Co-sleeping While nursing....Did It Work for You?

I too recommend the Arms Reach Co-Sleeper. My daughter slept with us until she was about 4 1/2 months. It made nursing so easy...But I wasn't able to sleep really deep until we got the co-sleeper because I was always worried about her getting smothered! Good Luck

Hello!! I also wondered what I would do when my son was born. It just turned out to be a natural thing for him to sleep in bed with us. My husband was against it in the beginning because he was afraid that he would roll over him. However, it worked out very well for us and he slept with us until he was sleeping through the night (at about 6 months). Many people warned me that he would never get out of our bed. However, we were very lucky and never had a problem. We actually moved him to his own bed because he liked his own space when he slept. Good luck whatever you decide!

I have a 2 1/2 month old daughter who sleeps with me, and let me tell you, it makes it a lot easier to get a little bit more sleep. Most of the time I fall asleep with her still nursing.... The only downside that I've found is that she hardly ever sleeps unless I'm laying with her, and it's definitely harder to get her to sleep by herself.... I don't mind because I like having her that close to me but it may not be for everyone....

Hi E.! I used a co-sleeper for a short time while nursing both of my kids. But I found it took up lots of room in my room. I recently found a small "bed" that sits in your bed. I wish I would have found this sooner! Here is the link to One Step Ahead where I found it... its called the Close & Secure Sleeper http://www.onestepahead.com/product/85210/217761/117.html
I hope this helps! Good luck with your nursing!
C.

Hi E.,
I am a mother of two children ages 8 and 5. They both slept with me and my husband while I nursed them. While it was very easy to nurse in the middle of the night and get them back to sleep...The problem came when we tried to get them into their own rooms after I had weened them. I weened my son at 18 months and he was 3 (shortly after the new baby was born) when we finally got him out of our room. I weened my daughter at 12 months and she too was about 3 when we got her back into her room (only after my mom moved in and shared a room with my daughter). After my mom got re-married and moved out it was very hard to get my daughter to sleep in her own room.

I am not telling you that it is not wonderful to nurse your baby in your bed and sleep with him, but I am just warning you of the consequences we had to face afterward. Perhaps other moms could give you advice as to how to get the baby back into it's own room after you ween?? I just would not recomend it based on my husband's and my experiences. Good luck to you.

J.

E., I used the "inclined to sleep" pillow with wedges(from Babies R Us,Target) when co-sleeping. I also had a co-sleeper bassinet, but it wasnt level with our bed(our bed is very big and very high) so it was very difficult to scoop him up AND support his head from a lying down position. I'd have to get up from the bed and scoop him,then bring him into the bed so I just started putting him in the bed with me at night. The Inclined to Sleep pillow keeps him in position and slightly separated from you so you don't squish him or get too hot. :)

I bought a "thing" that is like a pack n play but it's for little babies and it attaches to the side of a bed for "co-sleeping". I loved it. I nursed my first one and he actually slept in the bed with me... I really liked this much better, I slept more peacefully b/c I didn't worry about my little one -- knew he was safe beside me in his little cosleeper.

Yes on both of my children.
You don't have to prop your child, and you can change sides
the little on sleeps on so you can change breasts. When little
one is full, tilt them a little. You can prop to sleep partially back to side.

Co-sleeping is wonderful, just make sure the des is big enough not to get smothered. And if either parents smoke, then co-sleeping is not recommended. Go to the drsears site, it has great tips. I personally love it. Now, my 10 month old sleepos in his crib, and then around 5:00 am I bring him in to nurse and he co-sleeps with me while daddy is at work. I love it, and my baby does too.

I co-slept with my 6 week old until she was 2 weeks old. I stopped for a few reasons....First of all any time me or my husband moved she would wake up. Secondly, I was scared of her getting used to sleeping with us. I chose to put her in a bassinet at the end of our bed, nurse her when she woke, and replaced her back in her bassinet. She is now 6 weeks old and sleeps in her crib in her nursery

I had a great co-sleeping experience that worked for about 9 months. I actually didn't use any co-sleeper or contoured pad though. I got my sleep, felt connected with baby and loved it.

Poor dad though, we were edging him off the bed and he didn't sleep so well.

Eventually dd went to a crib at the end of the bed. Then transitioned to her own bed by 12 months with very little problem.

