co-sleeping with a small bed?

Question

my husband and i would love to co-sleep with our son (whos due in 1 day!), we bought a first years co-sleeper for our bed, the only problem is we have a tiny bed...one down from queen...and the co-sleeper is huge! is it safe to just let your baby sleep in the same bed without some type of cosleeper thing? i just know im going to fall off the bed with this thing we have lol.


also no we dont have a crib yet...we're very adament on co-sleeping. and i know we should get a bigger bed, but unfortunetly we dont have the money for that right now.

Answer 1

you have a "full" and I would say that is way too small to be co-sleeping safely. I think co-sleeping is a great idea but in a bed that small I don't think it's safe. You may want to buy one of those little attachment for right next to your bed...I think they are only around 100 dollars or so.

Answer 2

You've decided to co-sleep! That's a wonderful decision. It can make things a lot easier, like night feedings. Plus, some babies just sleep better next to a parent. I gather that you and your husband want to be sure that co-sleeping is safe in your little bed. Here's what I know to be true. Co-sleeping is 100% safe when you are breastfeeding exclusively, without supplements and when he's dressed appropriately (not quite as warmly as a baby who sleeps alone). I'm not sure if you're planning to breastfeed, but if you are, your little one will be safe. Take precautions, of course. Don't let him sleep on the big bed without you (or at the very least, use a monitor). Always sleep facing him. The same thing that keeps you (and your husband) from falling off your bed will keep you from rolling over onto your son.

You may have heard this, but one of the added benefits of co-sleeping is that the sound of your breathing and heartbeat regulates his breathing and heartbeat, reducing the risk of SIDS.

And the idea that he'll never get out of your bed is a myth. Of course he will. And so what if it takes a while? How many parents have you ever talked to who wished they had spent less time with their children when they were young?

Answer 3

I bought one of those co-sleepers for our bed. We had a queen. I ended up hating the co-sleeper. It was way more of a pain then it was worth.

What I ended up doing, was pushing our bed to the wall. MAKE SURE IT IS FLUSH TO THE WALL!!! And make sure there is no way it can be pushed away from the wall!! Then had my husband sleep on the edge of the bed. I would sleep in the center, and our daughter would sleep on the side of the bed closest to the wall. Each of us would have a third of the bed. It is safer for a mother to sleep next to her baby, she is more aware then the husband.

I think co-sleeping is wonderful. My daughter is two and half, and is still in bed with us. I am also 32 weeks pregnant. We will see what happens when the new baby comes. When I first had my daughter I thought c-sleeping was such a bad idea. But, within the first night of her coming home I started to co-sleep and loved it!!!

Answer 4

We co slept with the first one in a full sized bed. It got really crowded after 4 months or so, when she started getting wiggly. You could try just scrapping the bedframe for awhile and just putting the mattress on the floor, that would make it safer. Just make sure that you put the baby in it's own space to sleep if either of you has been drinking or taking medication that causes drowsiness.

Congratulations on your decision to co sleep! It really does make life easier on everyone, and definitely facilitates nursing in the middle of the night, and it REDUCES the incidence of SIDS....why do people think it's called CRIB DEATH??? Hello!

Answer 5

First, whoever said co-sleeping increases SIDS risk has not done their research. Babies are 2x more likely to die of SIDS when sleeping in a crib in another room than a baby who co-sleeps. Co-sleeping has actually been shown to DECREASE SIDS risk.
On to your question, it is completely fine to co-sleep in a smaller bed. If you and your husband are not extremely obese, extremely heavy sleepers, drug users, or frequently drink and go to bed drunk, then your baby should be fine. My hubby and I co-sleep with our 10 month old and 3 year old and we have a fairly small bed and the 10 month old has slept in our bed since birth, right on the mattress next to me, not attachments or co-sleeper devices. We are all cozy, safe, and get the best sleep possible.

Answer 6

I'm sorry but during those infancy years you are not going to make it difficult for him to sleep on his own by co sleeping right now. And whoever said that co sleeping when not needed is a bad idea, must be a man, babies need their mommies, they need to feel their presence, it's as much as a need as it is a want. Now i agree that maybe at some point it could be hard to put him in his own bed but i think that depends on the child and the surroundings, if you aren't willing to start saying "ok little jhonny, you are 2 now, you HAVE to sleep in your bed" and instead it's more of a "well, he's crying i'm letting him sleep with us just for tonight" type thing then of course you'll have problems. I won't say i was a co sleeper with my two girls but they slept with me a TON up to about 7 or 8 months of age and then at that point they had figure out how to wiggle so much or wake up so early and when their in bed with mommy (even at ages 4 and 5) and they wake up at the crack of dawn, yeah, they just want to stay awake and play! oh and by the way, both me and my husband slept with our girls in our full bed, twin bed mattress that we had laid in the girls rooms, couches, u name it! Their still alive, but i'm not sure for how much longer!!

Answer 7

You should be fine until he learns how to crawl and roll... around 5-7 months. I cosleep. My baby has fallen off the bed like 3 or four times and it's awful every time. She's just so active!!! It helps we have a low bed and thick carpeting so it hasn't hurt her. I try to be on the outside while she is between me and the wall and that has worked. She only falls when I fall asleep with her on the outside because I'm breastfeeding her in the middle of the night with my left breast then she wakes up and wants to explore!!! Yikes! Thank goodness my room is messy! hahaha!

Answer 8

you can safely co sleep, but you have to take precautions. No puffy bedding, no extra pillows and NEVER co sleep if one parent has been drinking!!! I slept with my baby in the crook of my arm for months, until he was big enough to sleep independantly between us. Another thing is to buy a crib and take the front off, and but it up against your side of the bed so it is level with your matress. That way the baby has a little extra space, and you can put him in the crib when you want a little "mommy daddy" time

Answer 9

Advice from a mother of 3.. Once you start the sleeping in your bed it doesn't stop trust me my three yr old still wants to sleep in our bed and intimate relationship becomes difficult and I am not having sex in the same room as my child no matter what the age is. and you wouldn't believe the list that follows that if they pee to much they will soak you and your sheets.. I'd buy a basinet for the baby to roll right next to your bed. There has been instances where the child has been rolled on and killed or suffocated in blankets and ect. It is much safer to have them sleep in somewhere they will be safe and comfortable.

Answer 10

well, we have it all, the co-sleeper, crib, pack-n-play .. and the ONLY thing he sleeps in is his swing!!!
he is 8 weeks old and hates being on his back! so, we keep him propped up in his swing and take the swing into the bedroom with us when it's time to go to sleep.
I don't see a problem letting him sleep in the same bed as you .. but please please please be careful!!!!! don't take any chances on you (or hubby) rolling over on him! my father in law is a criminal defense atty. and just had a case like that. the grandmother was babysitting the new baby and she rolled over on him and suffocated him and he died :(:(:(
please be careful!!!!!