What did your baby sleep in?

[Jas12]

Dreamer--I bought an Arm''sReach Co-sleeper and loved it. I didn''t have to get out of bed to nurse and it was like having Cohen in my bed, minus the fear i had of smothering him with blankets etc. I used it until he was around 4 months and then i moved him to his crib in his own room (his room is right beside ours and i don''t use a monitor or anything since he is so close. I continued to get up to nurse him which was annoying -- if he was not such a noisy/light sleeper i would have kept him in my room longer.

 

[Jas12]

DD--forgot to add, BF laying down was not possible for me in the early days (i still don''t do it and we are both experts now

) i had sore nipples and i needed to check his latch and hold him carefully. I even had to put a battery operated night light in his co-sleeper so i could see/help him latch on without getting up to turn on a light and wake everyone up. BF is straight forward for some women, but i think it is more common to have some difficulties, esp for the first kid when everything is so new.

 

[brgirl]

Date: 12/11/2008 9:27:50 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 12/11/2008 9:15:11 AM
Author: brgirl
I''d LOVE to know this as well!! Especially about how the DH''s handle it - whether you are cosleeping or if the baby is just IN the room with you. I was thinking of just moving myself to the baby''s room with the guest bed in it so I can use the Crib or co-sleep in there. I just don''t want to constantly wake up DH when he has to get up and go to work. We also have two small dogs that currently sleep with us that we are working on getting out of our bed now (way before baby is here so they don''t associate baby = evil), but they may still be IN the bedroom (one baby step at a time with those dogs). I can''t imagine waking EVERYONE up every few hours , especially when one of the dogs takes any movement as a sign it''s time to go outside!

Regarding dogs ,we also have two little ones, and when we found out we were preggers we moved them into another room. They used to sleep in a crate in our room, and now they sleep in a crate in the guest room. I think you *may* need to move them right out of your room, eventually... we just couldn''t see it working any other way!

PS: My Dh would never want to sleep without the ''family'', he is a big sook like that

... we''ll see if sleep deprivation changes his mind, but as of now he would never want to leave the family bed. He is taking 6 weeks paternity leave, so hopefully we can work something out during that time so it isn''t so bad when he has to go back to work.

Yeah, I''m afraid they''re going to have to be out of the room entirely, but we''re those pathetic pet owners who are having a hard time even wanting them out of our bed right now because they are very cuddly and cute! I try to keep reminding both of us that it''s for the good of the entire family, but the baby still seems a little abstract right now, whereas those dogs are in your face!

My DH doesn''t get any (paid) paternity leave, so he might be off 2 weeks max, so I''ll still be right in the thick of getting up all the time when he has to go back to work.

 

[curlygirl]

We kept DD #1 in a bassinet (that came with our stroller) in our room for the first 12 weeks. After that, she was moved into the pack n play bassinet in the other room and by 5 months she was in her own crib (but still ends up in our bed sometimes!

). With DD #2, we started her out in our bedroom in the same bassinet but she was soooooo loud so we ended up co-sleeping with her in our bed quite a bit because it kept her quiet. By the time she was 6 weeks old, she was in the bassinet in the other room and we all sleep so much better now. She''s almost 11 weeks and starting to outgrow the bassinet so we''ll probably move her into the pnp soon.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/11/2008 9:39:56 AM
Author: Jas12
DD--forgot to add, BF laying down was not possible for me in the early days (i still don''t do it and we are both experts now

) i had sore nipples and i needed to check his latch and hold him carefully. I even had to put a battery operated night light in his co-sleeper so i could see/help him latch on without getting up to turn on a light and wake everyone up. BF is straight forward for some women, but i think it is more common to have some difficulties, esp for the first kid when everything is so new.

Jas: I have definitely seen this with my friends! I am lucky that many of my closest friends already have kids and all of them breastfed for at least 12 months, so I have seen the trials and tribulations and I know it gets better. I think the night-light idea isa good one and I will store it away for future!

