reluctant part-time cosleeping - how to do it safely & comfortably?

[TooMuchTV]

ds is 15 weeks and I hadn't planned to co-sleep but seem to end up with him in our bed for at least part of every night. He is waking twice most nights, sometimes more and is difficult to settle after feeds so I often end up feeding lying down in our bed and fall asleep with him there (he wakes if I try to transfer him to his cot)

I worry about him getting too hot or rolling on him - what is the best way to position ourselves? He sleeps in a grobag and dh and I share a duvet (we don't have blankets). I always seem to end up in a really uncomfortable position and my back is killing me...

Bumping for you.

I read (I think in Deborah Jackson's book) that babies can regulate their temperatures to some extent - DS always ends up under ours, but it's been that cold I'm sure it's the best place for him! Mainly you want to make sure he doesn't go under the duvet and get smothered, and make sure pillows can't fall on him. DS tends to sleep either on my arm or in the crook of it and in 20 weeks have never even thought I might roll on him. You really do seem to tune in to them; I woke up one night to find myself holding DS upright, I think he had temporarily stopped breathing and I went straight from a deep dream to wide awake and holding him. It's a weird thing.

HTH a bit?

I am doing the same with DS, my second. Simply cant cope without some co sleeping.

But I am uncomfortable, getting a lot of hip pain. I always sleep on one side if he is in the bed. I take paracetamol and brufen in the morning, and convince myself that the 3 hours of sleep were worth it.

I have also read, and honestly believe after doing it myself that mothers KNOW where their baby is in the bed. So to some extent dont panic about rolling on him yourself.

BUT - Do NOT sleep the baby between the two of you, men it seems do not know where the baby is, so always position yourself between baby and husband.

DO NOT drink, or take sedative drugs and co sleep. It removes your awareness of the baby.

Wear a long sleeved top or two, and push the duvet behind your top arm. I also tuck it between my legs (I sleep on my side) so it is very unlikely to ride over DS.

My DS sleeps very close into my side, and uses my boob as a pillow. I leave him in his bag in this freezing weather, but if it is just normal, I take him out. He doesnt seem bothered either way.

Toomuchtv, I could have written your post, that's exactly what we've been doing with DD who is 22 weeks.

Since we hit the 4 month growth spurt though she has been waking earlier and earlier and whilst I could cope with her in bed from 5AM, I can't from midnight.

So, today we've started pick up/put down sleep training as I'm sure it's so hard to get her back in her crib as she can't be settled without either breastfeeding, rocking or white noise (or all three).

I've done it for 2 naps so far today and also bedtime. She napped for 1.5 hours which is totally unlike her as she can normally only manage 40 minutes at most. Can't tell you what the effect has been on the nights yet.

Just thought I'd offer a different suggestion for you.

(Oh, and I echo what others have said re: co-sleeping, DD stays between me and the end of the bed with a bed rail, not between DH and I).

TooMuchTV - I also ended up sleeping with DS when he was younger just to try to get a bit more sleep (at one stage he was waking up every hour!).

DH was really worried about DS being in the bed with us to he moved to the spare room

But anyway DS was in a grobag and so I made sure that he was on top of my duvet so that he didn't get too warm, but that was also good because then I knew that I wouldn't accidently smother him in the duvet.

HTH