safe co-sleeping

[sukidee]

Hi everyone. I just had my daughter a week ago. During my pregnancy, we procured a crib and set it up in our bedroom right next to our bed... I liked the idea of being in the same room with my baby, but didn't think I'd ever be able to actually sleep with her (I am the type of person who needs my OWN space

Comments

[bettyboot]

Swaddling and the bouncer on vibrate are the only ways my 3 week old will sleep on his own, so I totally third the swaddling!

[dirtmonkey]

The "experts" will tell you that this is unsafe. Moms will tell you to follow your instincts. Both of my babies like to sleep on their tummy with their faces jammed into my armpit...pretty sure this would be considered unsafe.
The only thing I would worry about the sleeping on the chest things is that as the baby gets stronger and bigger the risk is higher for her to roll off, but by then she may be more comfortable sleeping next to you.

[the_questess]

I'm all about following your instincts (as you have already been doing

[introducingyael]

Personally,my gut tells me that it's related to sticking a helpless newborn off to sleep alone without the security or comfort of its mother, whom it just spent the rest of its life literally attached to and certainly isn't ready to suddenly be ripped away for huge amounts of time to try and regulate its systems completely on its own.
My daughter was almost 5 months old and sleeping on her back alone in the family bed when she died of SIDS...so, your gut might be a little off.

[the_questess]

alone is the keyword here

[introducingyael]

Tact isn't your forte, is it?

[sxdx]

I think you should follow your instincts too but be careful. My bub loves to sleep like that but she is so wiggly that we can't because if I am TOO tired she'll wiggle off me and possibly off the bed too. I would only be comfy with MY wiggle worm if I was in the middle of the bed sleeping like that. My partner had to remove her from my chest are 3 days PP because she was so wiggly and I was SO tired from birth that I didn't realize she was coming dangerously close to falling off and I didn't notice. Never did that again.
And to be honest, my girl loves sleeping on her belly and hates being swaddled. I let her tummy sleep during the day and at night she sleeps in the crook of my arm on her back. I'm always next to her during the day so I'm not worried about her suffocating.

[sxdx]

*unless I was in the middle of the bed.

[mistresstrixe]

I did the crook of the arm thing too when I was nursing her at night, and then we would settle again with her next to me. I think at night during the first two months she was awake and nursing more than during the day, so your mileage may vary.

I kept our daughter between me and the co-sleeper, which turned into a really expensive cat bed and a good place to hold a book and a water bottle and the remote for the eleventy million hours I spent nursing the baby in the first few months.

[either_or]

my son slept on my chest for his first 2 months or so, until he was too heavy for it to be comfortable for me all night. by then, he was able to sleep next to me. side-lying nursing really helps.