Co-sleeping bedtime/waking up

[louiseailsa]

Hi all, DS is almost 6 months and has been in a Chicco Next2Me since birth. My solution to getting breakfasted and showered in the mornings is to wake up at 6 and leave DS to sleep in the crib until 7. The Next2Me is supposed to be only up to 6 months and I was thinking of just removing it soon and letting DS co-sleep, but not sure what to do about leaving him alone in the big bed if OH and I are both up early, or if we've put him down to sleep at his bedtime and want to (luxury!) go and watch tv downstairs before going to bed ourselves. How do other co-sleeping parents manage this?

A side step to this issue would be to swap the next to me crib for a full sized sidecar cot, see image.

This is a normal, regular cot or cotbed with one side removed (easily done with an Allen key, they are all flat pack)

In the morning I shower etc after LO is up.

In the evening I put him to sleep in the big bed with firm pillows on either end. I put a monitor on so I can see if he starts stirring. But he usually doesn’t move much! I just go downstairs once he is asleep to watch tv etc.

We left ours (dc3 is 7m now) in our king-size bed.

By 6m they're strong enough to push the duvet off if they're too hot/it's in their face. They might fall/crawl out of bed but it's pretty rare and they're unlikely to do themselves a serious injury doing so. If they're particularly wriggly we put a pillow on the edge of the bed.

Travel cot
Pillows either side in bed
Bring his cot in your room