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Sleep

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Original poster

Anyone else out there co sleeping?

50 replies

crunchymummy · 28/03/2016 22:21

Feel like I'm the only one haha... I have a 10 week DS who won't sleep in his moses basket or cot or anywhere else really... he will only sleep feeding next to me (we are EBF) everyone else is saying I am making a rod for my own back, I will never be able to get him out of my bed ect but articles I have read that support co-sleeping describe it as a perfectly natural thing... would love to know that there are other MNers out there co-sleeping and feeding to sleep!

OP posts:

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CutYourHairAndGetAJob · 01/04/2016 21:36

I co slept with my dd from around four months (she started waking every hour and it was the only way we could cope). She used to start the night in her cot then come in our bed whenever she woke in the night and stay with us till morning. When she started sleeping through at about one she would just come into our bed for her morning feed and when she stopped bfing that turned into morning cbeebies . Now she is three and a perfectly good sleeper.

Ds is a different story, he is four months old and has never slept anywhere except our bed, for the first few nights dp took turns holding him through the night as he screamed whenever we tried to put him down, and since then we've had him in our bed. I prefer it that way, I like having him close. He bfs a lot in the night and less in the day which works well because I am looking after dd as well during the day, but if we didn't co sleep I would be too sleep deprived to function.

OrangeRhinoInTraining · 01/04/2016 21:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Artandco · 01/04/2016 22:04

A note to the whole ' rod for your back brigade'. Ours slept with us from day 1, then gradually as above moved into own space after 3 years approx on own terms. And now at 5 and 6 years happy go straight to bed 99% of the time in their beds, and the odd 1% join us which is fine. When sharing our bed the first few years both slept in it great, settled quickly without fuss, and rarely woke early.
In comparison I know quite a few families who have said they would never share their bed as ', rod for own back', but now 3/4/5/6/7 years on still have children fighting to go to bed and sleep, who wake often or very early, who can't sleep if everything isn't quite so. They now say they wish they had been more relaxed around bedtimes and where earlier on

twirlypoo · 01/04/2016 22:14

Ds is 4 and snoring beside me!

He slept in this own cot until he was 2, but woke every 2 hours and I was demented. I woke every 2 hours for 2 years..... And then I brought him in my bed and the bugger sleeps!

We have chatted about him sleeping in his bed again but he says he will be lonely, so I let him stay. I will miss him when he decides he's had enough of me!

WakeUpFast · 01/04/2016 23:57

In many other cultures it's completely normal to have babies and toddlers sleeping in bed with you. There's no discussion about it as it's the norm. It's only here now gradually HV's and midwives are becoming more open to and supportive of co-sleeping.

Writerwannabe83 · 02/04/2016 20:36

My DS slept happily until his cot until he was 4 months old and then everything went downhill and co-sleeping was the only way to get some sleep. He'd start off in his cot but when he woke up, usually at about 11pm, I would bring him into bed with me.

It was manageable but as my return to rock date loomed I realised bed sharing just wasn't an option anymore as I just wasn't getting enough sleep.

I do think I made a rod for my own back but in the midst of extreme sleep deprivation and feelings of desperation I did what had to be done and co-slept, it was the right decision at the time.

Sparrowlegs248 · 03/04/2016 10:23

I didn't plan to Co sleep, but 'gave in' at 7 weeks. Ds is 8months now and we have graduated to going to bed in his cot at 7. He started out waking at 9 for a feed, and I would feed and put back in cot. I then started just going to bed with him at 9 knackered as he was waking again at 10 if he was in his cot.

Things ARE getting better though. Saturday he slept in his cot from 7 - 4am!!!! That was unusual. His first waking is gradually moving later and is reliably between 11 and 12 now.

One thing I would suggest though is not to feed him at every murmer. Ds wants to sleep with a nipple in his mouth when he is in with me. I need to put a stop to it as often from 3am on I am very disrupted due to it. We are also ebf and feed to sleep.

Bodicea · 03/04/2016 20:57

Ds is three months old. Sleeps in sleepy head in early part of the night then cosleeps after her feed as I feed her led down next to me and inevitably both fall asleep in the process. Then don't have the heart to move her back to sleepyhead in case I wake her. Quite happy with arrangement to continue for the forseeable.

stargirl1701 · 03/04/2016 21:02

Yup. DD1 and DD2 bed sharing with us. More sleep for everyone. Plenty of breastmilk for DD2. All good.

badg3r · 03/04/2016 21:08

We have always co-slept with DS (15mo). It wasn't intentional, we just wanted an easy life and realised him sleeping with us meant everyone slept better! I have a baby Dan bed guard on my side to make sure I don't fall out and we use a woollen quilt instead of a duvet.