To all the mom''s who used the Pack n'' Play: How long were you able to use the bassinet feature, and if you use it with an older chld, so they just sleep in the playard (i.e., the lower part)?

 

[Demelza]

Date: 12/11/2008 10:20:27 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 12/11/2008 9:39:56 AM

Author: Jas12

DD--forgot to add, BF laying down was not possible for me in the early days (i still don''t do it and we are both experts now

) i had sore nipples and i needed to check his latch and hold him carefully. I even had to put a battery operated night light in his co-sleeper so i could see/help him latch on without getting up to turn on a light and wake everyone up. BF is straight forward for some women, but i think it is more common to have some difficulties, esp for the first kid when everything is so new.

Jas: I have definitely seen this with my friends! I am lucky that many of my closest friends already have kids and all of them breastfed for at least 12 months, so I have seen the trials and tribulations and I know it gets better. I think the night-light idea isa good one and I will store it away for future!


To all the mom''s who used the Pack n'' Play: How long were you able to use the bassinet feature, and if you use it with an older chld, so they just sleep in the playard (i.e., the lower part)?

I can''t speak to the bassinet feature as we didn''t get a PNP until my daughter was a bit older. Our plan was to use it while at my parent''s house (we were experimenting with not co-sleeping at that point). I have to be honest and say that I found it be totally useless. The bottom part is so hard, I felt badly putting my daughter in there to sleep. We did get a firm foam mattress made at one point and that helped some, but I think I''m probably one of very few people who don''t like the PNP. The other thing that''s kind of annoying about it is that it''s so low to the ground, if you want to rub your baby''s back for more than 30 seconds, it''s enough to put you in traction.

 

[Jas12]

Demelza--i totally agree--i don''t like the PP either. For exactly the same reasons you mentioned. I have used it ONE time in 8 months- I put a few layers on the bottom to soften it up last weekend when we used it for the first time (travel). It is not comfy and i can''t bend over that long to rub Cohen''s head.
Maybe i''ll start to use it to ''contain'' Cohen once he is crawling well and i need to keep him out of trouble while I make dinner or something??

DD--didn''t mean to imply that you *won''t* be able to nurse laying down, just that it all takes more coordination than i imagined. I was hoping that i could do it, but it didn''t happen. My mom said she did but she has huge boobs compared to me and she could just put them out there for me to latch onto-ha. I could never do that. Like you said, it gets SO much easier after the first few months. Takes no effort at all now.

 

[Pandora II]

DD, great question - I have been perusing the forums over here on the same subject.

In the UK they are very pro having the baby in your room for the first 6 months, but VERY anti true co-sleeping ie. in your bed.

I looked at the Arm''s Reach, but haven''t seen it IRL yet. I was a bit worried at how stable it would be and how it would stand up to a lot of us.

Now I am looking at the Bedside Crib. It''s horribly expensive, but it has a very good resale value and I think would wear well. It would also mean we could buy a cot bed for later which would save some money at that point.

Otherwise I think it will be me, toolkit and a spot of adapting...

I definitely want to breastfeed, major sleep disturbance tends to make me hypomanic so I hope to make life as simple as possible and this crib got amazing reviews.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/10/2008 11:10:11 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Fisher from what I have read, the danger comes if you drink, do drugs, or are significantly over weight (obese). Those are the types of circumstances where babies get smothered, because the parent is too out of it to notice they smooshed their kid! I imagine that happens frequently in the populations tha tdeal with DCFS. But I hear ya! I''m not so worried about smothering my kid, since I am not a druggie or alcoholic, but I do think that it would be too much in one bed for us...

Re: smooshing the baby while co-sleeping. THAT is why I had the sleep positioner. It kept my son in place and provided a barrier so I couldn''t roll onto him. We NEVER EVER had any situation that even remotely resembled any danger! Both kids were safe. The only ones in danger were my husband and me. As my son grew older and rolled around more, he''d occasionally kick my DH or me in the head. lol!

