bedsharing ~ not sure

Weincraft · December 2011

Hi everyone!

I just found this board, it is my 1st post I am a new mommy.. we have a 6 week old preemie ~ who was born 5 weeks early.. Anyways, I was reading a few of the other posts about bed sharing.. we currently do a little bit of everything with our DD.. she sometimes starts out with me in bed, or in her RnP.. (she has reflux and is little so we dont let her sleep at night in her crib, only naps ~ and it has a wedge to help with laying flat) Anyways... she really only sleeps well when swaddled, but I was reading she shouldnt be.. and then also we have a co-sleeper inbetween us in our bed.. do others use them as well? I put her in it sometimes but mostly when she sleeps with us she is next to me directly.. she doesnt like to lay with my husband! haha!

Just wanted to know what others do... I honestly am not sure what we plan to do when she is older as I never really believed in co-sleeping or bed sharing.. I do know she sleeps better when we are together.. but I am currently so crowded on our bed with the co-sleeper, husband and dog (who is not leaving the bed.. so that is out of the question!) I am wondering if I need the co-sleeper AHHH. HELP!

pixieprincss · December 2011

Congratulations on your baby!

LO slept swaddled until he was 9 months old and he started crawling. We tried to get him out of the swaddle earlier and he would have none of it. Swaddled babies don't have free arms to "defend" themselves, which is why swaddling and bedsharing don't mix. Here is our solution: DS slept in his side-carred crib next to me. I would angle him with his feet or feet and legs touching my hips, but his head and torso would be away from my body. That way, he couldn't roll into me (not that he was a roller) and I couldn't trap him if I rolled (which I never have because nature makes me SOOOO aware of him even while I sleep). Now that he is unswaddled, we lay next to each other and cuddle more and we have more of a bed-sharing configuration.

Bed-sharing with a pet is a safety risk and swaddling+bed-sharing is a risk, so it sounds like utilizing a cosleeper or a side-carred crib might be the thing to do.

Weincraft · December 2011

Maybe the next time she needs to sleep with me.. we always have in her in the RnP next to us if she doesnt need me... I will unswaddle her before I put her next to me...

The problem with the dog is that he has never NOT slept with us.. so that will be more of a struggle then the baby! Plus he isnt a big dog, and is almost always at our feet.. he has never been an issue as of yet.. so I am not too worried about him to tell you the truth.. I just never knew about the swaddling thing.. so I dont want to put her at risk if she has to be with me to sleep.

tokenhoser · December 2011

I ended up sharing a bed with LO, but in order to do that I left our main bed to DH and the cat. I curled up with baby in a twin in his room where it was safe. A cosleeper wouldn't have helped me, as he always fell asleep nursing and I always fell asleep nursing. I did buy a bed rail to give me peace of mind.

I didn't intend to bedshare, but I was so tired that's what we did. Once I knew it's what was happening, I made it as safe as possible. There are guidelines here.

You could just buy a single or full mattress and put it on the floor in the nursery.

urbanflowerpot · December 2011

Hello! I'm a fellow preemie mom - DS was 10 weeks early and while we'd planned on co-sleeping (same room - one BR appt) we never thought we'd bedshare but that's what wound up working for us. DS had/has silent reflux and came home on an apnea monitor for bradys and was on it for four months (UGH!). I found sleeping with him propped against me to be our lifesaver, though with prems you do have to take some extra care in following "the rules." It sounds like your bed is a busy place - and I would avoid putting LO in between you and DH - no swaddle, no dog, etc.

GL and visit us on the preemie boards if you'd like!

Weincraft · December 2011

hey Urban.. Im also on the preemie board

thanks! we have 2 extra beds.. so I might end up doing that when she needs me to bed share with her.. so doesnt need it all the time.. some nights are far worse then others and when they are I have her sleeping with me..

Birdies08 · December 2011

My LO didn't really like swaddling, so I lucked out on that one.

We do let the dog sleep with us still sometimes. I try to kick her out and we crated her at night for awhile, but from time to time she ends up in bed with us. I am always curled around LO so my body is between the baby and the dog (the dog sleeps at the foot of the bed). I know that it is not an ideal bed sharing situation, but I do feel comfortable with it. I also kick the dog out most nights- she just sometimes "sneaks" back and I don't want to fight with her. Oh, and she loves to nap with us, ha ha. Anyway, she is very obedient and stays in her part of the bed, so I feel ok about it. It is still not recommended.

Ideally, I would like a side-carred crib. I don't think it's possible with the layout of our bedroom, but we might try when she gets bigger and/or for the next one.

SoxFan777 · December 2011

Getting the dog out of the bed is easier than you think. We have a VERY spoiled dog I've had for years and we simply said "no" and put her on the couch (which is in our bedroom)... She got the hint very quickly and now JUMPS on the couch as soon as we get into the bedroom. It's kindof awesome!

Want a personalized experience?

bedsharing ~ not sure

Re: bedsharing ~ not sure

Choose Another Board

Search Boards