Safe co-sleeping

[WelshMammy123]

Hi.

I posted a thread the other day about my 5 month old and what I suspect is the sleep regression. I've decided to try co-sleeping to see if this helps.

Can anyone advise how to safely co sleep in a way that's practical as well. For example our bed is not against a wall which means LO (who is rolling) could in theory roll out. How do you create a blockade to stop this happening but without running the risk of them pressing up against it and unable to breathe? How do you get comfy?

Any advice would be appreciated. I've read up on it but practical advice is hard to come by x

A mesh bed guard is great for preventing rolling out. And they’re handy when baby moves to toddler bed, so lots of uses!

So how I did it with dd is - no pillow on her side, mine right at the top of the bed and as far away as possible. She was in line with my boobs, so out of the way. I then put my duvet around my waist and the extra behind me hanging off the bed, so it would fall off rather than onto her. I slept on my side facing dd, knees up under her and the arm I was laying on was stretched out above her head - this prevents rolling onto them. Boobs out so I could latch and nap.

They’re a bit more robust at 5 months, and usually able to squirm and yell a bit if they’re not comfy. But it’s akways best to be safe as possible. If you do have a dh then I would kick him out whilst co-sleeping, but that’s just me, I never felt safe with two of us and dd till she was a bit older.

I put pillows on the floor in case of roll outs, but it never happened. I co-slept with 3 babies (not all at once). Had a single duvet for me, blankets for the baby.
I sleep very lightly so would wake if there was a noise, it felt perfectly safe. I would not have co-slept with a baby and my DH though, as he is fairly huge and virtually in a coma when asleep.

I slept on my side facing dd, knees up under her and the arm I was laying on was stretched out above her head - this prevents rolling onto them
Yes, me too. I found that I did not move from this position when asleep either.

Thank you so much for your replies - so so helpful! I've just this morning had a chat with DD1 about whether she still needs her bed guard but it hadn't occurred to me to repurpose it for co sleeping. The descriptions you've given have helped me 'see' how it works if that makes sense. DH will be relegated to the spare room.

Did any of you have any difficulty getting them back in their own beds when they were a bit older? X

Nope, when dd turned 1 I started getting her ready for her room. So I put her cot next to me and bf to sleep and put her in there. 9 times out of 10 she would wake up and be furious, but I laid on the bed next to her where she could see me, and let her grumble it out. She eventually realised it wasn’t so bad and went to sleep. Did this for naps and nighttime for about a week and then just popped her in and left and she would sleep. Then into her own room. She’s now 22 months and won’t co-sleep with me even if I wanted her to!

Mine stayed longer than 1 year. I did up their bedrooms and made the change into their own beds an adventure for them. It was easy.

A rolled up towel or swimming pool noodle / woggle under the sheet is also a good barrier. If they are really determined I suppose they could roll over it but mine never did. Just a gentle obstacle to stop them before the edge.