I SLEPT while nursing my son because he woke up so frequently. Others may see that as dangerous, but what I saw as more dangerous was not getting enough sleep and being sleep deprived the next day while driving to/from the store. I have major issues when not getting enough sleep that I *hallucinate* if only getting a few hours a night.

 

[snlee]

Date: 12/10/2008 9:14:02 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Mrssalvo & snlee Do you find that co-sleeping in the same bed interrupts your sleep or your DHs sleep too much? One of my friends did it no problem, but my other friend''s husband left to sleep in another room because it was too squirmy in the bed

Honestly, sleeping together seems simplest in many ways... I''d worry about it when the baby was newborn though??

I used to be a heavy sleeper and a baby changes that quickly. Sleep will never be the same.

With the said, I wouldn''t say my baby interrupts my sleep too much or more than he would if sleeping elsewhere. I think my DH would agree plus he''d never want to sleep without the family. We''ll see how it goes as baby gets older and moves around even more. Sleeping with a newborn was easier since he was swaddled and didn''t move much or take up that much room. At 11 weeks he sleeps with his arms spread out and moves around a lot. DH and I thought our queen-sized bed was too small for the two of us but we still managed to make room for our bed hogging baby. You just make it work.

BFing laying down - I''ve done it briefly a few times but it is really hard to do! It does not work for me. I can''t get him to latch on well and stay latched on. Also I''ve fallen asleep BFing a few times sitting up so I know I would fall asleep if I were laying down!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Our P'NP's bassinet was removable (came with its own stand) which is nice so I didn't have to buy two separate things. We used the P'NP part as a downstairs changing station for the first 6 months. I like P'NPs personally. We bring them to friend's house (she goes to sleep if we are over there late) or friend's kids have slept in it when they come over. We use it to travel. T has never played in them b/c I have a pretty good set-up with gates but I could see how it would be useful.

T wanted to nurse ALL the time. There was a point where she wanted it every hour. I personally do NOT feel comfortable cosleeping. DH is a VERY heavy sleeper and I know I would not sleep as well as knowing she was safe in her own crib/bassinet. By the time we moved her into her own crib she was STILL getting up twice a nice to be BFed. It was more of a pain going in her room but the sleep we got without her in the room was much better (I think for her too). She is a light sleeper to she sleeps better alone in her own room.

I don't think I did the lying down nursing thing until 4 months or so. They have to be big enough for sure. I had a study pillow that I use to sit in bed (plus the boppy and a blanket to hoist it up) and it was the BEST $15 I could of spent. Made it MUCH more comfortable.

ETA: the other nice thing about a separate bassinet is there were times DH would take her into his home office with her and she would nap while he worked and I could nap undisturbed.

 

[vespergirl]

I just want to say that I think that co-sleeping is fine, but we didn''t want it for our family, and the longer you keep the kid in your room, the harder it will be to get them to sleep in their own room eventually if that is your objective.

I BFed for the first 3 months, and during that time, DS slept in a sidecar-bassinet attached to my side of the bed.

After that, he slept in his own crib, in his own room. He has always been a great sleeper - fell asleep on his own, in his crib, even after feedings in the middle of the night. We have never had issues with him not wanting to get out of our bed, because he wasn''t ever in it (only the bassinet attached to the side).

Now that he''s 2, he loves his crib, and actually asks to go take naps and go to sleep at night when he''s tired - he''s got books and stuffed animals in there, and he entertains himself when he wakes up in the morning until I get him.