Next time around, I plan to co-sleep for less time, to spare dad. He'll have to put up for it a while, then we'll move on when we feel it's right.

Good luck!

I did not nurse my 1st child, but did my 2nd until she was 20 months old. I DID however co-sleep w/both of them until they were both 2 1/2 years old.

I did nurse and co-sleep w/my second, with no problems at all. I too am a light sleeper and just cuddled right into her. My husband is not a light sleeper and I would just move her or move him if he got too close.

I did not use anything w/her in the bed w/me. I just cuddled my body right around hers.

I cannot have anymore babies, but if I did, I would do the same thing w/them as I did the other two!

FYI: Neither of them ever slept in a crib or used a toddler bed. At 2 1/2 I was able to move them right into a twin bed w/no problems at all. they were use to sleeping in a regular bed by then.

Just letting you know that the difficulty of getting a child to sleep in their own room isn't always because you were co-sleeping while nursing. I didn't nurse my 3rd child as long as I would have liked (around 3 months is all) and he didn't move into his own room on a regular basis until he was 4. As for the co-sleeping while nursing, I did that with all 6 of my children. My 17 yo hasn't slept with me for MANY years so they do go into their own room. I loved having them right next to me and being able to nurse them without having to get up. When I tried that, it would take me an hour to fall back to sleep. If you don't want to have kids in your bed at night, then when they get a little older, set a standard of them having to start off in their own room. IF they wake up in the night they are welcome to come in your room. If you don't want to share a bed, let them grab a blanket and sleep on the floor next to your bed. My children all grew up and went in their own rooms eventually. It is more a matter of preference for you and your spouse.

M.

I coslept w/my son (17 months) and am expecting #2 in Jan. I don't PLAN to cosleep (but hey I didn't last time either). We moved my son to his own room at 9.5 months when we became fearful he'd crawl out of the bed in the night! It was a hard transition. He was also always nursed to sleep. I didn't know NOT to do this after a certain time. Then, he became so attached to that as a sleep association that it was hard to break.

I think you do what you have to to survive. We coslept out of sheer desperation, and I loved the closeness to my son (I'd usually end up reverse "spooning" him kind of), yet I was kind of relieved to have my space in my own bed back. My husband did not wake up at a mere twitch, but I did, which also ultimately affected our sleep. My husband's snoring also became a problem. I think the biggest strain was that we had to go to bed when the baby did! That was what I liked most when we got him in his own room. We did it in stages. First at 7 months, we moved the crib to our room. We put him to sleep first in it. Then, when he woke up, he'd still come to our bed. Then, we moved him to the end of our bed. Same, when he woke, he came to our bed. Last, we moved his crib to his room and he went to sleep there and came to our room when he woke. Our son didn't sleep all night until 15 months, which is rare, but after 10 months, there was no more mommy's bed. I had him sleeping on my chest all night b/c he wouldn't sleep and I remember putting him in his crib at 4:45 am and saying this is it! A video monitor let me know he was ok if and when I was finally ready for him to cry it out a little at 10.5 mo.

Basically, I don't want to make the same mistakes this time as last! It was hard to break those habits. Plus, I often wonder if it was our fault he didn't sleep all night for so long.

Email me if you need more help/advice!
R.

My son co-slept with us and it was the only way I ever got any sleep. I moved him to his crib, in our room, right before he turned one at the suggestion of his teacher. He seemed to be afraid of the crib at school. Absolutely panic when put in the crib! Summer 2006 we moved into a house and I knew that my ds would be sleeping in his own room in his own bed. I think that transition was harder on me then him. Now he's two and only gets to sleep in our bed when he's not feeling well, if he wants to. I can't sleep when he's in my bed now. He was sick this past week and slept in our bed between us. My dh and I had our heads going in the same direction and our ds slept the opposite. At one point our ds woke up, but eyes were not open, he was kicking and screaming and kicked my dh in the chin. I laugh at it now, but it wasn't funny at all. I still do not understand why he was kicking and screaming with his eyes shut. Nightmares, maybe? Anyway, I would definiely co-sleep again. Hopefully we'll be blessed with another one this year. Good luck and congratulations.

