Co sleeping

stringer.tabitha

I posted this in another board and one of the responds sent me here. And it seems you guys may can help me. My baby boy is due in march 2014. My hubby works 4 nights a week. I was interested to see if you guys could help me figure out some options for co sleeping. I am considering a "snuggle nest" style in bed sleeper for the nights that the hubby isn't home. And a pack and play on the 3 nights that he is home.

Also I am looking around online for info and not finding much. I am getting mostly adds for co sleepers. Do you guys know of any good informative sites I can try?

Emerald27

A lot of women here cosleep and/or bedshare with their babies. I bedshared with DS until he turned 2, and now we cosleep with him on a twin-sized mattress next to my side of the bed. We've loved every minute if the snuggles, ease of breastfeeding, and connectedness provided us through cosleeping.

There are a number of great resources on cosleeping and bedsharing, and on it's benefits and how to do it safely. I'd start with these:

La Leche League:
https://www.llli.org/faq/cosleep.html

Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory, Notre Dame:
https://cosleeping.nd.edu

Nighttime Parenting, By Dr. William Sears:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0452281482

Sweet Dreams: A Pediatrician's Secrets for Baby's Good Night's Sleep, By Dr. Paul Fleiss:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0737304944

Emerald27

I would also recommend reading the book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. It is about much much more than just breastfeeding; really touching on every aspect of parenting an infant and toddler in an accessible, enjoyable way. It contains information about sleep and cosleeping, realistic expectations for infant sleep, etc., that you might find very helpful to have read in advance of your baby's arrival.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0345518446

nosoup4u

Get a king-size bed, and put it on the floor. Have a plan for either you and baby, or for your DH to sleep somewhere separately if needed. I hated the Snuggle Nest, and found it easier for my kids to sleep near me, in their own space (I would scoot away after they were done nursing). Eventually they would start sleep next to me when they got a bit older. Noise machines are a godsend, and just stay flexible and do what works.

The Dr. Sears Baby Book has good cosleeping info in it.

stringer.tabitha

i will def look into those books! thanks ladies!

musicalmama5

I second the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. I've read it twice, once while pregnant and once when DS was about 4 months. Such a great book.

I think cosleeping is easiest with baby just in bed with you, so I don't have any advice about co-sleepers. Emerald gave you some great links!

LindsayPDX

We are hoping to upgrade to a King size bed for this LO and I plan to either get these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B72JOQQ/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1UIHBKCLF6G90

Or splurge on this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LTN72S/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3PK8E817PDOG5

With my first, he needed to be skin to skin or mouth to boob all night. The snuggle nests and Arms Reach wouldn't have helped at all. I wasn't prepared to bedshare with him but eventually we did. It was a lifesaver!

The book Sleeping with Your Baby by James McKenna has some really important and great safety tips. I definitely recommend it in addition to the other great books other ladies have already suggested.