It really works for us. Also, I get lots of cuddles and have been able to mountain breastfeeding since returning when he was 6 mo.

badg3r · 03/04/2016 21:13

Oops.. Maintain, not mountain breastfeeding!

badg3r · 03/04/2016 21:16

Since returning to work...

Anyway, you should read Three In A Bed. It really helped me to feel comfortable with our decision to co-sleep.

AlwaysDancing1234 · 03/04/2016 21:20

I never planned to co-sleep but DD had other ideas and she's now approaching 2.
I did a lot of reading research on how to co sleep safely.
I don't admit it in from of most friends or family these days now as its seemed to be frowned upon. SIL and MIL believes in children in their cots in own rooms practically from birth for all sleeps in a totally quiet dark room, if they cry leave them to it. May work for them but not our way of doing things at all.

fflonkl · 03/04/2016 22:02

Co-slept with DD from day 1. For the first 4 or so months she slept on me all night every night. She gradually moved off me at about 4-5 months so then I put her in her cot to begin with, then in bed with me after the first waking.

At 11 months I did gradual retreat as I was panicking at the thought of not getting enough sleep once I started work (DD was up roughly every 2 hours then, more for comfort than hunger), and apart from illness/teething/the odd wake ups in the night, she's slept in her bed ever since (she's now 3).

18 week old DD2 and I have also been co-sleeping since day 1, either on my chest, on my bed or in her co-sleeping cot, whichever works best in getting me the most sleep!

Where I come from most mothers co-sleep.

Notfastjustfurious · 03/04/2016 23:42

I didn't plan to cosleep either but littlest had other ideas and is still here at 21 months. I do however want her to leave now and am trying (and mainly failing) to transition her to toddler bed in her sisters room. Thought sharing would be a good start but think my 4 yr olds snoring may not be helping matters. I've read this thread with dread thinking she might still be here bedhogging at 5!!

MrsUnderwood · 03/04/2016 23:50

Yup, co slept with DD and currently with DS. It's lovely.

Valentine2 · 04/04/2016 00:27

I tried and failed miserably off DC1 to sleep in cot. In the end I chose cosleeping and it was the only time I could sleep myself. So I never bothered about cot for DC2 and he has been sleeping with me since day 1 and sleeping through the night since 3m old I think. We all sleep together though it's admittedly hard sometimes but the extra cuddling is so worth it. Oh and both sleep so peacefully now

Stylingwax · 04/04/2016 00:42

DS coslept from birth to about 3 weeks ago at 2 years 11 months.

DD is 12 weeks and in a Sleepyhead in our super king sized. She will generally go down in it for a nap during the day without being fed to sleep, and very occasionally in the evening (still working on it). She feeds from that when I come to bed then when she wakes for 4/5am fees I bring her into the bed.

Hopefully she won't be nearly 3 when she's totally in her own, but as another poster said, as I work full time I love being close to them at night.

Nemmaline · 04/04/2016 02:35

Another cosleeper here. We have gone through stages of cosleeping and not cosleeping. We do what is easiest to make sure that we all get a good nights sleep 😀

However I have a question for all cosleepers - how do you put your DC to sleep in the evening? Our DC goes to sleep before us and I spend the whole night checking on her as worried that she will roll or crawl off the bed...

Artandco · 04/04/2016 06:55

Nem- mine slept in The evening in the living room with us until around a year old.

Ughnotagain · 04/04/2016 08:45

Nemm I put DD to bed around 7. She is in a cot attached to our bed so she goes in there, or in our bed, and make a barrier round the edge with pillows.

But... She can't properly crawl or climb yet. Might have to rethink when she can!

CutYourHairAndGetAJob · 04/04/2016 08:50

Nemmaline I have a cosleeper crib, ds doesn't actually sleep in it but it means he can't actually roll out of bed. The other side is against the wall. When dd started crawling we started to put her in her own cot for the first part of the night

Original poster

crunchymummy · 04/04/2016 17:12

I bathe and feed DS to sleep (10 weeks) and leave him in our room with monitor on, he can't roll anywhere yet. He's there for about two hours and then when he wakes up I bring him downstairs in the living room with us until I go to bed around 11pm

OP posts:

fflonkl · 04/04/2016 22:05

I put DD2 in her co-sleeping cot with the monitor turned on, on the rare occasions that I can settle her there prior to 8pm. Otherwise she's with us downstairs -gnawing on my boob- cluster feeding.

Used to cluster feed DD1 downstairs too until she was about 6 months when I put her in her cot where she stayed till the first waking.

Nemmaline · 05/04/2016 01:15

Thanks for all of the cosleeping tips

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