question from a newbie on cosleeping/bedsharing

rubber_chicken

our first is due in a few weeks, and we're planning on having the baby in our room beside our bed in a bassinet.  one of the reasons we're doing this is because i'm planning to breastfeed and it seems easier and less disruptive to everyone's sleep.

but at our childbirth/newborn care class, the nurse recommended changing the baby before feeding so if the baby falls asleep while feeding, you don't have to wake him to change him.   i'm embarrassed to admit that changing the baby at night never even occurred to me, and it sounds like we can expect to change him almost every time he wakes to feed. 

so how do you ladies handle that? do you get out of bed to change the baby, then go back to bed to breastfeed? do your partners change the baby and then hand him to you?

SilliRy

You won't have to change the baby forever at night...I think i was probably around 5-6 weeks that my DD stopped pooping at night and she could go all night without a diaper change. But yes, when they're very little you should change their diapers before feeding. I always got out of bed, brought DD to her room to be changed, then nursed her on the couch in the living room or the rocker in her room and then went back to bed once she fell asleep again. It didn't make sense to me for DH to get up too...one of us might as well get some sleep! After she stopped pooping at night we went to full night bedsharing and didn't get out of bed to nurse.

Good luck! 

monksmama

We bed share from day one.

I keep a changing pad, diapers, wipes and a small tap light at the foot of the bed. When baby wakes I sit up, put him between my feet on the pad on the bed and change him by the tap light.

Once you get the hang of it, changing baby takes less than a minute and IME, not going into another room, turning on lights etc. keeps everyone sleepy.

 

ACAsomeday

Many babies don't mind sleeping in a wet diaper. After about a month you don't necessarily need to change em at night, as long as it doesn't bother them and em aren't getting a diaper rash or blowing out.

nosoup4u

I understand where that nurse was coming from, but my older son would seriously nurse, poop, then fall asleep. So just keep in mind you might have a baby like that.

We stopped changing overnight once our kids stopped pooping with every nursing session. DS1 was probably around 5-6 weeks, and DS2 might have been the same, I can't really remember.

My DH would get up and change them - we keep the changing table in our room in the beginning. He has no problems falling asleep, so it wasn't a big deal for him to get up. I do remember getting up and changing my fair share, though. If you are going to have a changing station in your room, find a dim light that's bright enough to see by - we never got one of those, but I always meant to. That way it's still dark for the baby and whoever is still in bed.

rubber_chicken

thanks for the advice! unfortunately there is really no space in our bedroom for changing stuff - we've got as much crammed in there as possible already.  but we have a guest bed in the baby's room, so maybe i'll just sleep in there with him to start, at least until the overnight diaper changes subside.  i'm sure my husband will love that (he doesn't get paternity leave and will be back at work as soon as we're home from the hospital).

TiffanyBerry

We had a cosleeper next to our bed, and I just did diaper changes in that.  Extra cloth diapers to stick under her butt for the change if poopy.

dcox777

my son liked to poop every time I nursed him...lol...so there was no changing before, always after.  But like others have said, it doesn't go on forever. 

what we did (since my hubby had to go to work in the morning) is when he woke next to me I brought him into his room which has a rocker and changing table and would nurse him both sides (he always pooped during the 2nd boob) and then change him and back to bed we'd go.....hubby never woke...and then up another 1.5 or 2 hours later.  I only had a night light in his room, but it was enough light where it was placed to do the trick so he (or I) weren't woken up by bright lights.  One thing I read AFTER our constant night-changing was over was to put a red light bulb in a small lamp...I guess it gives enough light for changing, but babies eyes don't really notice the red so much so it won't startle them...  I might try that with baby #2...

every baby is different though - you'll get into a groove in no time

and ps...after he stopped pooping every feeding then he'd just end up sleeping next to me all night and I'd pull out a boob when needed and we'd both fall back asleep.  It was heaven.... 

danigirl7181

I would change LOs diaper between boobies. It would wake her up enough for her to eat more. I had a changing pad, some wipes, and a couple diapers next to the bed and just did it right on the bed.

redheadinlove

Our diapers and diaper pail (we cloth diaper) are right next to the bed. I did that specifically so I wouldn't have to get out of bed. I change her on the bed.

cecilyandgautam

Usually my baby needs a change *after* a feeding, not before, so it would be kinda pointless to change before the feeding. I hand my baby off to hubby once the feed is done and honestly, our baby doesn't wake up half the she gets changed. 

footnotegirl

Hubby wakes up, changes LO and then hands her to me to nurse. In the early days, he would then also take her back and put her to bed for me, but now I do that and just let him sleep once I start nursing.