To keep Max from suffocating on the cold nights when I want the blankets pulled up over my shoulders, I have started wearing a thin silk top that was intended to be used as long johns. It is extremely easy to just pull the top up on the side that I am nursing on without having to find a stupid slit in my sleepy haze. This keeps me warm while nursing and when I am through, I just scoot Max up level with my face so that he stays warm, but his face doesn't get covered.
Sonya

My name is Amy and I am mother to 4 and a half month old Alexandra. My husband and I agreed to cosleep with our baby before she was born. It was wonderful for me... nursing was a breeze, and I didn't experience any of that "not breathing" anxiety that my mother told me that I would go through. Not only that, but I feel that it has created a bond between Alex and I, and Alex and my husband that could only be created through co-sleeping. Recently though, my husband requested that she begin sleeping in her crib. This greatly upset me, and I had no intention of putting her in a crib by herself. So after much debate, my husband and I agreed to a compromise. Now, we have my daughter's crib (which is designed to convert from a crib to a daybed to a toddler bed) up against the bed like a sidecar. The best part about this situation is that I can nurse her to sleep, she is still right next to me, and she usually ends up right back in bed with us anyway! My husband is comfortable with this situation, and he even puts her in between us again. I live waking up to her every morning, and so does my husband. I think that this was a great idea.
Amy Welch

My husband and I have been sharing a bed with our daughter her whole life!! The first night in the hospital the three of us crawled into the fold out couch in the hospital room and spent our first official night as a family!
It's been almost 9 months now that Natalie has shared a bed with us, and even though she is demanding more space when she sleeps, I wouldn't have it any other way.
We recently moved her crib alongside our bed to give her more room at night time when she's "thrashing" all over the place!! It's been in our room for 3 weeks now, and she still hasn't slept in it. That's more than fine with me - I can't tell you how much I love feeling her warm little body snuggled up next to mine during the night. My husband isn't too keen on having the hair on his chest pulled on at 3 in the morning, but he's getting used to it!!
I wish the media, and the general public would stop criticizing the family bed. I, for one, have heard on a regular basis from my family how I'm "spoiling" Natalie by letting her sleep with us. As a result of co-sleeping, our daughter has slept through the night practically since the day she was born, and to date, I haven't lost a night's sleep because of her!! Words can't express the closeness I feel to my husband and daughter when the three of us snuggle into bed at night. The feeling is almost magical!! :o)
Ashley M.

I was a young mom when I had my son I was 17 and people would ask me where my son slept and when I said in my bed they would say that it was bad. For a while I tried to keep him in his crib, but he would just cry. I just ended up losing sleep and finally brought him back to my bed. He is now 3 1/2 years old and is still sleeping in my bed along with my 5 month old(who has never slept in her crib),my husband and sometimes a cat or two. It's a good thing we have a king sized bed! As for all the people who say co-sleeping is bad, I just ignore them!
Gwenyth

I am the new mother of a three-month-old boy. Upon our return from the hospital, my husband suggested that Cormac sleep with us on his first night home. We accidently fell asleep with Cormac on the outside edge and my husband in between me and my son. Stephen, my husband, said he dreamed that night of sleeping between two precious pieces of art and that he knew he had to be careful not to upset these pieces. Cormac continues to sleep with us, but now we put him in the middle. We all love it. He sleeps fairly soundly, and wakes up to eat. I'm thrilled to be feeding him from bed because I get more sleep. When he is upset or begins to cry, placing a loving hand on his chest is often enough to relax him.
How to make it work? I know that it works, and that it's a great experience for all of us. I think that this helps mediate all the surprised looks and negative comments I get when I tell others that our son sleeps with us. I know that my pediatrician is against it. He takes naps in his crib at regular times during the day, and has no problem falling asleep in our bed at night. Bottom line is that he sleeps great for a three-month-old and I believe that co-sleeping has had only a positive effect. And there is no greater joy than waking up and seeing his happy and peaceful face.
Patrice

I've been co-sleeping with my 9 week old daughter since the minute she was born. I think the thing that made co-sleeping so successful for us was starting right away in the hospital. The nurses were very supportive and showed me how to wedge pillows in by the bed rail so she couldn't fall out. I wasn't sure I wanted to cosleep or not, but now I can't imagine not doing it. It makes the nights so easy. Half the time I don't even remember how many times she wakes up to nurse because she is right there and I can just roll over and feed her when she stirs. I also think it is the best thing for her since she doesn't ever have to get frantic and start crying for food because I'm always right there.
Co-sleeping in the hospital got us started on the right foot, and it felt very safe since I had the bedrails on both sides of me.
Lisa

