Thoughts on Co-Sleeping?

Kati - posted on 12/19/2009

I co-slept with my son in the beginning. We had a cradle next to the bed, but he would cry when we put him in it or only stay in it for a couple hours a night. He would go right to sleep as soon as I put him on my chest, or held him in bed with me. I loved it, but it made me nervous & it wasn't good sleep for me.

Now he is 7 weeks old son & I only co-sleep with him in the mornings. Around 10pm we go to the nursery & I rock/feed/sing/read with him until he falls asleep, & he stays in the crib until at least 7 the next morning. He does wake up for a feeding at least once, but he goes back in the crib when he's done & asleep again. (No, he won't go down if he's awake.) After 7 I bring him to bed with me for a couple hours before Daddy leaves for work. It's a nice bonding time for us as a family but doesn't let him get used to always being there with us.

Lise - posted on 12/18/2009

Quoting Dallely:

I co-sleep with my 7 week old baby and with my 22month old girl..so yes it is hard to make them sleep on their own later on as they grow up, and i don't know what to do to make her sleep on her own...n I'm doing it again with my boy for the same reasons u do..I do worry about time with my hubby but I am sure we will figure something out.. :)
Also Im a little worry about all the books that say that cosleeping is not safe and increases SIDS..what are your thoughts on this??

UNSAFE co-sleeping can increase the risk of SIDS - such as someone sleeping with a baby who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  SAFE co-sleeping actually DECREASES the risk of SIDS.  We learned that in our baby class.  

Lise - posted on 12/18/2009

I co-sleep. She spends some time in her bassinet or our bed alone (with a lot of safety barriers in place!) when my hubby and I want some time to ourselves. Don't worry about her getting stuck on it. I work with children (behavioral therapy) with special needs, and weaning from the bed is not too hard - some kids whose parents never tried and have co-slept for 8+ years! You can just start laying down with her in her bed for a little bit and slowly lower the time you lay with her. She'll get used to being by herself! And some babies choose it on their own - due to a cool new bed, or pacifiers only being allowed in their beds, etc.

Dallely - posted on 12/18/2009

I co-sleep with my 7 week old baby and with my 22month old girl..so yes it is hard to make them sleep on their own later on as they grow up, and i don't know what to do to make her sleep on her own...n I'm doing it again with my boy for the same reasons u do..I do worry about time with my hubby but I am sure we will figure something out.. :)

Also Im a little worry about all the books that say that cosleeping is not safe and increases SIDS..what are your thoughts on this??

Crystal - posted on 12/15/2009

My son and I co-sleep most of the night. My husband works over nights, so on those nights the baby sleeps with me. On nights when my husband is home, he sleeps in the crib in our room. He also naps in his crib in his own room durring the day. He started out sleeping full time with the both of us, but we started having him start out sleeping in the crib in our room and when he woke up then bring him into our bed, now he's used to sleeping in both places.

Aeriel - posted on 12/14/2009

We co-sleep with our 10 week old for the same reasons as you. My husband sleeps in the bed with us, but he goes to bed earlier that way by the time we come in to bed he is fast asleep and in a deep sleep and he feels safer. He's one of those people who jerks awake in the beginning of his sleep and he's worried that if the baby is in there for the first few hours of his sleep he will hit the baby or something. I too make sure that my LO sleeps in his crib during the day so that he doesn't become dependent on sleeping with me all the time. My hubby and I take our alone time early in the morning...shower time. ;) I worry that getting my LO to sleep overnight in his own crib is going to be difficult. But I think I will try when I wean him from breast, its just too tiring to get out of bed at 4 am to feed and take the hour to work on getting him back to sleep.

Tiffeny - posted on 12/14/2009

I am the same way,my baby sleeps in bed with me alot but during the day I get her to sleep in her crib so that way she dosent get used to just sleeping in bed with me.I love that bonding feeling :] I know they have this thing called a sassy baby sleep http://www.target.com/s/184-2752710-5975... theres the link if you want to check it out.It keeps the baby safe :]