Sitting with baby while he’s sleeping

[Newbiemum76]

Hi, just looking for some advice.

My LO is 5 months(will be 6 months old in 2 weeks), he’s never been a great sleeper but we took the side off the cot and have it next to our bed now. The past few weeks he’s fell asleep on me and I’ve put him down in the cot, he’ll stay asleep for a few hours, wake for a feed (formula fed) and go back to sleep but will roll into our bed and sleeps next to me for the rest of the night.

He usually goes down between 7-8pm and I will then sit next to him in bed and chill on my phone while he’s asleep, then I’ll go to bed myself later on.
He can stir but will go back to sleep if I hold his hand or his arm. I’m worried he’s not going to be able to settle himself (he can’t in the day for naps, he’s usually rocked by me to sleep if not in car/pushchair) Should I be leaving him alone after he’s gone down to sleep so he can settle himself? Or is he too little still and I should stay next to him if he wakes? Thanks!

I think there isn’t a ‘should’ to be honest. Do what works for you. If you’re happy staying with him, carry on. If you’re not, you can try leaving him and see how that goes.

for reference I have an 8 month old and I haven’t ‘taught’ him to self settle. Sometimes he sleeps through, other times he doesn’t, and if he’s very unsettled we cosleep.

the only thing I’m not sure about is the safety aspect - you say cot is next to bed with side down. Is that safe? I can’t visualise it properly, but is there no way he could roll out/off, or conversely get stuck ?

@Maria1982 i want to try not sitting with him as sometimes me moving wakes him up. No the mattress is attached to ours, our mattress and his cot mattress are at the exact same height, there’s no gaps for him to fall down, I would like to put the side back on at some point as I think that would stop him rolling into bed with us 🤞🏻