Trying to Cosleep but need help

[waterfall]

Okay I'm trying to co-sleep with my 8 week old. I had him in a pack n play right next to our bed but it was uncomfortable to reach over and pat him or give him is pacifier if he woke up and needed help going back to sleep. I am not nursing but I have tried bringing him back to the bed for convenience plus I like having him right next to me. There are a few problems occurring...the first is I have to put him on the outside b/c I can't have him in the middle of Matt and I b/c Matt is a heavy sleeper plus we would have to have separate blankets and it makes it difficult. He sleeps on a sleep positioner which keeps him in place for now...I'm sure he's going to be moving and rolling around before I know it. I don't feel this is the safest situation but not sure how to rectify it. Would a side rail make it safe enough? Or would it still be dangerous?

The other problem I feel like he wakes up more through the night compared to sleeping in the pack n play. I'm not sure if this is because of some gas/reflux issues we've been having the past week or b/c he's in bed with me.

Finally, sometimes I do go into a pretty deep sleep and i wake up and think to myself, "oh Joshua is sleeping next to me" like I forgot. This concerns me. How in tune to him am I really. :scratch

I want to make cosleeping work but not at the expense of Joshua's safety.

We don't have space for a side co-sleeper. The pack-n-play is set up with the short side against the bed and it's cramped in the space.

Any suggestions. Thanks

[bostonsmama]

yeah, its hard at first. just pray that you'll be very aware of him, etc. when we started co sleeping, i was terrified that we wouldnt hear his cries, that id roll over on him, etc. for naps, he slept in my arms. at night, once he was *really* asleep, i would put him in the sleep positioner on the side of the bed, then id scoot a good 12 inches over, since i knew he was safe (while he was brand new) and i knew i would have to really roll to hit him. then, after a couple of weeks we were pro's. lol i think it just takes getting used to. i have always been a crazy sleeper, i would seriously wake up with my head at the other end of the bed. i had horrible nightmares, which is why i think my actions were so extreme. but, once i got used to sleeping with ds, i no longer do these things! :) i think it just takes some getting used to. :hug

[ArmsOfLove]

I honestly don't know how not breastfeeding will impact the sleep/wake cycles :shrug

As for the other things:

I currently use a side rail and I've also shoved beds into the corner with baby by the wall. and you are still recovering from hard work so it's normal to sleep hard and wake like that. I did at first :hug