Hi! Because I have the rare insufficient milk supply, I nurse with the aid of an SNS (Supplemental Nutrition System). In the early months we were dealing with nipple confusion among other things and for night feedings I had to wake up completely, go downstairs and syringe/finger feed (as part of suck training) my little one, leaving me exhausted. Now that she is older, she doesn't need a full meal at night and will nurse (I make about 1 1/2 oz per 3 hrs.) while both of us are pretty much asleep. The crib is right next to our bed, with one headboard snug to the side of our bed. This way, I can put her down when she falls asleep and I still want to stay up. When she first wakes in the night, I bring her to bed. Some nights the only way to get her asleep is to side-lie and go to sleep with her. I roll up a blanket and put it along her back (she sleeps on her side) in between her and her dad. This helps him feel that if he rolled towards her in sleep, he wouldn't roll onto her, because the blanket roll would prevent him or at least remind him she's there. She can also sleep on the other side of me (and since I like to turn over when I sleep this is great) because the crib end makes a wall and I put a pillow against it in between her and the hard crib wall. When she sleeps on this side, I like to put the roll against my back and this offers much needed support when I'm side-lying.
I am so aware of her, yet this doesn't prevent me from sleeping well. Fear of smothering is well founded if you truly believe you'll roll over on the baby and sleep so hard you fall off the bed. What keeps us from rolling onto our babies is much the same awareness as what keeps us from rolling off the bed at night! I get so much sleep because keeping her happy, secure, and fed during the night takes a minimum of movement. I hardly wake up at all. If she slept in another room, I'd be up four times a night I'm sure!! I feel more secure too, able to hear her breathing, know she's alive and well at a moment's glance or feel.
What a wonderful thing cosleeping is, being able to nurse while you both are asleep. I wish I have (and had in those early days especially) a normal supply of milk, so that I could side-lie a meal even during the day.
There a so many ways to cosleep, be creative to find a way that works best for your family!
Tiffany

When I confirmed my third pregnancy, there was never a question in my mind of whether or not the new baby would sleep with me. My first baby did, and is still welcome into the family bed whenever she feels the need. Then when we had our second son, we decided to try a crib after about a month of cosleeping. My son died of SIDS in his crib...So you see, I knew in my heart that cosleeping was the safest thing for this new baby. Well, Daniel is now 4 months old, and we have upgraded to a king sized bed to accomodate the whole family more comfortably. Daniel is healthy and seccure because his mammy is always there for him, for food or just comfort.
Karen

From her very first night in our world Isidora has slept right along side me or her daddy, cuddled up like a little cub warm and tight. Usually suckling throughout the night, calm, content and secure, knowing her parents were near and loved her and would keep her warm and safe. I cannot imagine putting her down to sleep alone in a separate area, it just seems so unnatural. Night waking is not an issue as I am barely out of a dream state as I pull her close and nurse her or soothe her back to sleep. She is 10 months now and is growing into such a confident happy little being. I have to believe Co-sleeping has a strong part in that. There is no interruption in the consistency of our love. She has never had to struggle with the feeling of being alone or deserted or had to ‘self-soothe’ when my partner and I are there for her unconditionally to help her face life and fears and to learn about love and trust. I find it hard not to balk at people when they talk about putting their babies in cribs, I find it such a foreign idea. I am so glad prior to Isidora being born I was made aware of the negative aspects of the way (sad) the majority of the western world parents their tiny babies and I was able to see the difference and do right by my child and us.
It's funny now, people make such an issue about getting them ‘out of your bed’ later, but I am already lamenting that day my little girl declares her independence! Times when I have tried to have a nap w/o her while her and daddy play I find it near impossible. I have become so subconsciously linked (attached) to the sound of her little breaths and that warm little body burrowed next to mine sharing my dreams that I only sleep sound with my child near anymore. Could it really be any other way? It is so right and so magical and so real. Blessed is motherhood (and fatherhood too)! Happy sleeping all!
Rose Kubler

