Community› The Bump Message Boards› Attachment Parenting
Attachment Parenting
New Discussion

Does anyone bed share/co-sleep with and infant and older child?

CarajillsCarajills member
in Attachment Parenting
Hello, I'm new to the board! I have a 4 yo son, that has been sleeping in our bed his whole life. I love it, and honestly him falling asleep in my arms is my favorite part of the day. I figured at some point he would just have a desire to sleep in his own bed, and I've never pushed it on him. We just found out I was expecting, due in March, and I'm not sure of the logistics of co sleeping with two. Baby waking everyone up all night, having enough space, etc. I really don't want this to turn into resentment by my son like he's being replaced or anything. Does anyone have experience in this situation? Thank you for reading!
Report Reply to Post

Re: Does anyone bed share/co-sleep with and infant and older child?

  • Emerald27Emerald27 member
    You have a few options, I think.

    1. Will you be putting your mattress on the floor to cosleep safely with the new baby? In that case, you could get a second mattress to push against yours, thus making lots of room for everyone. I'd then keep the 4 year old between you and DH or on the other side of DH, away from the new baby.

    2. You can transition DS into his own bed, but still in your room. FWIW, when I get KU, this is what we plan to do with our DS. We are going to get him a twin mattress that will be his bed, some fun bedding, and put it in his own space in our room (probably with a decal or something fun on the wall above it). Then I'll start putting him to bed there just as I do now, and slowly/gently transition him to sleeping on his own. I would do this well before the baby arrives so that there's no association with replacement, etc., and I'd be prepared for DS to want to come back into our bed a bit when baby arrives...just always between you and DH or on the other side of DH.

    3. You can do step 2 but with the goal of having DS in his own room by the time the baby arrives, and so slowly move the bed out of your room.

    4. (There's always a 4) You could get a cosleeper to push against the bed for the new baby, and continue cosleeping with DS as usual.

    Good luck!
    imageimage
    image
    image
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • MayKay12MayKay12 member
    We did this and I was so worried about it too. We ended up getting a king bed. We had a co-sleeper attached to the bed. My toddler slept in between me and my husband. I would bring the baby into bed to nurse. When the baby got a little older I had my toddler sleep in between the bed rail and my husband and then the baby slept in between me and my husband. They surprisingly rarely woke each other up. My daughter, almost 4, just decided on her own to move into her bed. My 19 month old actually hates her not being in bed with us anymore and cries for her. It is heartbreaking!
    baby 2Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    Report Reply
  • CarajillsCarajills member
    Thank you for ll of your input ladies! We have a king size bed, so maybe this won't be as difficult as I had thought. I'm just glad to hear that it's been done, and there can be a happy outcome for everyone :)
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"