I have some friends who let their kids sleep in the parents'' bed until they finished BFing - one at 6 months, the other at 18 months, and now they have their respective 3 yo and 5 yo sleeping with them in their beds still every night. Needless to say, the parents'' sex lives are less than stellar, and both of their husbands hate the situation

I do know that there are some families who do the whole family bed thing, and I think that''s fine too if everyone''s on board with it, but I have heard that if they are still sleeping in the parents'' bed at 6 months old, then you can expect them to not want to leave it until they are 6 years old

 

[vespergirl]

Oh, I just wanted to mention that even though my son slept really well in his crib at night, he refused to anap in it during the day until he was about 6 months old. For teh first 6 months, he napped exclusively in his fisher price swing, that swings side to side. He would have never napped if it wasn''t for the swing - it was a lifesaver!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 12/11/2008 5:25:38 PM
Author: vespergirl
Oh, I just wanted to mention that even though my son slept really well in his crib at night, he refused to anap in it during the day until he was about 6 months old. For teh first 6 months, he napped exclusively in his fisher price swing, that swings side to side. He would have never napped if it wasn''t for the swing - it was a lifesaver!

amen to that! We have/had two swings even. We had a travel one in our bedroom and she did sleep in that many a nights.

DD, she slept in sleep gowns and sleep sacks mostly at first. Then transitioned to ZIPPER PJs (refuse to do the button thing) Once it got warm she only wore a onesie (in the summer). Now she is back into zipper fleece pjs. No sleep sack. She has a blanket in her crib now. I guess now they make velcro onesies which would be awesome for the early days. I was so tired those three little buttons caused me a lot of stress sometimes.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/11/2008 5:33:32 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring

Date: 12/11/2008 5:25:38 PM
Author: vespergirl
Oh, I just wanted to mention that even though my son slept really well in his crib at night, he refused to anap in it during the day until he was about 6 months old. For teh first 6 months, he napped exclusively in his fisher price swing, that swings side to side. He would have never napped if it wasn''t for the swing - it was a lifesaver!

amen to that! We have/had two swings even. We had a travel one in our bedroom and she did sleep in that many a nights.

DD, she slept in sleep gowns and sleep sacks mostly at first. Then transitioned to ZIPPER PJs (refuse to do the button thing) Once it got warm she only wore a onesie (in the summer). Now she is back into zipper fleece pjs. No sleep sack. She has a blanket in her crib now. I guess now they make velcro onesies which would be awesome for the early days. I was so tired those three little buttons caused me a lot of stress sometimes.

I have a swing on our registry, and I have put "no buttons" on the top of my list, I can totally see that being annoying!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/11/2008 5:21:56 PM
Author: vespergirl
I do know that there are some families who do the whole family bed thing, and I think that''s fine too if everyone''s on board with it, but I have heard that if they are still sleeping in the parents'' bed at 6 months old, then you can expect them to not want to leave it until they are 6 years old

Our 6 & 8 year old kids still sleep in our bed. What''s wrong with that? (just kidding

)

There was a funny youtube that someone posted on a board of a woman who still BF''d her eight year old. It was very creepy. The girl was huge. . .I swear she looked at least 10 and over 80-90 lbs.

I don''t think if the kids are still in bed at 6 months, you''re destined to have them in there until they graduate. The bigger issue is that if your first child sleeps in bed with you and then you try and move him/her to a toddler bed and then you have a second baby you co-sleep with, the older one will get jealous and then you''ll end up with that child in bed too.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

funny story- when my first sister was born my parents could only afford a one bedroom apt (i think she was a bit of a surprise and my dad was working 6pm-6am and then going to college classes in the day) this was in the late 50s. So they ended up converting the bathtub into a place for the baby to sleep. I''m super glad they didnt do that with me!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/11/2008 11:06:57 AM
Author: Pandora II
I looked at the Arm''s Reach, but haven''t seen it IRL yet. I was a bit worried at how stable it would be and how it would stand up to a lot of us.

Pandora, we just set ours up and it appears VERY sturdy, in fact much more so than I would have thought. Make sure you go see it in person if you can before you rule it out, it has quite a nice design and can be converted into a playpen later.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Tessa has slept in a few bathtubs herself

Forgot to say I like the sleep sacks that zipped on the side not down the middle so you could easily slid it out of the way for messy diaper changes.

