Want to revisit cosleeping. Tips?

musicalmama5

Our journey with cosleeping has been this: we coslept for the first 6 weeks or so, but I wasn't getting any sleep because I'm a terribly light sleeper and was awake with every little sigh and moan. So at 6 weeks, we put him in his PnP in our room. But I was still waking at every slight noise he made so at 8 weeks we put him in his crib in his own room. Phew! I was finally sleeping! All was well and I was feeling really good about our situation, until... TEETHING began a couple nights ago! Now he's up every 2-3 hours, and it's worse than when he was a newborn! I'm completely wiped and want to revisit cosleeping, but I want to make sure it helps me get MORE sleep, not less. 

Add on top of that the fact that I've been reading all these articles about how beneficial it is to cosleep, and that I just really like the idea of it...

Any other light sleepers out there that successful cosleep? Any tips or ideas? Or do I just have to get used to it? 

Emerald27

Studies have shown that mamas who cosleep get more sleep. You'll have to get used to that tiny body next to you, but in the long run you'll sleep more.

When he starts to wake, you can nurse him right away. This will make it so that he doesn't fully wake to nurse and will go back to sleep more quickly and easily.

You can also sleep while he nurses, which gets you more sleep!

I'm sure you'll have to adjust, but you will probably be so so happy you decided to cosleep! The closeness is so valuable an experience too!

TiffanyBerry

It took me a while to get used to it too.  And I am still a lighter sleeper, even when she's not in the room these days.  But it was easier to be woken up by her and not have to GET UP.

musicalmama5

We did it last night, and it went pretty well! LO slept way better. He woke up twice, I think, to nurse. I like that I can say "I think" because it means I was half-asleep though it all. I woke with him at 7ish and felt well-rested, which is more than I can say about the past few days! 

I also like that he never had to actually cry, since I could nurse or snuggle him immediately.

SarahandSam2007

YAY!  Love co-sleeping.  So glad it worked out for you this time around!

Schell2013

Emerald27 said:

Studies have shown that mamas who cosleep get more sleep. You'll have to get used to that tiny body next to you, but in the long run you'll sleep more.

When he starts to wake, you can nurse him right away. This will make it so that he doesn't fully wake to nurse and will go back to sleep more quickly and easily.

You can also sleep while he nurses, which gets you more sleep!

I'm sure you'll have to adjust, but you will probably be so so happy you decided to cosleep! The closeness is so valuable an experience too!

I could of wrote this exactly. You will get used to it, just give it some time.

musicalmama5

Ladies, I need some encouragement. It's been three nights and I'm afraid it's not really helping. He's so wiggly and noisy when he sleeps that it keeps me up even if we're not nursing. I really want to bedshare, but I just don't know if I will get used to it. The past couple mornings, DH has had to take him when he wakes up so I can go back to sleep for an hour or so (which is still not nearly enough), and that's not good for him since he's a musician and works late and needs his beauty sleep too (honestly, I'd almost rather be sleep-deprived than have to listen to him whine about how tired he is lol). 

I think I'll give it a full week, and if I'm still miserable, back to the crib he'll go. Which I don't feel bad about, because he loves his crib, I just wish this would work out for other reasons.

youenjoymyself

We re-started bed sharing about a month ago. DD got to where she wouldn't sleep in her crib at all, so we brought her into our bed so that we could all get some sleep. Best decision we could've made. I work, so nighttime snuggles really help me to stay connected with her. It's also helped boost my milk supply, which had dropped since returning to work. I'm not the deepest sleeper, and some nights are better than others, but, overall, I am so happy with this choice we've made for our little family.

musicalmama5

@jennylyna

How old is your DD?

youenjoymyself

@musicalmama5

She's 5 months.

musicalmama5

OK, so in case anyone is interested... I've given up on cosleeping again. At least for now. As sad as I am about it, it just wasn't worth it for me. I was literally up all night for a few nights, and I'd rather be up every 2 hours than up ALL NIGHT LONG. 

So, here's what we're doing now. When he wakes to nurse, I bring him into bed so I can at least rest while he's nursing. Once he's done and he's back to sleep, I put him back in his crib, and go back to sleep myself. 

Like I said, I'm sad about it, because I really like the idea of cosleeping. But in the end, a happy well-rested (I'll settle for moderately-rested) mommy is what LO needs and deserves, so I gotta get my zzzz's. And he's perfectly happy in his crib, so I don't feel like I'm denying him anything he needs. Oh well. Pick your battles.