Hi there, my little boy is due in march 2014. i am interested in the co sleeping option. my husband works 4 nights a week and i want the baby close at hand for feedings. i plan that when he is home the baby be next to the bed in a bassinet or pack and play. but i am not sure what options are best for in the bed when he isnt home. can anyone give me any tips on how is best to do co sleeping?
thank you!
Re: co sleeping??????????
ETA: I had an emergency CS and needed DH to lift DS out of the pack and play for me for the first few weeks (we didn't have the higher bassinet attachment) but not sure how much easier a co sleeper would have been.
BFP#1: 11.22.2012 EDD: 7.22.2013 DS Born 7.24.2013
BFP#2: 11.26.2014 EDD: 7.25.2015 *chemical confirmed 12.08.14*
We have bed shared with all of our kids and will with the one I am expecting as well. I never used any of the fancy nest or whatever just made sure our bed was safe and free of risk. You can find the safety guidelines by googling but just a quick rundown for you
Limit pillows and blankets-My husband and I each have 1 pillow that we put under our fitted sheet so there is no way for it to accidently get moved over on top of babies face. We sleep with a thin blanket pulled up to about waist level.
Nobody should be under the influence of anything-It goes without saying to skip drugs of course but also remember alcohol, cough medicine or pain meds. Anything that may make you drowsy and affect your sleep cycle. My husband sleeps on the couch if he has a beer when our babies are under a year old. Once they are over a year I don't worry as much because they are pretty mobile on their own.
Another warning is if parents are obese. This is not an issue for my family but I still have mixed opinions on this particular guideline. But in the interest of full disclosure I included it.
Bedsharing can absolutely be very safe but you just have to know the risk and how to avoid them. For two of our kids I made our crib a sidecar just to have a little extra room on the side of the bed. For our 3rd we had a bigger bed and the sidecar wasn't necessary.
And you should never have your baby sleep in a boppy no matter where they are sleeping.