I personally had a wonderful experience co-sleeping with my little girl. i did however break the habit when she was 3 months old, many parents advised me to do so so we wouldn't have a 9yr old still in bed with us. It was great and i still miss her, but i sleep alot better and she started sleeping thru the night after a few nights. Good luck

Worked great for me four times now. And we actually use just one blanket on the bed, so there is nothing extra-no sheet-for baby to roll up in without anyone noticing. We also start bebe sleeping in a pack n play then move to our bed whenever they wake in the night (my daughter is up at 12-1 am every night, then sleeps till morning, some nights i'm not in bed till 12 haha).

As for getting them out of the bed, if you do it by transitioning them instead of just saying thats it, you are out, it seems to work better. I wouldn't know differently though. My boys moved to toddler beds next to our bed, then we moved them away from our bed, and finally into their own rooms. It worked great. And we do have open bed policy, anyone who has had a nightmare or is sick or just needs us for whatever reason is welcome in here at night from time to time. It's not everynight, and i'm a parent 24 hours a day not just while the sun is out !

Whichever decision you make, it looks like you are working on a well informed one. Go with what feels right.

This looks like a really old topic, but just in case someone else checks it out, I wanted to say that co-sleeping and nursing was great, but...somehow I managed to sleep funny on my shoulder while doing it, and even 4 years later, my left shoulder has never been back to normal. I am quite limited in what I can do/lift, etc. with that shoulder. Physical therapy and chiropractic have helped, but it will never be the same. Just a friendly warning to check your sleep posture when you co-sleep!

Hi I am a stay at mom of 3 boys and I have co-slept with all of them. My last baby who is now 15mos and still nursing still sleeps with me and it does not bother me. I have a 8 and 6 yr old and if i spent all night running upstairs then i would not be able to get up in the mornings to get them ready for school. I also like the closeness, because I know they are ok. The only draw back is that it is hard to switch them in their bed when they are older.

E.,
the best thing that worked for me was to get out of bed during feedig times, however you can snooze while feeding in a nice comfy recliner our couch while using the boppy to secure baby.
good luck
C.

YES!! It really made the difference for us both in terms of improving my supply and also, our rest. You might want to get something like an Arm's Reach Cosleeper - http://armsreach.com/. I borrowed one from a friend and it was good for us because I was on the fence at first about cosleeping and it gave my ds his own sleeping area. He did out grow it. We later set up a guard rail and moved our ds in with us (we got a lot better sleep that way).

You'll want to research cosleeping safety (I think www.askdrsears.com has some info you can look up). You don't want to use heavy comforters, sleep drunk, etc.. Pretty common sense stuff I think. Also, a friend loaned me a book by Jay Gordon, MD called "Good Nights". It contains a lot of practical info for people who want to cosleep. I think Elizabeth Pantley's books also contain cosleeping safety info for those interested.

Co-sleeping helped me w/bfing since I had supply issues. My OB was the one to suggest we do a babymoon the first months. You essentially stay in bed w/your baby for a couple days and nurse, nurse, nurse. Your dh, family, etc bring everythign to you. It's a good way to get established and is used the world over in many different cultures. I didn't follow it to a T; however, however it did help a lot.

If you haven't done so, I'd suggest you go to a La Leche League meeting while you're still pg to ask questions and get advice. Even if you don't join, the women there were extremely helpful and (in my experience) non-judgemental. I had a lot of difficulties w/my ds and ended up supplementing but was never made to feel bad by them. I did get a lot of really helpful advice though.

Since 3 people have already responded that it did work for them, I thought I'd respond with another view.

Co sleeping is a pretty hot topic, but it's one that is intensely personal. It does work for some moms but it doesn't work for others. I'll tell you about my experience with the moms for whom it didn't work.

I am a Newborn Specialist, Parenting Coach and Infant Sleep Trainer. I have consulted with many moms who co-slept with their babies and nursed them 'on demand' for many months. While it 'worked' for them for some amount of time, there came a time when they realized that it was no longer working for them. They were being 'reactive' and just doing whatever it took to get by in those early months. They never really stopped to think about how or when the situation would change. Then, at 6 months, a year, or more into it, they contact me asking for help.

My suggestion for you would be to co-sleep with your baby if you want to, but to have a plan for how and when you plan to stop. Do you still want to be co-sleeping when the baby is 3 months old? 6 months old? a year old?

Babies can and do sleep through the night easily from 3 or 4 months old and without starving, crying, or going into metabolic distress. You just have to draw a mental picture of what you want and what you expect and then create a roadmap to get there.

L.