How to Cosleep Confortably?

go to www.mothering.com and click on the "Discuss" button at the top of the page and then you have entered their forum section. one of the forums is for "nighttime parenting" (or something like that name). they have great advice all about cosleeping. i love cosleeping with my little girl!

We co-sleep too and love it :)

I always lay my little ones down, keep a hand on them if necessary, then get snuggly myself. After I am in a good comfortable position I lay my arm next to them. I always use a guard rail thing on the side of the bed ( you can get them at Walmart) so I don't have to worry about them rolling off, which helps me get in more natural positions myself.

Hi J.,

I'm not sure exactly where your pain is, but I'm guessing it's your back. I have been dealing with low-level back pain for years by doing some simple stretches every night just before I go to bed. A yoga routine called "salute to the sun" is quick and simple and good for relieving back pain. I also had a cracked pelvic bone which meant lying on my side got really painful after half an hour or so for a year after my son's birth (he's now nearly two). I usually found I could ease away from him once he was really asleep (a few minutes after he appeared to be asleep) and lie on my back. If you have the funds it might be worth while seeing a chiropractor to see if there is an underlying problem being exacerbated by the co-sleeping. I hope you are successful in solving this. I'm really glad I'm still co-sleeping with my son!

Dear J.-
Your beautiful daughter is completely normal, and has bonded with you. She will not be able to happily go down without body contact with you for some time.

I did find that two double mattresses were helpful. Mom is the person in the middle, and moves back and forth between them. I remember being so exhausted that I could fall asleep while I was sitting up at the table eating- that went on through my son's first nine months. Full nights were unavailable until he was a year and a half. Bed sharing went on after that. You are very important to your child's happiness and feelings of security. :-)

Have hope and faith- this, too, shall end- and you will miss it! Hope it helps - S.

I coslept with our children by basically 'spooning' with the baby. I know that might not be the most appropriate word, but I do not know how else to describe it. Anyhow, I would sleep on my left side with the baby facing towards my husband and away from me. When the baby needed to breastfeed, I simply turned the baby over and breastfed. Sometimes I would fall asleep while the baby was eating, but I would eventually wake up and turn the baby back around. When I needed to switch the side I was laying on, I either gave the baby to my husband to sleep with or put the baby in the pack in play next to the bed. It worked for us with two children and I rarely got sore. I suppose if you are not a side sleeper, it would be difficult. They still like to come in and sleep with us and we lay the same way. We call it 'snuggling'

Hi!
Yes the snuggle nest was a waste of 50 bucks! Used it once, I should try to sell it... anyway, I slept with my baby in the crook of my arm. That was great for lying down nursing as well. Now that you mention it, I remember the sore neck. It's completely gone, but my dd is a year. At about 10 months she started wanting to sleep pushed away from me, but still enjoys falling asleep in my arms and touching one of us. I've gone to the chiropractor religiously so I think that has been what helped. We also do mommy and me yoga. Neck stretches side to side, and cat cows may help you. Please feel free to email me if you want me to explain further. I love snuggling w/my dd she's so independent during the day that it's nice to get cuddle time at night. The time flies so fast! L

I have had this issue with now two children. THe first one I was so outof it and numb from having a death in the family at the same time that I do not remember really noticing. Now after almost 10 years we have a 3 month old who again wants to sleep with me (for now). In the beginning I was having the same issue of waking up in so much pain. My shoulders and neck were the worst. Then I tried to sleep with me kind of hlding her or her kind of on top of me so she could still nurse if needed. Oh whatwonders it made. I no longer wake up in so much pain.
I also sleep with one of those boppy pillows next to us to hlp support my arm or should as I hold her in bed and that helps a lot.

It is something to think about trying if you have not already.

Becky

Hi J.! I never thought I would co-sleep...but I do and I LOVE it!! My son is now 7 months old and he has slept with us since the day he was born. We have a King size bed so that's the biggest help, but we also have the Arm's Reach Co-sleeper Classic. We do not attach it to the bed so it's really a glorified port-a-crib. Anyway, we put him to bed in that then I do dishes or watch TV, etc and go to bed. After I nurse him the first time I put him back in the co-sleeper, I continue to do that until I'm so exhausted I can hardly move...then I just let him nurse while I'm laying on my side (he nurses whichever breast is on the bottom). He usually falls asleep on his back laying right next to me and that way I can sleep on my side or even on my back. The only time that I am bothered at all is when he needs to nurse the other breast...then I kinda roll with him so he's on the other side. I am not usually sore when I wake up. The biggest thing that helped me was realizing that I'm the mommy and he's the baby. I need to be comfortable first and then make him comfortable...I know it sounds bad, but it's true. It's like when you're on an airplane and they tell you to put your oxygen mask on before you put your child's mask on. You need to be relaxed and comfortable in order to help your baby be relaxed and comfortable. You might try putting him to sleep on a boppy during the day...that's what eventually made it possible for our son to nap on his own (but he still has to sleep in our room at night). Try putting a pillow behind your back if you sleep on your side, that helps me sometimes. As long as baby is in bed with you, you will always be aware of her and won't get the same rest you would with her in her own bed, but as time passes, you'll get used to sleeping light. Try arranging pillows differently under your head and I also suggest that you and your husband sleep with separate blankets. Good luck...everything gets easier as time passes, I promise :)

We loved co-sleeping, off and on.
A must have for us was a KING size bed, with a guard rail one side. I would roll up a quilt and push it against the wall so the babies head wouldn't be against a cold wall. Once the baby and you have fallen asleep, either in the crook of your arm, or spooning, or on your breast, it was easy to push or roll the baby to the side for a more comfortable sleeping position.

I also kept a smaller tootsie roll shaped pillow to place between the baby and hubby. I didn't want him rolling over too close and that acted as a stop for him.

Sweet Dreams!

I concur with Eleanor and whoever suggested asking at mothering.com
We added a twin bed next to our queen bed for our son when our daughter was born, so now there's room for everyone to space out. She likes being on her side curled up next to me, so this has given us room to spread out and me to turn around to be comfortable.

WOW does this sound like my story! What I finally did was I put my (2nd) newborn into his own room with a shirt of mine so he could smell my scent (but not my milk which he would stirr for in the middle of the night). Best advice is get her out of the bed now as I have a 2 1/2 yr old that slept with me and my husband until just recently. He wanted to sleep right up against us as well and the longer you wait, the harder it will be to get her out of the bed.