I'm continuosly being told by my health visitor that taking a baby into bed with me is very very dangerous. However a couple of times i'v done it for an hour in the early morning because it's the only way i can get a bit of rest. Then i feel extremely guilty for risking my 4 week old son in order for me to get some rest. Yet i enjoy the cuddling. Also it seems like many of you enjoy having your little one in bed with you. So are there any tips how to do this safely and can the baby spend the whole night their? Also i'v heard you can breastfeed while lying in bed but i'm not sure how? All advice greatly welcome.

my little girl is 8 weeks and she has been sleeping in with me for about 2 weeks now i put my arm around her head to support it and turn her to face my body thats the only way she'll sleep all the way through its beacuse of the body heat i love it i know they say you shouldn't do it but if you think your not going to roll on your baby you should be ok just make sure you havent been drinking but do what ever you think is right :)

hi
it is up to you. i only had ds sleep in with us on 1 or 2 occassions and the second time i woke to see dh had pushed his pillow over ds. hence we never had ds in bed again and he was in his cot in his own room from 8 weeks. you have to decide for yourself but tbh i was so scared of sids that we never co slept again, although i also hear lots of people happy to co sleep. i understand the tiredness from middle of the night feeds.

They do make co-sleeper things you can buy to make it safer. I know of them but not much about them, so sorry for just calling them things. Also, our bassinet has a drop down side that goes right next to the bed so it can function as a cosleeper. It fastens to the bed so that it doesn't tip over and it stays put. With our first child, we hooked it up the very first night. She was in her own bed, but she was right next to me. For us, it was a pacifer problem. Every time she spit the thing out she woke up and started crying. After the 8th trip across the room for just a pacifier fix, we hooked the thing up and it was wonderful.

If you enjoy it, by all means, continue. I never did co-sleeping, but many parents do and most say it is very safe, even safer in some ways than having the baby sleep alone. However if and when you want the baby to sleep on his own, if he is not at the age where he is rolling over on his own yet, try one of the following:

Swaddle tightly
Place your baby on his tummy in the crib
Prop your baby on his side.
Put the carseat in the crib and let him sleep there.
Let him sleep in the swing.
Let him sleep in the bouncy.

Most babies do not sleep well flat on their backs.

Nancy

My DS is 2 years old now, and I still love cuddling with him when he needs to come to bed with me. He was a micro-preemie (born at 24 weeks gestation) and when he came home from the hospital, I bought a little "bed" that had hard sides and could be placed in my bed. That way he was with me, but I had a little security knowing that I couldn't roll over on him. I think I remember reading somewhere that co-sleeping actually can reduce the risk of SIDS. Not necesarily having baby IN the bed with you, but next to the bed in a bassinet, cradle, or co-sleeper. You have to do what you are comfortable with, and if you like having your little one with you, then go for it!

My dd never co-slept with us, I also bottle fed her so she slept through the night pretty early on. With ds now, he is bf and waking up every 2 hours getting him from his crib and feeding and putting him back was just WAY to much for me. He slept with us for a while, I either held him or he was in the bassinette next to me. Now ds is 3 1/2 months and sleeping through most of the night so he is in his crib now. When dh works nights he usually will come home and there will be me and two kids in bed so he goes downstairs to the couch!!:) I love the warmth and the snuggling we get to do when they are just babies, because when they are 3 yrs they sleep like star fish and there isn't much snuggling done anymore!!!

I also read and was told by my health nurse that co sleeping is now considered to reduce the risk of sids. They think that having the baby so close to the parents, parents pick up on changes in babys breathing or something.

Logic would say to me it is safe if; your matress is flat and firm, you have a large bed that you could lie the baby away from you without fear of the matress moving and the baby rolling over, if you are a light sleeper who doesnt move unless youre awake (I sleep in the same position and dont roll in my sleep), and same goes for cuddling the baby while asleep - if youre not prone to roll in your sleep.