 

[Clio]

We had all three of our kids sleep in our bed (not all at once!). Each one slept with us for about 18 months, until they weaned. I got to be pretty good at nursing while still mostly asleep.
We didn''t have any trouble getting them to sleep in their beds once we decided it was time. I''d say the transition took about 2-3 nights.

 

[kelley1975]

My daughter slept in a co-sleeper in our room right next to my side of the bed until she was 15 months old. We had it made up in the bassinette mode until she could sit up on her own and then moved her down to the bottom--she always slept great! She then slept in her crib until she was 2 years old when she learned to climb out of it.

 

[LaraOnline]

Date: 12/10/2008 8:35:58 PM
Author:dreamer_dachsie
No I am not wondering about sleepwear... I am wondering about furniture! If your baby slept in your bedroom, where exactly did he or she sleep? With you in bed? In a little bassinet? In a convertable playard? Details please!


I am especially interested in knowing what your baby slept in at the very beginning versus what he/she slept in when a little older. Right now we are planning to have our baby sleep in our room with us for at least 6 months, maybe longer, and I am trying to figure out what type of furniture works best and will work well for that whole time! I will be breastfeeding, if that matters for your suggestions...


Many thanks, I decided to start a new thread so I could ''catch'' the most suggestions rather than clogging up the Mommy Thread with my newbie questions!

I know you''ve probably got your answer well and truly by now, but FWIW I will contribute as well....

my Mum bought me a nice bassinet for beside our bed (suitable for the first three months), this worked very well, but I found for my first girl, after she woke up the first time, she stayed the rest of the night in the big bed, breast-feeding as she chose!

This was great for her breast-feeding, and great for my supply of milk. I had to work hard at my breast feeding, and really put in hours with her at the breast. Having her suckling at will throughout the night really helped with that.

Unfortunately, the other end of that deal was that she really refused to leave our bed. I basically had to breast feed her to sleep (in our bed) to the age of two, and then transfer her to the cot, praying that she did not wake up again until morning. Weaning was hard on her.

Tom was a different story. It all depends so much on the feeding habits of your baby.
Thomas was a real dreamer on the boob.
From the moment he was born, he would snuggle up for a drink, have a couple of sucks and then pass out in bliss!! So, not a very conscientious breastfeeder!
When I got him home from hospital, I wanted to keep him in bed with us to help with supply... but my man was older and wiser by then, and refused to allow him in the bed!

Result: off the boob in about three months. But he is much easier to put to sleep, goes down in a flash, and is generally an easy sleeping baby. Also a very cuddly baby, and loves a cuddle in the morning.

If you''re not going to co-sleep for any part of the night, I recommend a well padded rocking chair and soft night light. If you will co-sleep, remove extra pillows and push your bed against a wall, with the child on the wall side, then you, then your man.

 

[softly softly]

I think I''m going to be a lone voice here, but FWIW I found it much easier for the whole family to have my kids in a separate room right from the start.

My first baby spent his first week sleeping in a moses cot beside our bed, but I have to say I found it very hard as he was a loud sleeper and I also really disliked breastfeeding in bed as I found it hard to stay awake and I much preferred sitting upright and staying awake for his feeds. After that first week we put him straight in his cot and he was mostly sleeping through (6pm to 6am) from about 10 weeks onwards. I would often bring him into bed with me after his early morning feed in order to get some more sleep and I really enjoyed this time with him. He was breastfeed for 12 months and was always a pretty good sleeper as a baby.

Baby number two was in her own room in a cot from the very first night, was also sleeping through from about 10 weeks onwards and was also breastfeed for 12 months. I didn''t really get the chance to snuggle in bed with her in the early morning as I had a toddler to deal with and I really missed that, but I also really appreciated her sleeping from 7 pm until 8am.

Lest anyone think me a uncaring mother, my kids were always right next door to me, I always left my door open and I always checked on them regularly.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 12/11/2008 12:04:25 PM
Author: MC

Date: 12/10/2008 11:10:11 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Fisher from what I have read, the danger comes if you drink, do drugs, or are significantly over weight (obese). Those are the types of circumstances where babies get smothered, because the parent is too out of it to notice they smooshed their kid! I imagine that happens frequently in the populations tha tdeal with DCFS. But I hear ya! I''m not so worried about smothering my kid, since I am not a druggie or alcoholic, but I do think that it would be too much in one bed for us...

