end to co-sleeping?

[isimom]

My daughter is 3 months old and my husband and i would love to have a little privacy for the first time since her birth. We started co-sleeping soon after coming home from the hospital and for the last week I've started trying to put her in her bassinet. But she's still waking up every 1-2 hours (more frequently than when we were all in bed together) and frankly we only get to successfully put her in the bassinet--and have her actually fall asleep there--1-2 times a night...the rest of the time I fall asleep with her in the bed after nursing. Any advice?

[EmmaVT]

I interpret this as meaning that had there been room at the inn, Mary and Jesus would have co-slept in a bed or pallet. Since there was not a room, she chose to put her newborn Son in a manger as it was no doubt cleaner and snugger than the rest of the stable. But it was a second choice out of necessity.

[leo81]

unfortunately for me my daughter is a titty baby.she's 2 and a half mths and i cant even go out of her sight let alone put her in her bassinet to sleep by herself.im scared though because she's starting to roll on her side and she digs her face into the mattress..but i am going to bite the bullet and start trying to get her into it.i know eveyone says let them cry but no joke she'll scream and scream not just cry.

[Stephane & Shane]

We have a 4 months old son and we just put him in his bassinet and trun on a raido and put on a liitle light and turn off the big little and give him a little stuff toy to hold on to and he gose to sleep like that you might can try it and maybe it will work for ya ll... And we try to put him to bed at the same time ever night!!!! Just keep trying and it will get better soon!!!!! maybe

[Anne]

I'm finding with my 2 1/2 month old that the snuggle nest is a helpful transition. It goes in between the parents' pillows and gives the munchkin his/her own space to sleep. I also angle him on his side because he hates sleeping alone on his back. I've also read that if you place them up against the side of their crib, babies find it more comforting than if they awaken in the middle of the night to find themselves laying there all alone.

Good luck!

[Hannah]

We never did the co-sleeping; however, we kept Anders in a basssinet next to our bed. He sleep in our room in the bassinet for just over the first 2 months of his life. I wanted to move him to his crib before I went back to work in January. I was lucky in the fact that Anders was a big baby (11pounds 2ounces) and was sleeping through the night fairly early. It was really scary the first night that he slept through the night though. We woke up the next morning and realized it was morning and immediately checked on him. :) Of course that was when he was still sleeping in our room. He took to the crib without any problem; but, I also nursed him and he was placed in his crib asleep. We have more problems now keeping him asleep in his crib than before. Good luck with the move.

PS-- my Ped. never said anything about keeping him in our room until 1 yr.

[MrsMiner]

the reason some doctors recommend the baby sleeping in your room for the first year is that it is supposed to help reduce the risk of SIDS. If the baby can hear you breathing and moving then he or she is less likely to stop breathing.

[Marousya Rasskovskaya]

you have to just bear with it and stick w/whatever approach you want to take - it might take a while for her to get used to it - after all, you "trained" her to sleep in your bed. also, if she's strong enough, you might want to try different positions. for ex, we realized our 3 mo sleeps better on her tummy or side, but she also learned to roll over at 2.5 mos. so we weren't worried about suffocation. also, you might experiment w/different kinds of beds - like hammock bed, pack n play, etc. we had a hammock and ended up selling it, b/c we realized she slept better on a flat surface. also, we have found the book by Dr. Weissbluth, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to be really helpful. We realized that if we put her down for frequent naps during the day (she doesn't stay awake longer than 1-2 hrs. at a time), putting her down even if she cries at first, she sleeps better at night. establishing a bedtime routine - the same thing every night and same time also helps.

good luck!

[Nan]

Good luck, my son is 9 and he still sleeps between us. We had him out of our room a couple of times, but going on vacation, having company etc. forced us back together. I get up early in the morning (4:00 am) for my job so I go to bed early. I take my son with me when I go and we snuggle and pray and read books then fall asleep. My husband is a night owl and comes to bed much later, he used to bring our son to his own room, but now he just squeezes in and goes to sleep. This is a topic of discussion at our house and we think that soon our son will make the decision on his own to go to his own room (he does have one and it's really nice)!

[Meredith]

My first co slept with us until her 2nd birthday, now she is still in our room , but at the foot of our bed in her playpen. She had to move out because i was growing with her sister inside me! Now the baby sleeps with us, and big sis is in her playpen at the foot of our bed. I swore i wouldnt do it with the second one, but that is just one thing i just cant do, is watch my baby scream for me to pick her up....i nursed both of them, and it was the easiest thing to just fall asleep together after they fed, but now im doing it with the bottle, and then it leaks everywhere!! Its time now to get both of them in their own room! Its nobodys fault but our own. But i feel the bond i have with them by cosleeping with them when they are babies is irreplaceable. They are only babies for such a short time, and i enjoy the closeness of them being right beside myself and my hubby.

[Judith Lienhard]

An infant's stomach capacity is small and so they wake up to feed. In Dr John McKenna's work at the Mother Baby sleep lab, it shows that when bedsharing, infants will nurse more times than mothers are aware of. Bedsharing is great for some and not for all. You need to do what works best for your family. The American Academy of Pediatrics does recommend having your baby in the same room with you for safety.

[Lullaby Luna]

Your baby is young which is great. Do you swaddle? Do you have a sleep routine? When do you feed during the day? When does she nap?

In the next month or so, a great goal would be that your daughter learns how to self-soothe... this will mean she will cry some as she complains... but you will all be much more rested.

Here are some things to consider as you think about your daughter's sleep.

And to answer my questions and get more feedback contact me.

Courtney, mother of 3, sleep consultant, sleep blog writer LullabyLuna.

[Laura Hammons]

Fuck in the shower.

Swaddle her. I will send you my old one. I have two!!

Send me your address.