We didn't really expect our child to sleep with us. In fact, when we were pregnant, I just assumed our baby would be in a crib in a nursery from day one. I mean, that's where children sleep, right? Wrong! She did stay in a bassinette for the first two months. It was touching my side of the bed, so I felt she was close enough, and I still had some space to get used to being a mom. Looking back, I feel like this was a smart decision, since I was so tired. I've always been a heavy-sleeper, and those first two months gave me some time to get used to having a baby so close. When our daughter was 2 months old, we decided to move her into our bed. We bought a new set of mattresses because our old ones were soft and saggy. I didn't feel they were safe for such a tiny baby. As Chandler, our daughter, got older, we've adjusted our sleeping situation some. At one point, we used a bed rail. She slept in-between me and the bed rail. When she started crawling, we put the mattresses on the floor, and still used the bed rail. Now that she's walking (and running), we got rid of the bed rail, but she only sleeps in-between me and the wall or me and my husband.
We also taught her, from a very early point, how to get down off the bed safely--backwards. She picked up on this really quickly, and will lay down and scoot off the bed feet-first.
My husband was gung-ho about co-sleeping, mainly because he saw all the benefits. He knew how much easier it was to nurse when Chandler needed to if she was close to me. We did skim Dr. Sears' Nighttime Parenting book, which also gave us some great reasons to co-sleep.
The thing is, once you have children, you never sleep the same again. Why not have them in your bed, so close to you, snuggled up, where they feel safe and you do too?!
My best piece of advice is to make the bed a safe place for your little one. No heavy blankets or comforters. A tight fitting sheet on a firm mattress. Lower your mattresses. And teach your little one how to get out of bed safely.
Jessica Wigley

I got into cosleeping rather inadvertently. When I had my first baby, I never read a book about parenting. (With the exception of the basics, like how to change a diaper!) We brought Coleen home and had a few nights of getting up to nurse her. Then we started putting her in her bassinet to start the night out, but would bring her to bed when she woke up. I would nurse with the intention of getting up to put her back to bed. Of course, I inevitably fell asleep. Finally I admitted defeat and just took her to bed with us. Life was so much easier after that one concession. I found that I dearly enjoyed waking up with her little body curled into mine, her cheek resting on my breast. When she was about a year old we found that we all weren't getting much sleep with her in our bed. So then she went to the crib again for the start of the night, but would come in with us in the morning while I nursed her and slept in. That was the last nursing she weaned from.
Now, I have a 3 month old son. From the start he's slept with us, and it's been a joy. I hope that he'll never need a crib, but I know I'll have to do something when we reach the point we did with Coleen. This time around though, I know that there are so many resources out there to support parenting style we fell into, and plan to take full advantage of them. I want to insure that my children are the healthiest, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, that they possibly could be.
Victoria Gabhart

Sarah and I have always slept together ever since she was born. We even slept together in the hospital right after her birth. Around 5 months though, she started wiggling around in bed and eventually fell out of bed a few times. I was so upset and thought she was not physically hurt, I felt terrible that I was letting this happen to her. I pushed my futon up against the wall so at least she would have one side that she couldn't fall off of. It still kept happening though. She would wiggle around so much in the night that she would end up at the end of the bed sometimes and also on the other side (the one not against the wall). I finally saw one of those Safety 1st bed rails and bought one. They have these bars that fit under your mattress and it's a railing that blocks the side of your bed. It's a lifesaver! Sarah hasn't fallen out of bed since.
Susan Schermerhorn

When dd was born, my husband was adamant about her not sleeping with us. He was convinced she would be spoiled by it and never sleep in her own bed. This was about 3 months ago. Usually she sleeps alone until she wakes up to eat, then she's with us for the rest of the night. About a week ago, however, my husband was going to bed before me, and dd was soundly sleeping. When I went to bed, I saw that he had decided to cuddle the still sleeping baby in bed with him. I don't think that she's the one that's spoiled to our cozy little family bed.
Amber