Re: smooshing the baby while co-sleeping. THAT is why I had the sleep positioner. It kept my son in place and provided a barrier so I couldn''t roll onto him. We NEVER EVER had any situation that even remotely resembled any danger! Both kids were safe. The only ones in danger were my husband and me. As my son grew older and rolled around more, he''d occasionally kick my DH or me in the head. lol!

I SLEPT while nursing my son because he woke up so frequently. Others may see that as dangerous, but what I saw as more dangerous was not getting enough sleep and being sleep deprived the next day while driving to/from the store. I have major issues when not getting enough sleep that I *hallucinate* if only getting a few hours a night.

I was not saying it was bad mothering to co-sleep, but just that there are dangers linked to it. And you don''t have to be on drugs or anything like that for them to happen. Babies can get caught up in covers, sheets, comforters, under pillows. It is just a precaution that I felt should be shared. I''ve seen it happen, with no drug use or alcoholism or obesity or even poor parenting skills or low intelligence. It''s heartbreaking, but so is SIDS when a baby''s kept in a crib. So, who knows what''s really best. It''s very much about what works for a particular family.

I think having my newborn out of the same room from me would be IMPOSSIBLE. That''s why we will definitely have some form of bedding for the baby in our room.

I understand the desire to have your child right beside you, and I can also see the benefits in ease of feedings, etc.

I guess there are positives and negatives to everything.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/12/2008 4:58:19 AM
Author: softly softly

Lest anyone think me a uncaring mother, my kids were always right next door to me, I always left my door open and I always checked on them regularly.

No one would ever think that, you don't need to feel bad for wanting sleep! My best friend did the same thing with her daughter and also BF'ed for close to 2 years. She found that the baby was simply too loud for her to sleep with all the grunting and breathing!

I wish there was a way to know beforehand whether I was going to like having my baby in the room/BFing in bed, or whether I would prefer the baby in another room and BFing in a nice reclining rocking chair... I hate to buy both a chair and a bed-side cot if one will hardly get used!!

Fisher I think you hit the nail on the head about some risks no matter what you do. Hopefully, whatever choices people make they try to minimize all the risks as much as possible, but we can't eliminate them, sadly

 

[Demelza]

Date: 12/12/2008 8:48:03 AM


I wish there was a way to know beforehand whether I was going to like having my baby in the room/BFing in bed, or whether I would prefer the baby in another room and BFing in a nice reclining rocking chair... I hate to buy both a chair and a bed-side cot if one will hardly get used!!


Fisher I think you hit the nail on the head about some risks no matter what you do. Hopefully, whatever choices people make they try to minimize all the risks as much as possible, but we can't eliminate them, sadly

I hear you, DD! My husband and I have a running joke about all the now useless baby gear we bought. Unfortunately, there's really just no way to know what you or baby will like until you try it out. I do think that you can't go wrong buying a nice rocking or gliding chair. Even if you do end up breastfeeding in bed, you likely won't only breastfeed in bed. I spent TONS of time in our glider in the those first few months when my daughter would nurse and then fall asleep in my arms. I still use it a ton. One of the best purchases we ever made.

By the way, congrats on your job opportunity. My husband went through the whole job talk thing five years ago. We're Americans, but he ended up at a major Canadian university. I know how nervewracking it all is. I wish you lots of luck!

 

[vespergirl]

Date: 12/11/2008 6:54:44 PM
Author: MC

Date: 12/11/2008 5:21:56 PM
Author: vespergirl
I do know that there are some families who do the whole family bed thing, and I think that''s fine too if everyone''s on board with it, but I have heard that if they are still sleeping in the parents'' bed at 6 months old, then you can expect them to not want to leave it until they are 6 years old

Our 6 & 8 year old kids still sleep in our bed. What''s wrong with that? (just kidding

)

There was a funny youtube that someone posted on a board of a woman who still BF''d her eight year old. It was very creepy. The girl was huge. . .I swear she looked at least 10 and over 80-90 lbs.

