Family Bed - Sleeping positions with baby ...?

Question

My son is a VERY RESTLESS sleeper, and as such, when he doesn't sleep with us, I get up 3-4 times a night to try and soothe him back to sleep (or remove his leg from in between the crib slats - still not sure how he accomplishes this) -

Just wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions for comfortable sleeping positions with your baby - I prefer to sleep on my stomach but end up staying solely on my side, which is my least favorite -

We both end up sleeping SO MUCH BETTER - Son sleeps from 9p-7a CONTINUOUSLY, when he sleeps with mom :) So any help to make me more comfortable will definitely be appreciated :)

He is 4 months old

Dad is sleeping through all of it - he usually doesn't hear a thing

First off - We don't sleep with pillows or a heavy blanket bc of the suffocation issue - baby sleeps on my side and is prevented from falling out of our bed by a bed rail that sits on top of the mattress -

Destiny:
I did do my research before ever bringing my child into bed with us because I had the same fears about having him with us - I would never do something that I felt would hurt my child - though I definitely understand your concerns as I had them prior to doing my research -

There are many things we do (ie - making baby sleep in a room by himself) that are considered "normal" when for thousands of years it was not "normal"

From my research, I have learned that the only babies who have been harmed in their parents’ bed are those that went to bed with a drunk/drugged parent -

I have also learned that SIDS is greatly reduced when baby goes to bed with you

Not trying to be argumentative, but just sharing the information that led to our decision about sleep :)

Answer 1

If you both sleep better put him in your bed and sleep!!! ALL of my kids slept with me and NEWS FLASH they are all still alive AND my older two sleep in their own rooms now! My son is 3 and still sleeps with me sometimes. He usually starts off in his bed then comes into my room about 5 am for an hour or two more of sleep! I love waking up with my baby cuddling me! At one point I had all three of my kids in my bed! We had a king size bed up against the wall I slept close to the wall my 5 year old beside me and my 2 year old beside her with a side rail on the other end of the bed ( daddy was in Iraq) Never had any problems at all. Used tight fitted sheet and a light blanket we did use pillows had two king size pillows on the bed. My mom a nurse had a fit about it but guess what they are my kids not anyone elses and we believe in attachment parenting and it worked for us. My kids are all very happy healthy well adjusted children and I would not change a thing about how I raised my kids.

Answer 2

I had the same problem with my son and he kept wakin up 4-5 times a night, he knew that if he cried long enough i would go and get him (they are not silly).

My first advice would be put him in his own room, my son would wake just by his dad getting into bed, we had him in his own from from 4 months.

Then I had to do the"Controlled Crying" method where you leave him to cry for 5 mins go in soothe him then leave. At the beginning he would cry for about 30 mins and I would have to go in there about 7 times, this went on for 3 days and now he sleeps from 8pm - 6.30am every night. It broke my heart doing it, there is nothing worse than hearing ur baby crying, but persevere as it does work.

I also bought a baby sleeping bag as this prevented him from kicking off the covers and waking himself up because he was cold, and no legs through the crib!!

Hope this helps. :-)

Answer 3

Several suggestions:

Line the crib with something that prevents the legs getting through. Cardboard boxes would do.

Have a "body pillow" between you and the child and the other side of the bed is the wall, snug close to it so he does not fall out. Where is dad in all this? He needs to sleep too. . .

Does the lad fully wake up with his restlessness? Or can you just allow him to thrash about in the crib (now lined with something) If he is NOT fully awake, let him thrash. My husband is a thrasher in the sleep mode too. Blankets EVERYwhere!

I liked sleeping with the kids. Some say that it is wrong, but I never found it to be unpleasant. Especially for nursing. Be th e best mother you can be. It is an awesome job.

Answer 4

It seems as though maybe your baby likes the warmth of sleeping with you. My baby is the same way. I put a heating pad on his bed on high for about an hour before he goes to bed and remove it before he goes down. The warmth puts him into a really good sleep. Also try Johnson's bedtime bath and lotion, it works great!

Answer 5

they make special baby beds that have an open area on the side so you can put it next to your bed and have your baby right there but still have room to sleep how you like and dont have to worry so much about rolling over on him or anything. Heres a link to some

http://co-sleeper.babycatalog.com/co-sleeper.html

Answer 6

What about getting a Bedside Co-Sleeper? They basically look like a crib but can be adjusted to be the same height as your bed and pull up right next to your bed. The side of it lowers down to match your bed height but leaves a little 'wall' so baby can't fall out or between sleeper and your bed. You can easily reach baby to comfort him or pull him to you for nghttime feedins. Check them out....
http://www.babyuniverse.com/pro.asp?id=26612

Answer 7

wow people stupidity never ceases to amaze me "let him sleep wit a pillow" "put a pillow between you and him" "line the crib with cardboard" i don't mean to be mean but a pillow is a suffercation device and card board in the crib is just a bad idea.... as for sleep posistions while i usually end up on my side faceing him i never found a problem with laying on my back or stomach next to my sons except when i lay on my stomach he tends to grab my hair a pull it... i never put my back to him thats about it... hes 4 months a bed side sleeper would be a waste at this point.. don't worry about smothering or rolling over on him while sleeping in different posisitons the same unconscience awareness that prevents you from rolling off your bed stops you from sufforcating your child.. just be careful while sleeping on you stomach not to elbo him in the head accidently, i will admit i'm guitly of this, but i assure you it was not as bad as the nasty smashes against the crib rails.

Answer 8

I sleep on my side and switch sides through the night, occasionally I sleep on my stomach.

My babies have tended to sleep better on their stomachs- the sleep between my husband and I.

Now- the only risk for SIDS is NOT tummy sleeping. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of SIDS as does safe cosleeping. You don't see campaigns for those things because no one is making money off them.

Have you read the cosleeping info published by Dr. James McKenna of The University of Notre Dame Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab? Very good info! http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/

Good luck.

Answer 9

Try one of those in bed sleeper things. That way you know he's safe and you can sleep however you like without worrying about rolling on him.

Answer 10

every one will hate me for this but i have worked with children and infants for six years and i have learned in the past it is extremely dangerous for a baby to sleep with you not only is there a risk of suffocation with blankets there’s more of a risk with the child falling or being smothered by the other ppl in the bed it is all ways better for the baby to sleep on his own later in life you may have trouble getting him to sleep in there own bed it is also normal for babies to wake up in the night but to help him sleep try a few things Johnson and Johnson has a awesome bed time bubble bath you can use and also if it don’t get to hot at night in your house some sleepers out there have a zipper at the feet so the babies legs stay all in one place babies are use to being in a tight place so any thing that keeps your baby cuddled close can be soothing just be shur what ever you use don’t put anything that the child can pull over his face or can swallow some baby’s need noise so maybe try so music !