co sleeping - positive stories??

[Rachski]

DD has been waking up at about 1am every day wide awake (shes 8mo). I can't put her down again in her cot as she gets all realxed, waits until I've crept all the way to the door then starts to cry out. We did try controlled crying a couple of months ago when her sleeping was beyond awful but I am a complete wuss and was unable to keep up with this. Anyway, I have been bringing her to bed with us and she sleeps right through to 7am which is lovely! Am I making a horrible mistake? Has anyone had similar and found it to work ok for them? We don't have too much problem with her in the bed with us but will she still be there at 10yo?? Am I overthinking the matter?

My dd was an applling sleeper so started to co-sleep when she was 2 weeks old. She's now 18 months and I still cosleep. We've just come back from a holiday abroad and as dh and I had twin beds (not our choice!) I popped dd into the cot and she slept there all night without a problem - although did wake up slightly earlier.

I've always thought I would cosleep until she was around 2. Now we're back home I still put her to bed in our bed - I just like it - she's so lovely and snuggly. Also - I prefer the later mornings!

To put her to bed I just give her a bottle of cows milk as I've stopped bf which she drinks and then she turns to her side and goes to sleep

I'm quite relaxed about the sleep thing these days. I wasn't to start with - she never slept and I was a sleep depraved wreck. Other mums kept talking about cc and making sure that babies were able to self settle. It was like the holy grail and I found impossible to achieve.

In the end - I just relaxed - just do what feels right and it will be right. I read a fab book here it will challenge what all the 'routine' and what baby 'should' be doing books. It's well researched and made a lot of sense.

Rachski, I started co-sleeping reluctantly when dd was 5 months as I was going insane from her wakings. I now love it. It works for us. She is 4.9.

When you co-sleep happily with a child, something special binds her to you. It goes beyond bedtime. I am sure my dd has always been cuddly to begin with but I cannot help but marvel and what a loving and sensitive girl she is to me. Yesterday, I apologised because I knocked into her, and she looked at my face and pulled it down to her so she could give me a comforting kiss. At her lunchtime ballet class, she ran up to me when it was over and gave me lots and lots of hugs - I was the only mother to get this. She is incredibly proud of me even though I don't deserve it.

Mind you, I am not the perfect parent and neither is she the perfect daughter. I can get shouty. But I do feel co-sleeping helps to soothe the rifts in the day and mend bridges.