#cosleeping the good the bad and the really ulgy

I love having my little snuggle bunny in bed with me but has it been good for him?

I did not start sleeping with Aiden at first. We had him in a bassinet next to us, but because of my Hashimoto syndrome it is really hard for me to get up at night. Even with out it I am sure most moms have a hard time getting up to feed your baby. So I would get up feed Aiden and then when I would try to put him back in his bassinet and he would cry, right away. My husband worked nights at that point, so what I would do would put Aiden in bed with me once Ryan went to work, and we both slept much better. After a week of that he just stayed in bed with us.




It made breastfeeding him so much easier. We both slept better, and slept longer. When Aiden was at about 3 months we thought about moving him into his own bed. So what I did was I broke down one side of the crib all and pushed the crib next to the bed. That way once he fell asleep I could just move him a little over and he would be in his own bed. The night we where going to start that Aiden got sick with RSV and Bronchitis. So we kept him with us while he was sick because it was easier. Then when he got over that we forgot and just did not do it. Then at 5 months we decided that would be a good time to start getting him into his crib. And the night we where going to start he got sick again with bronchitis! At that point I kind of laughed thinking this kids would do anything just so he would not go into his own bed!

Now don't get me wrong I love sleeping with him, like I said we all sleep better at night, he feeds better, and it really brings us closer. But at what point do you get him in his own bed?

Every time I tell someone that I cosleep, I find more parents who have done it too. Or I get people who think it is bad. There are lots of people who do it, most are not in America but still.


Well i am staying with my parents for the next two months while Ryan is working and they are one of the few people who believe that you should not cosleep. So I thought I was (for their sake) try to get Aiden to sleep in the crib. Its day two of trying and he HATES that crib. I hate doing the "cry it out" but I put him in his crib for 5 mins, come back and try to lay him back down. Then leave for another 5 mins, come back again lay him down and after 15 mins of trying. I take him out feed laying on the bed and he's out.

As of right now I have him in the crib playing with some toys because he cries every time he gets near it. I am trying to teach him that is ok to be in there so maybe when he lays down he will be ok.

Do any of you cobed or cosleep and if so how did you get your baby to grow out of it? I will let you know later this week how he is doing with it.

Comments

Cass said…
You could try putting him to sleep like you usually do, and just moving him back to his crib once he is sleeping. I don't like CIO either. Around 15 months I do the pick up/put down method (check out the baby whisperer website how to do that). I like cosleeping especially when we are in a new place, and you might prefer it when you are at your parents house.
Unknown said…
I'm trying to get my son to sleep in his own bed. And, it's not me that has a hard time sleeping without him, it's my husband! lol..

What I have done is, once he falls asleep I put him in his bed. We have bunk beds for the boys. He'll still get up in the middle of the night and crawl into our bed though. BUT I'm hoping that with time and consistency he will actually sleep in there the whole night.

Don't give up or lose heart, it takes time. When my eldest (he's 13 now) was transitioning to his own bed it took a month or so.

Visiting your blog from voiceBoks, Aloha from Maui :)
Anonymous said…
I am so intrigued by cosleeping. My husband is so against it but I wonder if any of you have any ways to convince a husband to try it???
Thanks for posting.
Following you from VB!
My heart goes out to you as I remember those sleepless nights of baby not wanting to be out of our arms. Sorry, I can't give you advice on how to switch because we never let our kids co-sleep with us. Yes, we had lots of crying and even several nights of sleeping on the couch with baby. I've also seen the what happens - and this may be the extreme - but the baby turns kid that can't sleep without another body next to him, even at 10yrs old! Good luck, hugs! Following form vb.
Jenn said…
My DS slept with us because he was very ill for the first few years of his life. Once he got a "big boy bed" he went very willingly to sleeping alone. My DD, however, never wants to sleep in our bed (I've tried because there is noting more comforting than napping with a child IMO), so we don't have that issue at all.
Unknown said…
I co slept a lot with mine (only way we could sleep at all really), but we eventually got them to their crib by laying them down once they fell asleep. I know plenty of people who have had success with the cry it out method, I just didn't. I also had other people that the baby was keeping awake at night, so it was a little harder for me to keep at it.

Good luck!
Piggy Giggles said…
Sometimes you just do what you gotta do to survive!! and you change it when you get to the point you can't stand it anymore :)
What I've learned is that you keep trying to get them to sleep the ideal way and eventually one day you figure it out or they get old enough to handle it. We'd always tried to get ours down the ideal way for an hour or so. We'd get her to sleep, put her down, she'd wake up, we'd pick her up, get her to sleep again, put her down...wake up... We'd do this until we got tired of doing it and then we'd revert back to the easy way so we could get some sleep. Eventually it worked after a long time. I don't believe in letting them cry it out, but I keep giving them the opportunity.
But most importantly don't let anyone make you feel guilty about the way you do it. Every baby and situation is different.
I saw your website on the Alexa Blog Hop, would love for you to come over and visit!
Brenda
http://www.piggygiggles.com
Keesha said…
Great Blog!

Co-sleeping was my partner in a love hate relationship. I had no interest in it before my children were born. It became the only way to go when my children were waking up every 2-3 hours, then it seemed they were waking up every 2-3 hours b/c I was right there and responding to the slightest whimper by sticking a boob in their mouth. But they seemed too little for a room down the hall. After 4 months with my first and 6 months with my second I felt like a psychopath. So we sleep trained. Straight ahead cry-it-out. Broke my heart. I wanted to throw up while we did it, esp. that 1st night. Not a miracle but within 5 days they were in their own beds and sleeping for one 6 hour stretch.

Whatever works for your body, head and heart is what you do.

Best,
Keesha at Mom's New Stage (visiting from VB)
come visit at www.momsnewstage.blogspot.com/
I didn't cosleep with my daughter but she used to wake up very often (every 2 hours) wanting to be with me and nurse. I would get up, nurse her and put her down on her crib but 2 hours later she would wake up again. I was VERY tired! I tried the CIO once but it really did not work for me.
It only got better when I started to apply the techniques I had learned from the book "The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night" by Elizabeth Pantley. This book is GREAT!!! I recommend to all moms! Check it out! I'm sure you will get him to sleep on his crib without crying.
Stopping by from VB and following you!
I forgot to add my link!
http://www.essentialmamababy.blogspot.com
A said…
I just wrote about co-sleeping on my blog. I am a big advocate. Hope everything worked out well for you :)
- Adrianne
www.ThreeRingLife.com

Popular posts from this blog

Tommee Tippee giveaway

Banana Brush review and giveaway 6/30

Milkin' Cookies reviews & giveaway *CLOSED*