Co-Sleeping?

Question

I see all these moms talking about co-sleeping.

How is it done. Obviously, you sleep "together" but does baby sleep beside you? Do you have one of those bed side co-sleepers? Do you keep pillows in your bed? What about "intiminate" time?

I am totally clueless when it comes to this! So, fill my brain with this knoweledge!

Let me add... how do you keep the baby from rolling out of the bed? Does your husband/partner sleep in the same bed... and does baby sleep in the middle?

Haha... co sleeping.. with someone from work. Well, my boyfriend works with me... we report to the same manager.... and we have a kid together, so i guess you're right on that one!

Answer 1

My daughter sleeps between my husband and me -- in a changing pad meant to top a changing table, which we don't have (LOL). This is an example of such:

http://www.target.com/L-A-Baby-4-Side-Changing-Pad/dp/B000KU5A9G/sr=1-6/qid=1197602706/ref=sr_1_6/601-4262926-2387345?ie=UTF8&rh=k%3Achanging%20pad&page=1

She is close enough for a snuggle or a feeding but has her own space as Daddy was worried about squishing her (though I doubt this would have happened). At any rate, Daughter has been sleeping through the night since a few weeks old (6 hours), and now at 6 months, she sleeps about 10-12 hours straight. Daddy and I relish waking up to the sound of her cooing every morning -- all three of us play in bed for a while; then we get up for a diaper change, a bottle and coffee. I can't see why anyone would want to wake up (or sleep!) any other way. Dad and I both will be sad when Daughter decides to leave our bed:(

As for intimacy, Daughter goes to sleep by 8:00 and we have the whole house to ourselves. If we feel, uh, *amorous* in the middle of the night, Hubby just sneaks to my side of the bed and we snuggle up while Baby's fast asleep.

Answer 2

The baby sleeps beside me but I have a crib with the side off that acts as a mattress extension. When my first got to be around 8 months old her preferred to sleep in the middle and then I would sleep in the crib *lol*. The crib mattress and bed mattress are the exact same height, the crib prevents the baby from falling but you can just use the wall as well, or one of those bed-rails. Some people put the baby in the middle but my husband is just not aware enough.

With my first I had the crib down from the headboard to block access to my pillow. But most co-sleeping women keep baby's head at breast level (to breastfeed) and often their arm is between the baby and their pillow. And some choose not to use pillows at all.

Hehe if you can only have sex in bed with the light off you aren't going to be "getting" much as a parent *lol*. But seriously just because you co-sleep doesn't mean that the baby is ALWAYS in your bed. Some start the night in a crib, and nap in cribs and of course there are swings and whatnot.

There is also always the couch, floor, shower.... or you can get a second bed.


PS now it is from left to right: Hubby, toddler (20 months), me, 4 week old, crib.

Yeah not so much fun. So we got my toddler a full sized bed so that if it gets too cramped one or two of us can go sleep in the other room, rather than on the couch (I keep ending up on the couch as the newborn fusses around 4 am and it wakes the toddler up if I don't leave *lol*)

Answer 3

When I did this, there wasn't a fancy name to it. I was just trying to get some sleep and my son wouldn't sleep in his crib.

The safest way to do this is to get one of those side sleeper things.

With my son, he slept in the middle. There were pillows stuffed between the bed and the back wall so he couldn't fall down there. He slept on one of my arms and I held him with the other arm.

The hardest part of all of this, though was getting him to finally sleep in his own bed. It was really hard, but I was probably a push over anyways. : )

Answer 4

Well although i never planned on my kids sleeping with me my son did until 6 months---My partner was in another state most of that time so it was just us. He slept curled up next to me with his had rested on my arm and never had any issue with him rolling. I'm a pretty light sleeper but we also had to stay at my dad's house at the time in a twin bed!!! So intimate time with him was not to frequent as I wasnt regularly with my partner but when we were together, wherever we were staying we just put a blanket on the floor and let me son sleep there for the night or put him in his crib. Not a huge deal since he was only sleeping with me out of my own laziness, not that thats the case with everyone. With my daugter, shes 2 1/2 weeks now and sleeps in the same position, curled up next to me. I'm still a light sleeper so no issue with her rolling plus shes still little. She does sleep on the side of me away from my partner since he isnt a light sleeper and could easily not notice she's there. As for intimate time there obviously hasnt quite been any yet but we also keep one of those vibrating seats in our room and she somtimes falls asleep there so I would imagine that's where she will go or else into the basinette in her pack n play in her brothers room---we didnt buy a crib this time.

Answer 5

He sleeps in between me and my husband. Now that he is very mobile, we have our mattress and box springs on the floor. We never used a headboard or foot board, even before my son. But if we had, we would have taken those off so that there wouldn't be anything for him to get trapped in. When he was younger, we had 2 pillows, one for me and one for my husband. Now my son is 10 months old and we're not as careful about pillows. My husband has a body pillow. As far as intimate time, admittedly there isn't as much as there was before my son was born, but I think that's true for most couples, regardless of where their baby sleeps. And when we do (1-2 times a weeks) we just go elsewhere. I'd get bored with having sex in just my bed.

Answer 6

well it's not hard, I just put the baby in bed with me and he sleeps under my arm. When my husband is home he will sleep under his arm to some nights. We have sex whenever it comes up, I haven't had any issues with that due to co-sleeping. We just put the baby in another room or whatever. But sex doesn't have to be in a bedroom either(TMI) I have pillows in bed, 1 for me, 1 for my husband. I don't use anything special and it's not really hard, in fact when I tried to make my oldest sleep in her own bed, I got way less sleep, I just gave up on listening to others advice at that point and did what worked.

Answer 7

Our twins are 10 months previous. they have slept interior the direction of the night for the main area (we've had some growth spurts and teething that disrupted sleep varieties) considering approximately 3 months previous. we don't co-sleep - there are 2 of them and that they do properly of their cribs. each each each now and then if one is sick or up early interior the morning, we can convey them into mattress to snuggle yet we don't particularly co-sleep. appropriate desires!

Answer 8

Haha intimate time...what's that?! =} I co sleep with my son and it is wonderful. He just sleeps right in the middle of me and my husband. It works great because I breastfeed him, and when he wakes up in the night I just roll over and he latches on and we both go back to sleep! No sitting up for anyone with bottles or anything.

I personally just love him cuddling with me every night it is so sweet! As far as him rolling off, if you just keep him away from the middle of the bed he/she will be fine! We don't do anything fancy.

Answer 9

I cosleep with my son. He sleeps next to me, usually nursing until he falls asleep then he pops himself off and rolls onto his back (I feel used...)
When he was very small I slept with a pillow but he didn't and he was lower than me.
Intimate time? That's what the rest of the house is for when you roll out of bed without waking baby :-)

Answer 10

Well with my son he sleeps in the middle with his own pillow and his blankie and my husband is on one side and myself on the other and we all share the comforter. We all each have our own pillows. When it comes to intimate times we have a toddler bed in our room in case one of our girls gets scared or sick they can sleep in it and we put our son in it when he's asleep with pillows around him and just be intimate (not necessarily be involved but cuddle and stuff). And then put our son back in bed with us. I couldn't see our son not sleeping with us. I guess thats why he is so attatched to me.