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Original poster

Co sleeping advice please!

12 replies

Racmoo99 · 03/10/2017 21:59

Hi,

Was thinking about maybe cosleeping. We have a 3 week old and he's our first. I've been reading about it online but I just wondered how people ACTUALLY do it? I mean, do you not use a duvet and so do you get cold? What do you keep baby warm with if you can't use the duvet? Do you still sleep them on thier backs?

I'm a bit confused!

Thanks all

OP posts:
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AMagdalena · 04/10/2017 02:00

I have a duvet up to my waist. LO sleeps in a sleeping bag on her back with my arm above her head so that I don't roll over onto her.
Hope this helps.

Callamia · 04/10/2017 02:41

We do. I have done since birth.
We have a bednest next to the bed, but he rarely goes in it. He sleeps longer on the bed.

He sleeps away from pillows, in a sleeping bag (before he was big enough for a sleeping bag, he had a cellular blanket). I sleep next to him, usually on my side facing him. He is on his back.

It makes night feeds eaiser, and allows us at least some sleep.

LiquoricePickle · 04/10/2017 03:18

I have a duvet up to my waist and kind of tucked under me and I sleep on the corner of the pillow do that it's not near his face. When he was tiny if be curled around him with my arm above his head. Now he's almost five months and had his own presence in the bed, I turn onto my stomach once he's asleep. Actually, he often turns onto his front too. And yes, always put them down on their back, but once they can move themselves back to their back I think it's safe to leave them where they put themselves.

Dustbunny1900 · 04/10/2017 03:54

If you mean a blanket, when they are that little I kept him in one of those baby buntings or sleepers with a very light baby blanket (depending on weather) and keep the heavy blankets off him (tuck them just around me/and use lighter ones) and get the pillows away from him. I also didn't put him in the middle because I'm a very light sleeper and very attune to his every movement but DH..not so much. I put my arm above him in the bed and he slept on his back but nestled against the boob..the "dream feeds" were a life saver. Idk how anybody breastfeeds without bed sharing. I co-slept with both of mine from birth , it actually comes really naturally, you'll find your groove

HappyAsASandboy · 04/10/2017 07:42

I shared my bed with my twins and then with DC3. Keep pillows away from them (for me that meant turning the pillow 90 degrees so that it was narrower where my head went), keep duvets down to your waist level (wear a sweatshirt to keep warm), and keep them between you and a wall/bedrail rather than between you and your husband (when I had the twins in with me my husband slept elsewhere so that I had the whole bed).

Somehow the night feeds didn't 'count' as waking up to me if my feet didn't hit the floor! Completely psychological, but 'getting up' felt so much more punishing than 'waking up'.

Original poster
Racmoo99 · 04/10/2017 17:07

Thank you everyone 😊 I'll see how tonight goes, I may have to try it from tomorrow if he has me up a lot because he sleeps better on the bed. Need to buy him a sleeping bag though but I guess I can manage with a cellular blanket for now.

OP posts:
MrsLilymunster · 05/10/2017 04:44

We would put a pillow on top of the duvet , put baby on with a cellular blanket tucked around the her. We'd move pillows away from hr but this meant we could be under the duvet and she be safe! X

CatsCantFlyFast · 05/10/2017 05:59

It's right that a small baby shouldn't be between you and your partner but they also shouldn't be next to a wall of your bed is pushed up against a wall

Firstimefreaked · 05/10/2017 07:56

Currently co sleeping. I wouldn't personally put them in a blanket. You kick out a lot of heat, I have a light blanket up to my waist and then a long sleeve top with the heating on low, as she gets up 2 to 3 times from 2 am I just turn the heating off about 5. www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/co-sleeping/
Lullaby trust is a great one to read.
Not sure about it but you can buy little self contained nests for the bed just search co sleeper bed eBay. I never wanted to co sleep as I was scared but such better sleep!

furryleopard · 05/10/2017 08:09

Don't forget to tie long hair back too. I would wear a shirt nighty so boobs out but I was covered, a blanket tucked around my waist so the ends were behind me and sort of prawn round my DD. The pillow was behind my head so I was on it but she wasn't. We adjusted the cot so it was same level as our bed and DD slept on that side with DH behind me so he wasn't near her. DD slept in a sleeping bag so was plenty warm enough but she became adept quickly at snuggling in to me if cold. You'll find you don't move all night just stay in that prawn shape! It goes without saying surely don't drink, don't smoke etc... before cosleeping.

It saved my life changing to cosleeping, I was living on about 2 hours sleep a day and had started hallucinating and seeing lights flashing in the night. I was getting deeper into PND when my doctor said 'look up safe cosleeping and don't tell your health visitor' that was at about 6 weeks.

To me you only need to look at mammals in the wild to realise that kipping next to your mum is what we should do.

Needalifeoverhaul · 05/10/2017 08:23

I did/do exactly the same as liquoricepickle explains. I couldn't function on the less than two hours sleep a night I ws getting so resorted to co sleeping at 4 weeks and it was a game changer. I was actually able to get a bit of decent sleep!

Firstimefreaked · 05/10/2017 08:25

Tuck your blanket under your mattress X oh furry it's so nice to sleep X I'm currently rocking the free boob.

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