I believe that babies need to have continuous physical contact with their mother or father for the first few weeks of life and that transition should be gradual. For the first week, I pretty much stay in bed with my baby all the time. I bathe with my baby. We have a little "babymoon." :-)
As the baby grows and I heal, I start using the sling instead of my arms. And once a day I put baby down for a nap. This is probably around 4 weeks of age. This one nap time, I still have baby in the bassinet in the same room as I am in.
By the time baby is about 8 to 12 weeks old, I no longer need to go to bed with the baby in the evening, and I start needing a little more time with my husband again. At this time, baby starts having a second nap in the bassinet. This is usually in the late evening, around 9 p.m. At this time, DH and I can have an hour or so to ourselves before we go to bed, and then we have an hour or so alone in bed before baby wakes up. However, once baby wakes up he/she comes to bed with me for the rest of the night.
This is so natural for our family, and eventually as baby is 9 to 12 months old, he/she stops waking up at night and so stops coming to my bed for a time. Any time baby does wake up at night, he/she comes to my bed, but it only happens once a week or so.
I have found that my babies have been pretty good sleepers from 12 to 24 months, sleeping most nights without a problem. But all of mine have gone through a time when they were 2 that they had to sleep with Momma and Daddy again. We let them, and we've found that by the time they are 3 they almost always sleep in their own bed most nights, although we still welcome anyone who comes during the night. And they still do come. This morning I woke up with my 3 yo on my right and my 4 yo on my left, with my 14 mo old in the crook of Daddy's arm, and my 6 yo laying across the foot of the bed.
Our house is like "the Cuddlers" book that LLLi catalog sells!
Amy

We have a 3 year old and a 3 month old. Our oldest slept with us from the time he was born. First he just slept between us. Then as he grew, we tried the sidecar arrangement, but were never very happy with that. Then we got a second hand guard rail for the side of the bed, and that worked fine. We just put our mattress on the floor. Finally, we got a king size bed, and we all slept together every night. It was the only bed we had. As our son grew, he started to be a restless sleeper, and kicked us a lot all night long. When he naturally weaned, at 26 months, we bought him a toddler bed, and put it right at the foot of our bed. It is pushed up all the way to our bed, and the other side has a guardrail. He sleeps there at night, and then can climb into bed with us in the morning. This way, he still feels like he's sleeping with us, but he isn't kicking us all night long. Our newborn has slept with us from day one also, and is still doing so. I am sure before long I will have to look in to another guard rail to keep him in the bed. But, that's what we've been doing. We have to always be willing to adapt in order to fit all of our needs at the time!
lena

Although our 3 month old baby sleeps in his cradle through the night, for his first two months my husband and I had him in our bed approximately 75% of the time. Initially, I wanted Dylan to stay in his cradle, but most nights he cried until we held him in bed with us. I was very nervous about suffocation, so I took major precautions. I have had nights where the baby slept both in the bed and also on my chest. First, I never laid the baby in between my husband and I. I think it's a mistake to expect two exhausted adults to both be totally aware of the baby in between us. This is too risky. Besides, I've read research that states mommies have an instinct while sleeping next to baby, but this isn't apparent in dads (nothing personal). We have a king size bed, so there was enough room to have the baby sleep next to me, while my back was to my husband (so the baby was on one side of me and my husband on the other.) I removed all pillows close to the baby; the majority of the pillow was behind my head. Bedding was also an issue, so I was careful to wrap my comforter around my body and used a separate fleece blanket for the baby, so we would both be warm. Another thing I did was to wear an extra shirt to keep myself warm and then just wrap my comforter up to my waist. That way, no extra bedding was next to the baby. Then the most important thing was that I prayed. I prayed that I would not roll on the baby. I'm not kidding. Even with all my precautions, I still was concerned.
My baby was a ten-pounder at birth, so I felt more comfortable because of his size. I'm not sure if I would have had him sleep in my bed if he was any smaller. There were plenty of mornings where I woke up with a pounding heart realizing that the baby was so close to me and perhaps I covered his mouth or something. It was always a horrible, horrible feeling. It sounds like a terrible thing and usually people don't talk about these things, but it is a reality. After admitting these things, one would think the only rational thing to do would be to let him sleep in his crib or cradle, but when it's early morning and the only way to get some sleep is to bring the baby to bed with you, well, anything and everything is rational at that stage. After a few weeks of that, (waking up terrified) I only let him sleep face down on my chest and I propped myself up on pillows at the top of my bed. When I did this, both Dylan and I slept longer and through the night and I woke up in a peaceful manner.
My baby now, as I said before, sleeps through the night in his cradle, but most mornings after a feed, I bring him into bed with me when my husband leaves for work. I must say that when he is asleep in his cradle, which I strategically have one inch from the bedside, I don't know who misses the co-sleeping more-him or me. It must be me, because he is the one who is sleeping.
Katrina Pitt