Co-sleeping stories

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My DS is 10mo and from 6mo we put him to sleep in his own cot in his own room. At some point during the night he wakes and we bring him into our bed. We never made a conscious decision to co-sleep, it just happened naturally. DS sleeps better, DP and I sleep better and we're all happy with the set up. Despite this we get lots of negative comments, MIL especially likes to point out that at best we'll live to regret it as DS won't ever sleep alone again and at worst, it's tantamount to child neglect as we could kill DS .

I just don't understand why all the negativity about co-sleeping in the UK. I'd love to hear how other co-sleeping parents have got on. How long did you co-sleep for and how did the transition to their own bed go?

I always co-slept with my son in the 1980s, he had a tendency to have nightmares and I liked having him there.
It's so much easier when a baby is right there next to you in his cot, it's nice not to actually have to get out of bed.

Seeing as there are so many mums talking about co sleeping in here, can I ask for some opinions about the whole connection of weening and sleep?

Our almost 11 month old is barely weened, co sleeps and feeds loads and loads, EBF which I enjoy and plan to do for as long as possible.

Very disinterested in food and takes a few nibbles of everything but no massive amounts being consumed.

Anyone else have a slow starter with food? How did it improve?

She also doesn’t sleep that well and she is in with us for pure ease of feeding.

Would just love to hear about the general age people made transitions into their own cots etc?

Thanks very very much xx

All babies (like people) are different, they wean at different ages, like walking! If you sit at the table with her when you are eating , let her try the food you're eating . If you just put her in a high chair and spoon a jar into her , she won't get much idea.

I used to give mine their own baby spoons and and sippy cups with their bowls of sloppy food too. (this was before BLW!) If she eats later on in the day you may find she sleeps better , mine did!

I coslept with ds until he was over 2 then he wanted a big boy room.
DD was a dream sleeper - down to 1 feed at 5 weeks , slept through at 8 weeks and hated sharing her sleeping place .
Ignore the nasty comments, DS is now 23 years old and doesn't ask to sleep with us 😂😂😂

We co-slept with DD until she was 22 months. I was still night feeding until 19 months when I night weaned her (I just slept in the spare room for a few nights and she slept with daddy - she cried the first night then was fine). We then all slept together again until she moved into her own room in a toddler bed at 22 months, mainly because I had just got pregnant. Her bedroom had been set up for ages (basically since she was born!) and we played in there a lot so she loved the bed so slept happily in there from the first night and now (26 months) refuses to get in our bed even if invited!!

The only person who gave me major grief about co-sleeping (and breastfeeding beyond a year) was my mum! I just kept saying that I was just doing what was best for us, I don't think she really got it and imagine she will be just as critical with the next one as I intend to do the same 😀. Everyone has their opinion but if something is working for you then don't let anyone guilt you out of it - they are all different, do what you need to do xxx

I miss co-sleeping with my two year old DD. Had to stop when I fell pregnant as we knew it would be tough probably impossible to do safety with a newborn.
Took a few weeks but she’s happily in her own bed every night and easily put back if she wakes.

I loved the cuddles and closeness. Sure I miss it more than her.

I'm not sure if there is a relationship between sleep and weaning. Agree with pp though, stick the baby in a high chair and they join you at mealtimes - give them some of your dinner to play with and it will come together when the baby is ready. Opportunity to play with food is good, as is opportunity to watch adults (and older children) eating. We did finger food and spooned puree/mashed stuff as and when it seemed appropriate, you don't have to do one or the other.

I think the saying "food before one is just for fun" is quite reassuring - milk is food, solids are toys!

With my first we started co sleeping when he was 3 months old. We tried to transition him from moses basket to vot and he was having none of it! He slept in our bed from then on until he was two. I've never regretted it as it meant we all got some sleep. He still comes into our bed regularly but has been doing it less and less. We also have a spare mattress next to his bed so that we can settle him without taking him into our bed.

With my second who is now 4 months old, we have coslept since getting home from hospital! She is in a cot with the side down attached to our bed. It works well as she has her own space but is still close enough for cuddles and lying-down feeds. We have a king size bed so even when my son joins us there is a comfortable amount of space for everyone. My baby is a decent sleeper, and she can self-soothe already - a trick her brother has yet to master! Maybe I'm just luckier second time around but I like to put it down to the fact that she has always felt secure sleeping so near to us ;).

Another fan here - until they start moving around at night! But cosleeping makes the first six months lovely rather than horrendous IME

LittleKiwi Yours is a wonderful mantra for co sleeping:

Co sleeping makes the first six months lovely rather than horrendous

So true!!!!

I would also add don't fight it, go with the flow It's how we are biologically programmed to bring up our babies.

I co-slept for 3 years with my dd. We moved her into her own room and bed a few months ago and she thought it was brilliant. Sometimes she will wake at night and come into us but that's very rare. She goes down easily also