Attachment Parenting
FyreFlyeRush
member
Soft Mattress and Co-Sleeping Options
FyreFlyeRush
member
Does anyone have any suggestions for cosleeping/bedsharing with a soft mattress? My little guy won't sleep in his crib for more than 10min. But, being a post SIDS family (nephew@3.5mos), I don't want him on my super soft mattress. Right now, I sleep reclined against the wall, and he sleeps on my chest. It's not the best arrangement, and I'd like to get him into his crib before SIDS peaks at 2-4mos. But, first, I've got to get him sleeping some where other than my chest. Most people I've talked to say to let him CIO, but A) at three weeks he's a little too young, and 
I don't believe in CIO as a rule.
An Arm's reach co-sleeper is out of my range while I'm not working (I'm a single parent)
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Re: Soft Mattress and Co-Sleeping Options
I am so sorry to hear about your nephew. Was he bed sharing when it happened?
What we ended up doing was sidecarring the crib to our bed.
He was on the sofa that night. He'd fallen asleep there and my sister chose not to move him. She said she knew something was wrong when she woke up and it was light outside. There were a lot of "factors". My BIL smoked in the house and around my sister during pregnancy, they lived in the desert an didn't have AC, she placed him on the sofa in another room, my sister was a young mom, my BIL has native American blood. They've since had another child, and IDK how they survived the first 6mos. These first three weeks have made me crazy!
I know that it's unlikely the same will happen to my little Alien, but it still scares the crap out of me. I have him nap in a PNP during the day so he's in the same room, and I peak over the side all the time to make sure he's still breathing. there's so much evidence that co-sleeping and even bedsharing reduce SIDS. I've noticed that all anti-SIDS bedsharing seems to be more aimed at suffocation, accidental rolling over, etc that I've seen little that say bedsharing actually INCREASES the chance of SIDS. However, my mattress is SUPER soft, and I'm not willing to chance it.
I'm thinking about telling his father to fork over 150$ and get the Arm's reach mini bassinet. The last time I asked him for financial assistance, he called me a money hungry female dog, accused me of sleeping around, and demanded a DNA test. *sigh* Hard to believe he's 32!
Does your big kid have a firmer mattress? Perhaps you could trade beds for a while. I co-slept with my son in a single for the first few months, and it was fine. I put it against the wall on one side and bought a rail for the other.
Also, if you want an ARC, watch craig's list. I got mine used for $50. It's old, but those things are built to last.
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Sorry about your nephew.
With DS we had him in a bassinet at the edge of our bed for about 3 months and then started cosleeping with him as he was a bit bigger at that point.
This time around I had planned to cosleep right away. I was going to get an arms reach cosleeper, but our bed is super high (DH built it and we have drawers underneath) so I don't think the cosleeper will be tall enough and I actually dont want spend the money knowing we will eventually go to straight cosleeping in our bed. I talked to my doctor about and she said we can safetly start cosleeping right away, if we followed the "rules." We also have the bassinet out and depending on how comfortable we feel may use that for a bit. I would suggest starting with a bassinet or cosleeper until you are comfortable. Eventually the little ones get big enough that it just feels more comfortable (or at least that was the situation for us last time around).
How using about the Rock-n-Play? You can side car a crib to a bed by using bungee cords (or maybe zip ties?), and lashing the frames together.
Both my kids were side-sleepers from little on...maybe that would work with getting him to sleep more independently? It's not considered tummy sleeping. hth
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)