North Carolina Babies

I think we inadvertently started co-sleeping - ?s

Co-sleeping made me pretty uncomfortable with Natalie -- I was too worried I'd roll on her or something.  Well, this time around I'm more comfortable with the newborn stage.  I still didn't plan to co-sleep but I think we may be there right now and I'm not sure how to proceed.  I started sleeping with her in my arms in the hospital except for about 2-3 hr. a night when she went to the nursery.  Now, I can't put her down in the PNP or crib at night without her crying and waking right back up.  It seems so cold in our house so I think it's a warmth issue.  She'll sleep for a little while during the day in the bouncer or something (although she's mostly in ours or our family's arms) but at night I pretty much have to sleep holding her for her to go to sleep.  And then she sleeps great -- I actually have to wake her up ever 2-3 hr to eat (she's not up to birth weight yet, and actually still lower than the hospital).  I'm sleeping better now that I've become more comfortable with her in the bed with us but I still would rather not do this long term -- especially since when I go back to work, she'll need to sleep somewhere during the day other than my arms. 

I know you can't form bad habits at this stage and I should probably just do whatever works at this point but DH isn't comfortable with her in the bed and I would still like to get her comfortable sleeping somewhere other than my arms.  Overall she's a really good baby so far -- she seems to only cry when she's cold (but it's still early Stick out tongue).

So my questions:  If your LO only slept in your arms in the beginning, did they eventually get more comfortable other places within the first few weeks or did it become a weaning issue later?  If you co-sleep, do you have any suggestions to make sure she stays safe in the bed with us?

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Re: I think we inadvertently started co-sleeping - ?s

  • I slept on the couch with Allie in my arms or belly down on my chest for 9 weeks.  Then we moved her pretty easily to her packnplay (with the vibrator on). 
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  • When DS was really tiny (first couple of weeks), he did most of his sleeping on us.  It was the best way for all of us to get sleep at first, so we went with it.  We traded off throughout the night though.  DS would sleep on me for awhile, and then I'd hand him off to DH when I wanted a break.

    He only slept ON us for a week or two (if that long, it's hard to remember).  Then, he slept on the bed next to me for a couple of weeks.  After that, I moved him to his cosleeper, and he stayed in the cosleeper until he was about 3 months old.  He slept great in there and it was a good arrangement for us.  We didn't start cosleeping a lot more (with him in our bed) until he started teething.

    I don't remember having any issues getting DS to sleep next to me or in the cosleeper.  It seems like it was a really easy transition for us. 

    I think that considering that Claire has just come from a warm and cozy womb and is now having to learn how to live in the outside world where it's much colder, it makes perfect sense that she prefers to be cuddled up next to a warm body!  I prefer to cuddle in the winter too.  :)  I think that as she gets older & is able to maintain her body temp better, it'll probably work itself out.

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  • Maybe swaddle or try a sleep positioner in the crib or pnp? We have friends who used the arms reach cosleeper.
  • we still cosleep bc its the only way i can get any rest lol!  ds will sleep for very short intervals in his pnp, but i've found that if i put a heating pad on low in his bed while i feed him, eventually when i move him back to his bed, at least i'm moving him from a warm spot to another warm spot... so it helps him stay asleep and not wake up as easily.    maybe try that?

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  • Welllllll.......you know my issues with getting Keira to sleep in her bed and not with us or in my arms. So you may not want to keep reading haha. 

    That kid slept in my arms ALL. THE. TIME. when she was a newborn. During the day she and I would nap together snuggled on the couch, or either I would hold her and snuggle her while she slept. I loved watching her sleep and I knew she would one day be too big to fit so I ate every moment of that up. She transitioned ok to the crib but slowly she has migrated back to our bed due to screaming issues and waking up and refsuing to go back down alone. Well, now she is almost 9 months old and we are battling to get her to sleep without either being held or sleeping with us. I'm not saying it's because of what I did early on (because I didn't even think that could be it until after you posted!) but it's not always easy getting them on their own. :) good luck! 

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  • I'm a proponent of you let'em sleep where they will sleep when they are little.  Caylee sleeps swaddled in the swing in our room right now and I'm not going to worry about it for another few weeks when we try to transition her to the crib.  Honestly I wouldn't stress about it for a while.  It's most important for you all to try to get some sleep especially with a toddler to take care of too!


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  • Ben wouldn't sleep at night at all for two weeks, then the next two weeks he would only sleep on my chest and then I would lay down in bed with him that way and at some point I would move him over and he would lay snuggled up next to me.  Then at 1 month he slept in his crib and has been there ever since.  He does come to our bed occaisionally, especially when it is colder, but he always wants back in his crib after a little while.  I really don't think you need to worry about forming a bad habit with this situation.

    Of course, you know to keep blankets/pillows away from face and just make sure your DH knows when she comes to bed with you!  :) Mine just learned to sleep way over on the edge because he never knew when Ben was there or not and was scared he would roll over on him.

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  • I didn't read a lot of the other replies but I wanted to tell you what we did with co-sleeping to make it safer for all of us.  We put the changing pad in the bed and put his sleep positioner on top of that.  It elevated him just enough that DH didn't have to worry about rolling over on him and it still kept him close and warm.  Once he got a little older we eliminated the changing pad and sleep positioner and just put him in the bed with me.  The pic below is one DH snapped one night when C and I were out cold that show's you what we did.

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    image Connor Reeves - July 4, 2007 Naomi Raye - January 26, 2011
  • Nolan would only sleep on one of us for the first couple of weeks, so we just went with it. Eventually we started putting him (swaddled) in a bassinet right next to the bed. He wouldn't sleep as long in the bassinet as he would on one of us, so if there was a night when we just needed sleep I just let him sleep on my chest. Eventually he slept longer and longer stretches in the bassinet, and then around 3 months we transitioned him to his crib.

    Honestly, I wouldn't worry about forming a co-sleeping habit at this stage because Claire is still so young. If you're just exhausted and need to put her down, maybe try swaddling her in a snuggly blanket and putting her in an infant swing?

    GL!  Sleep for everyone during the newborn stage is so difficult!

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  • We received the Snuggle Nest for a shower gift...haven't used it yet at night, but we did put him in it for a little while yesterday. It looks a lot like what VivianLee used, except it has hard sides so that you don't roll over on the baby and a small nightlight. The one we have has a built in positioner and a removable wedge.
    M/C #1 BFP 5/26/08, missed m/c discovered 9w1d (blighted ovum) M/C #2 BFP 11/19/08, missed m/c discovered at 12w1d (triploidy) BFP!! 3/27 Due date 12/5/09 Benjamin Tate is here! Born 12-1-09, 9lbs 5oz, 22" via C-Section M/C #3: d/x ectopic, methotrexate given 2/11 BFP!! 7/12, due 3-21-12
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