Co-sleeping - talk a novice through the basics

[theUrbanDryad]

i'm thinking of trying co-sleeping with 18 week old ds, and am wondering how others do it? do you and your dh both sleep with the lo? if so, how big is your bed?? what do you do to make sure lo doesn't slip under the covers and do you put them in a sleeping bag or what?

TIA

put them in the middle
make sure neither of you is a) drunk b) stoned c) morbidly obese and you will have to make sure you ahv ea lightweight duvet. Niether of mine ever slipped down under the covers

and be prepared to have tem still in your bed three years later and to have become virtually celibate

superking bed is a real plus - double not big enough (for us, anyway)

if you're worried about the covers - put baby high up the bed with own covers, move your pillows + duvet down the bed. But, as suzy says, it shouldn't be a problem so long as you're not drunk/stoned/on serious prescription meds.

Also, second Suzy on the long-term nature of this - once you've started, be prepared to carry on for some time!

but it's lovely, i wouldn't do it any other way.

Superking-sized bed.
Sleep further down than baby if baby sleeps under your quilt. We put the quilt over his legs and put a fleece blanket over him (top half).
I sleep in the middle but there is a pillow stopping him from falling off, and a crib is wedged up against the bed as well.
I have a feeling it will last for some time.

hmm...i'm not sure i want this to be a long term thing. think we will try till the end of the week with ds in his cot, and if he's still feeding as much by monday morning then i'll co-sleep.

thanks for your advice!!

baby between me and dp in a double, i have my arm across the baby so i wake when they move, neither of mine has ever gotten under the duvet while asleep although ds was down at our feet playing the other morning

have feather duvet so quite breathable anyway.

it's fun! go for it.

i did it from day one with both mine, they start the night in their own cots and get brought in when they wake after i go to bed. dd only came in at about 5am after she was a year and when she was 18 months and ds was born she seemed to decide that 4 was too many people in the bed and stopped! ds is 9 months and still coming in.

What about a co-sleeper that fixes up against your bed? You can still feed without getting out of bed, but have your own spaces.

i tend to hoik him into bed with us at about half 6, the nights just seem to have got harder since he went in his cot from the crib....

Suzywong, you're worrying me.
I seem to be co-sleeping with my 5 month ds now - it happened by default a few weeks ago because I was so knackered I was forever falling asleep during feeds and he has become a pain to settle in the cot.
It's cuddly and lovely but how on earth am I going to stop him doing it?

dances - would that work with just a mattress? we don't have a bed as such, just a king size mattress on the floor. ds started off on a cushion next to me, so he was nice and close, then went to crib next to me, is now in a cot at the end of the bed....means i have to get up to do night feeds rather than just hauling him into bed [sad[

is he toobig for the crib? i kept my maaasssive ds in his til it was actually threatening to crack under his weight as he prefered it.

that said i have rarely gotten past 11/12 pm without him coming into us!

something like this is good

I would sleep on my side with one arm above DS's head and the other over his belly. that way the blanket wouldn't go higher than my arm. my other tip is to wear a cardi to bed over your pjs. my arms always got cold!

he can't spread out, and he sleeps like a starfish in the cot!! (very cute, btw!) actually, this is something else i'm worrying about...starfish ds in the middle, me and dh clinging onto the slivers of bed we have left......

oops x-posts. a mattress beside yours would work as well.

I disagree with SW btw. YOu don't have to be celebate. you just have to be creative!!

I have co-slept with all three of mine.

Dd1 and ds went into their own beds without a problem, but we are still with dd2

She might have gone into her own bed by now if we had pushed it though

ahh, dd was like that. and yes she did take up a huge amount of space in the bed, especially when she went sideways!

A mattress on the floor next to yours would probably work just as well. Does he move around much in his sleep?

SW, no need to become celibate! There are plenty of other rooms in the house... DH and I had been married 19 years when dd came along, it's given us a whole new dimension

weco slept till about 13/14 months.me in middle,ds next to wall and dh on outside(i always heard that cosleeping was safter with baby next to mum?).no pillow(mine turned long way so ds couldnt use it)i tucked duvet round me and ds used grobag.we had matress on floor and whole room was baby safe so fine if he woke but we didnt or if he went bed before us.i miss cosleeping!unfortunatly ds seemed to want his own space so we brought cot bed which is bigger than standard cot so more room for starfish

Kittypants is right, it's much safer if the LO sleeps next to mum on the outisde of the bed. Mums are much more sensitive than dads to the whereabouts of their babies - especially so if they are BF.

You should NEVER co-sleep if you
a) smoke
b) have drunk alcohol (don't have to be drunk)
c) take illegal or prescription drugs that make you drowsy or alter your perceptions
d) are so tired that you would not stir
e) are obese

We took the side off our cot and tied it to the side of our bed, to make a bedside cot. DS sleeps in it by himself until we come to bed, then he rolls over and joins me.