co-sleeping on bed question

[Radosny Matka]

Right now ds and I co-sleep in the recliner. I am considering trying to co-sleep in the bed (oh how times change...the one thing I said I'd NEVER do). How close is your dc to you when you co-sleep in the bed. My baby is 2 months old. I fed him in the side-laying position yesterday for the 1st time, and it was sooo nice, but he stayed really close to me. I just want to make sure that if I try co-sleeping in the bed, we are safe (dh will not be in bed. I'll try it in the guest bed).

Thanks!

[DogwoodMama]

Unless you are on medication or have other factors that would put you into a super deep sleep, it's fine to sleep with your dc right next to you. I've been doing it since dd was a few days old... she & I would just cuddle right next to each other... when she was real little she would sleep with her head on my arm of on my belly as well. :) Until she was 4 months or so I kept her on the "outside" edge away from dh, but when she got a little bigger I didn't worry about it as much. :)

I'll try to dig up some links on co-sleeping safety for you, I think they might be around here. The main ones are:

-Do not sleep with your baby if you're on sleep-inducing drugs or have had alcohol (I'm sure that's not the case with you ;))
-Make sure there are no cracks or crevices the baby could get caught in
-Keep blankets away from baby's face (I learned to sleep with covers on me, none on her, some just go coverless or use a sheet)

Ummm, those are really the important ones. It really is safe to sleep with your baby, though. :tu

[DogwoodMama]

This article by Elizabeth Pantley is about co-sleeping safety. :)

http://www.gentlemothering.com/articles/elizabethp/cosleep.php

[Oliveshoots]

Sounds to me like your ds is old enough. Did someone else mention sleeping iwth your arm sticking out? I do this, and there is NO WAY I could roll onto her (I've tried to roll over in this position, and it just doesn't happen.) Like, if you're lying on your R side, put your R arm straight out perpendicular to your body. This prevents you from rolling. So even if he is close to you, he's safe. I'm pretty hefty and fluffy (okay okay i'm fat, there I said it) and dd has slept alot right up against me (the times that she lets me co-sleep with her....she likes her crib more than co-sleeping :( oh well, whatever makes her happy.) But still, try it out for yourself, we all have different sleeping styles, so it may not work for everyone.

The only thing I have to be really careful of is I like to pull the covers way up. So when I know she'll be sleeping with me, i just wear a long sleeved shirt and leave the covers down around my waist.

How in teh WORLD do you feel rested after sleeping in a recliner? :wow Ouch....i would be so stiff and sore. But it sounds like it has been working well for you. Hope the bed thing works out, too. :)

[DogwoodMama]

Yeah, I pretty much always sleep with my arm sticking out...:) I honestly have never even come close to rolling over on dd... and I generally wake up before she fusses, and go back to sleep easily too, even when she's nursing. This is not true for everyone, I realize, but it has been my experience.

I actually think I have become slightly dependent on her nursing to go to sleep. :O She used to always nurse around 11:15 when I would be ready to go to sleep (she was already in bed or transfered to bed around that time), but she has started sleeping until 1 a.m. or so before nursing, and it's really hard for me to fall asleep without her nursing sometimes! :lol I just find it very relaxing... zzzzzz....

[akmyilee]

my dd is about he same age as your child, we have been sleeping with her since the beginning, I haven't had any problems. I am a light sleeper. My dh sleep heavier so I do the arm out thing when she is the middle and if he rolls toward her I push him away. The bed is so big now though that he would have to roll all the way over to even land on her. It hasn't been a problem. I hope it works out for you.