Co- sleeping...by accident...thoughts??/

[macdoodle]

Ok this is freaking me out - I am single parent to 2 girls - DD1 is 6 and sleeps lovely all night in her own bed no problems..
DD2 is nearly 6 months and a good baby sleeps well and exBF until few weeks ago when I went back to work 3 days a week - am still BF bed time feed, any night feeds and early morning feed and sometimes in the day when I am not working.... she usually sleeps in her cot in her own room and maybe 7/10 nights sleeps through and if she wakes usually just once for quick feed and straight back to sleep...
For the last few nights I have woken early hours to discover baby in bed with me latched on and absolutely NO recollection of waking up and getting her - I have no idea how long she has been there, how many times or how long she has fed ....
The feeding itself is not the problem - it is the fact that I am so unaware that she is in bed with me or getting her there - last night I woke to crying baby that I was trying to latch on (in my sleep) who clearly didn't want to feed ...am worried that I am getting her in my sleep when she isn't even crying or awake and trying to feed her when she doesn't want/need to......when I took her back to her cot last night she settled straight back to sleep with no feed .....
What should I do???

mmm...you must be sooo tired to not know that youre getting up...unless you're sleepwalking???

Well I am tired have just gone back to busy stressful job 3 days a week - 2 of which are 10 hour days and single mum is hard work...but I also have a history of sleepwalking which is worrying me more TBH!

hmm, i think if youre sleepwalking there isnt much you can do about it is there? can you get someone to stay over and wake you? or... set up a video camera or something?

it's happened to me = ds is asleep in his basket nd i wake up with him on me...

sleep deprivation....

id say being overtired is triggering the sleepwalking then. so long as all youre doing is cuddling/trying to feed the baby when asleep i dont suppose theres anything to worry about? what are you worried about? messing up her routine? or more?

I think sleepwalking happens more when your stressed too.

If it's any consolation I do this all the time. DS is just there in bed with me in the morning, and DP can tell me that I went to get him, and fed him, and settled him next to me, then went to sleep - none of which I will remember at all!

To be honest I would just make sure you're following safety guidelines (like moving your bed against the wall) - I think we can probably credit ourselves with quite a lot of common sense when on autopilot, even in our sleep. Obviously avoid alcohol/drugs/cigarettes and follow SIDS safe co-sleeping advice, and maybe put her to bed in a vest and covers so she doesn't overheat if she's in with you all night.

I'm also working long days and totally shattered, and co-sleeping has saved my life. I honestly think I'd have keeled over by now if it wasn't for the extra bit of sleep it affords me. I would just go with it if I were you

I do this all the time and I don't work!

Tbh, I'd go along with IAteRCForB, even asleep, you know they are there and are careful, and as long as it is a natural sleep. I've done this with my older two as well, and it really does save your sanity.

Thanks all its the lack of awareness that she is there that worries me - last night she was UNDER my duvet - so she had sleepsuit (no vest), grobag and mummy's duvet and her little head was a bit hot ....Am going to sleep with just a sheet on me tonight as am really worried she will overheat if I do it again
Am also a bit irked that I may be waking her up and trying to feed her unneccesarily IYSWIM .....I have no idea whether she cried or I just got her anyway - I was certainly trying to ram my nipple into a tightly closed mouth and she was grizzling as if to say "leave ne alone"