On a note about sids, I was reading the latest research the other day, and theyre thinking one thing that may influence it is if the baby is in a position to inhale its own carbon dioxide back in ie on their stomach or close to your body facing you. Theyre thinking there might be something in some babies brains that hasnt developed properly yet and whereas adults would wake up, a baby cant bring themselves out of it yet. Same thing if their temp drops or heart rate, there brains cant always regulate their body to bring it back up again. I dont obviously know how acurate it is, but I thought it was interesting and made sense.

there are many things to consider when thinking going into bed.

Are you rough when you or dh sleep?
Do you move a lot when you sleep?
Will you be woken up if baby moves?

Everyone is different. I have a king size bed and baby always was on my side with pillows as a guard from the floor. NEver did I put baby between me and dh ever! When I nursed I would nurse on side where dh was first with a pillow between baby and dh. The reason for nursing that side first was by the time i got to second boob baby would be sleepy and I didnt wnat to switch sides as to not wake her/him up.

As for nursing with baby in bed. Lay down with burp rag under your breast and baby. Place baby next to you(close), make sure baby is right up against your breast. Like while you are sitting up you bring baby to your breast not your breast to baby. after baby is laying down wait for a big open mouth and place breast in there to get a good latch. You will be horrizontal with baby horrizontal as well face to face. IF you have mastitis or are engorged there are other ways to nurse while sleeping to help that and you shoudl ask your lactation consultant. Once you see baby done with that breast switch. If baby doesnt want the 2nd breast then the 2nd breast is what you start off with the next time feeding begins.

There are co sleepers out there and I have heard they are great. Personally I never used them as I am one of those moms who is very alert to all kids and dont need one. Had babies sleeping in my bed from 2 weeks on. First time for each one was an accident then it just became habit once I new I didnt move while they were in there. There is a company who makes co sleppers but I dont know if I am aloud to post the name of the compay.

So I will post it here and if moderator needs to edit atleast they can just edit this sentance for me.

The name of the magazine I get is One Step Ahead and that is where I saw them. But also at Babies R Us as well I think i heard they had it.

It was much better for me to get sleep when baby was iin bed with me although dh didnt like it.but he didnt like it because he moves around too much once he realized I really didnt move around he was fine with it. DR's can not say to have baby in bed because if something happens to baby we might say they are responsible for it. so you have to go with what you are confortable with.

Thank you mamaof4 i'm still a bit nervouse with him being in there but i do enjoy the closeness. I think i'll keep to an hour nap time in the afternoon as i won't be sleepy and we will have the bed to ourselves and build my confidence that way. When breastfeeding lying down do i latch baby onto the breast closest to the mattress and roll over for the second one or can i do both while remaining lying on the same side?

I would LOVE to cosleep with my daughter. I did for awhile because she only sleeps when she in someone's arms/right next to someone. But after a trip to the emergency room we told the ER nurse about it and she said you would not beleive all the infants that die from being put into bed with mom and dad and the subduralhemorhages from being accidently bumped in the head. That was enough for me to stop.

tiredmum - "When breastfeeding lying down do i latch baby onto the breast closest to the mattress and roll over for the second one or can i do both while remaining lying on the same side?"
My mom did this with my sisters. You latch the baby onto the breast closet to the mattress and then roll to the other side to nurse the other side. At least my mom did it this way. She would bring my sisters in bed with her in the morning and just lay there with one side out and let them suck off and on as they wanted to and she would sleep on and off. Co-sleeping is fine as long as you are a light sleeper and don't move alot.
Just the other day, there was a story in the news about a mom living in NYC who put her 4-month old in her bed because she didn't want the rats in their apartment to bite the baby. During the night she rolled over on the baby and killed it.
I slept with DS in our bed and now DD(occasionally), but I am one of those people that wake up every time they so much as change their breathing pattern, let alone move.

I feed with the boob closest to the bed then roll over to the other side. It isn't always easy in the middle of night shuffling around but it is well worth it in the end.

There are so many horror story's out there, you just have to do what you feel comfortable with. If you are very nervous about it and don't trust yourself then don't do it. I never put baby between me and dh and I always make sure baby has his own space to sleep with lots of room to breath. Now that he is bigger I only bring him in when dh isn't home and I don't even do that so much anymore. We both sleep better when we are in our own beds, well I do anyway. My ds is a snuggle bug and would snuggle 24/7 if he had it his way.