Did/does anyone here do a family bed or co-sleeping?

Question

If so I'd like to know up until what age did you allow your child to sleep with you?

Answer 1

My newborns slept with me until they were about 2 months...Then they went into their own beds...they need to learn at an early age or you will have them in your bed when they are older..My 5 month old sleeps in his crib and my 4 and 2 year olds sleep in their own also

Answer 2

We allowed both of our girls to sleep with us up until they were each about four or five years old. Then the bed just got too crowded! They now have their own rooms, but they usually sleep together for their own feelings of security.

Our girls are happy, wonderful and well-adjusted, so I don't think I would change what we have done, but it's really a personal call that you have to make based on your own parenting beliefs and style. Personally, I feel they are only young once, and I treasure the time I have with them. Other people will feel differently. Just do what you feel in your heart is right and will work for your family.

Best wishes.

Answer 3

You should know that experts in SIDS recommend certain things to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. One of those things is to avoid co-sleeping without any preventative measures.

The possibility of accidental smothering is significantly higher when a baby sleeps with you and not on his or her own. You can get assistive devices for co-sleeping, such as a baby bed that has three sides and attaches to your own bed, and a tiny "moses bed" that you can place right on your bed. Look at OneStepAhead.com, for example.

I co-slept with my son until he was 6 months old, then he really needed to sleep alone. He's happier in his own bed!

One of the main reasons I kept my son with me was body temperature control - infants have very little and he's always been an active sleeper. I wanted to ensure his comfort and health through adequate warmth. To me that outweighed the potential for SIDS since I was practically up all night anyway, nursing him.

Answer 4

I kept a cradle next to the bed and when my baby needed breastfeeding during the night, I brought him into the bed with my husband and me. I'd usually put him back in the cradle after I nursed him, but sometimes I woke up in the morning and he was still in bed between us. We slept on a futon we kept on the floor so he wouldn't fall out. We trained ourselves mentally not to roll over on top of him, plus my husband and I were both very thin. Since I nursed my baby until he was a year old, the family bed was a godsend. After that, I kept him in his own room in a crib, which was just down the hall. But if he woke early and we still wanted to stay in bed for awhile, we just brought him in with us.

Answer 5

My kids sleep with us most nights. I have a four year old and a two year old. I have made a bed for them on the floor because we try putting them in their room, but in the middle of the night, they always come back in our bed! It is uncomfortable for me and my husband to sleep with them because my kids are big and the beds not big enough for all of us. When it gets irritating, i put them on their floor bed (I have carpet and lots of comforters for them). they eventually by morning migrate back on our Queen bed. Me and my husband joke we should have gotten the King! But then they would be sleeping with us till their 7! The cut off is when they get too big for us to sleep with them. I think they both have another good year and then they seriously have to start getting used to being in their own bed every night. I'm not that strict right now because I figure they are both such babies and I'm still breastfeeding my younger one. Basically, it will stop when it has to stop, when they are too big to fit!

Answer 6

we do a mixture. If they come in we usually allow them to sleep with us until they are asleep, then we put them back in their bed. Our daughter just turned 8 and sometimes she comes in, the same thing applies. I think they generally stop on their own by 9 or 10. By that time, you are able to talk with them more about boundaries.

Answer 7

well me and my husband have a 14 month old and a 1 month old and most of the time thay both sleep with us.. i am always telling my husband that we need just one bed room and a few king size bed put together cause i dont think thay will ever leave.... but while thay are little i dont mind but thay both do sleep in there beds at times but there beds are in are bed room

Answer 8

Well, my kids sleep in my bed because their dad works nights. I feel safer having them with me. They're only 1 and 2 so they haven't stopped yet.

Answer 9

when i was younger me and my younger brothers slept in the same bed with my mom and dad until we all couldn't fit then we sleep on the floor next to their bed when we were scared but we often got steeped on in the middle of the night when they got up to go to the bathroom

Answer 10

only when they are sick, will i let them sleep with me, and i think the time to end it will be the time your child says i dont want to mommy. The hit a certain age, and decide they are grown up. then they just dont want to. i dont know when is a good age....