 5am I'd cave and let him sleep on my stomach. By twelve weeks he'd grown out of the sheepskin / sleeping on my stomach.

Hope it gets easier for you. The morning you wake up and your LO is lying there smiling at you makes the bednest worth every penny

Gut issues

We hired a bednest too and dd (3 weeks) refuses to settle in it. She's now sleeping between us in a cocoonababy and sleeps for 4 hours at a time!! I'm hoping once she outgrows it she will sleep in the bednest as we've got it for 6 months. When she first arrived I put her facing the opposite way too as I found it much easier to pick her up in the middle of the night if she was facing this way. Also had the fabric bit down half way. The wooden pole in the middle of the fabric bit is really annoying when you have it all the way down isn't it! Hoping your baby will settle in yours soon

3 weeks is still very very young and i think babies do take time to adjust to their new surroundings. And of course they love being as close to us as they can as that is what they are used to.

We had a bednest and loved it - it really really is worth keep trying with every nap and sleep and I'm sure your baby will adjust. At least with the bednest you are still so close and babies do soon learn that you are there. And when you wake up and can see them it is the most amazing feeling. I was so sore after birth I couldn't have kept getting up every time she cried and partner refused to have her in the bed.
My daughter never had reflux but the tilting stand did help with a cold.
I kept the side panel up and half folded as I could still touch her and see her, and just pulled it down when I moved her for feeding.
Good luck

My daughter really disliked the co sleeper to start with. One trick is to get a large bath towel, roll it tightly into a 'hotdog' shape. Then make a U shape with it in the crib so his head in is the top of the U. It really helped us get her in there ... At least for a few hours to start with lol. I think it makes them feel nice and safe & snuggly. Good luck x

Ha ha , bed nest is a great bedside table ;-) very little sleeping goes on in it though .

We bought one and found that he would rather sleep one foot over next to me in the big bed so we packed it all up and now it's gathering dust in the corner! I wish if known you could hire them but I will try again with it if we have another. We do now have a mothercare bedside cot set up and he likes his own space a bit more and sleeps in it mainly, unless he's feeling particularly snuggly when he comes over next to me, he's 19 months now though. When he was tiny he mainly slept lying on my chest in bed.

My LO wouldn't go in the bednest until about 6 weeks and then suddenly he did and was fine. I think when they are tiny sometimes they just want to be right up close to mum. Like others have said, my bednest was a place to keep my snacks, ipad, drink etc. That lasted quite a while whilst the baby was feet to the foot of the cot. After 6 months I used a spacesaver cot with the side missing in the same way as the bednest as I loved having him so close. Especially for night feeds etc, rather than getting up to fetch him. I had to put the side on and move him at 8 months though as he was migrating into my bed again.

My LO is 9 weeks old and until 4 nights ago only ever slept I'm my arms. Nest, basket, cot- she hated it all. Then we realised she is a tummy sleeper and now she naps during the day in basket and sleeps in bed nest. Admittedly we are only on night 3 so it could all change but I feel like the fog has lifted. Admittedly tummy sleeping isn't for everyone but it's working for my little girl so I'm sticking with it.