I don''t think if the kids are still in bed at 6 months, you''re destined to have them in there until they graduate. The bigger issue is that if your first child sleeps in bed with you and then you try and move him/her to a toddler bed and then you have a second baby you co-sleep with, the older one will get jealous and then you''ll end up with that child in bed too.

I had a professor who was a child psychologist, and his wife was a midwife, and their children slept in bed with them (family bed) until they were 4 and 7. Their family was fine and happy with it, and I think there''s nothing wrong with it unless someone in the family is unhappy with the situation.

I enjoy taking the occasional daytime nap with my son, but my husband was totally against co-sleeping, so it wouldn''t have worked for our family.

MC, I think you''re right about the problem with moving the older one out to make room for the younger one - I''ve heard about that sibling jealousy from friends who co-sleep as well. We are trying for number 2 now, and our son is 2, and when I get pregnant, we want to move our son to a bigger bedroom with a "big boy bed," and keep the nursery intact for the baby. I am so not looking forward to that - I have a feeling that he''s not going to be happy with the situation. We may end up just making the larger bedroom into the new nursery, and keep my son in the small nursery room now if he''s really attached to that room. We''ll just have to wait and see ...

 

[vespergirl]

Date: 12/12/2008 8:48:03 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 12/12/2008 4:58:19 AM
Author: softly softly

Lest anyone think me a uncaring mother, my kids were always right next door to me, I always left my door open and I always checked on them regularly.

No one would ever think that, you don''t need to feel bad for wanting sleep! My best friend did the same thing with her daughter and also BF''ed for close to 2 years. She found that the baby was simply too loud for her to sleep with all the grunting and breathing!

I wish there was a way to know beforehand whether I was going to like having my baby in the room/BFing in bed, or whether I would prefer the baby in another room and BFing in a nice reclining rocking chair... I hate to buy both a chair and a bed-side cot if one will hardly get used!!

Fisher I think you hit the nail on the head about some risks no matter what you do. Hopefully, whatever choices people make they try to minimize all the risks as much as possible, but we can''t eliminate them, sadly

I just want to second the glider purchase - I used that thing tons. I had trouble BFing while lying down, so I would BF in the glider (I could actually doze off while feeding him) and my husband would be able to sleep through the feeding, which was nice for everyone. THe baby really liked being rocked in the glider, too. I still love to sit in that chair and read in it - so comfy!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

gliders are the best. I read to Tessa in ours now. It is such a comfy chair!

 

[chickflick]

We tried everything with Leah- first we put her in an Amby bed, and she slept very well but I found that after she woke for nightly feedings, it was much easier to get her to go back to sleep if she slept with us. So we began cosleeping, which I love and highly recommend, especially for newborns- easier to nurse, and there are studies that demonstrate that the mom's heart regulates her baby's heart so it can be a factor in SIDS prevention. But, we have a queen-sized bed and I wanted something a little safer, so first we tried a snuggle nest (didn't work, not enough room), then an Arm's Reach cosleeper. I loved the convenience of the Arm's Reach but I did a no-no and used a memory foam positioner with Leah because the mattress on the Arm's Reach is quite thin, like a pack-and-play.

We used the Arm's Reach until she could pull up on her own, then finally transitioned to a crib but she still sleeps with us most of the night. She usually starts out in the crib (her room is right next to ours) and then when she wakes for her nightly bottle (I couldn't nurse very long- not enough of a supply) she ends up in bed with us for the rest of the night.

All babies are different so just try to find what works for you, but I definitely recommend having the baby in the room with you exclusively for at least the first six months. Studies have shown that it's better for the baby to be as physically close to mom as possible.

Good luck!!