Sleeping Questions

[jd11365]

DD is 3 weeks old...I am BF her. If I keep her in her pack-n-play or the cradle she is up every 2-3 hours...if I put her next to me in bed, she sleeps 5-6 hours! I know she is only 3 weeks, but I don't want to start any habits. (I already have a 90 lb. Weimeraner in bed after letting him sleep with us as a puppy...lol.) Also, I am concerned about rolling on top of her or her face getting smushed in the mattress/pillows/blanket...even though I try to keep them away. Any thoughts?? It is just so tempting to know I will get the extra sleep if I put her next to me...especially when she is crying at 4 am.

[flagger]

Everything I have read seems to indicate that they need to be fed every three hours for the first few weeks. We were told in our BF class to wake them up in the night.

I think it is going to depend on what works for you as a couple. For us, co-sleeping is NOT an option. You have to go with what your heart, mind and body tells you.

And I do sympathise, we share our bed in the winter with three 55 LB weimaraners.

[Caitlins Mommy]

DD was the same way.She just slept better knowing she was close to her mommy,so I did let her sleep with me.She is now 6 and a half ,and sleeps in her own room.Now it did take time to get her to sleep in her room,but I didn't seam to mind,because we all slept better.If you do want her to sleep with you,and are scared that youwill roll on top of her,there is this thing from One Step ahead catalog called a sleeping nest {I think},for co-sleeping.I think the link for one step is www.onestepahead.com.

Good luck with whatever you decided to do,and sending you positive vibes that dd will sleep through the night soon!

Jennifer mommy to Caitlin Hope 9/28/96
Trying to give Caitlin a brother or sister

[chrissyhowie]

We had the exact same issue. My DD would sleep only 1-2 hours if at all in the pack-n-play, but would sleep soundly for 3-4 hour stretches in the bed. Before she was born I thought NO WAY am I co-sleeping! Next thing I know, I think co-sleeping is the best thing ever! :)

We have a queen sized bed. I just used to clear a space next to me and lay her down free of pillows. Putting her in a sleep sack made it easier to not have to worry about blankets too. I think DH is much more worried about rolling on her as he is a much heavier sleeper than me (he still amazes me with is ability to sleep right through the loudest of cries!), but it has never been an issue.

Since she is able to sleep in the pack-n-play, you could start her there for the night. When she wakes up again in the wee hours of the morning, then you can bring her into bed with you (try side-lying nursing too! Great way to put both mommy and baby to sleep!). This way she'll continue to also "know" how to sleep elsewhere.

I was very worried that we'd never break DD of co-sleeping, but within the past 2-3 weeks she has started sleeping well on her own (she's about four months now). We just kept at having her sleep separately, even though I still give in once in a while (and it's mainly because I secretly kind of miss snuggling with her!). In fact she sleeps better now when she's NOT in our bed because we often wake her up when we moved around.

Sleep is good! If co-sleeping is allowing you more of it, go with it!

[Rachels]

Cosleeping is fine to do if you're comfortable with it. Cosleeping babies actually have a lower SIDS rate than crib babies. It sounds like she needs your presence right now. Also, if she's gaining well, you don't need to wake her for feeds. She's past that super-sleepy stage, and she'll tell you when she's hungry.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[zen_bliss]

i am in the same boat! except for the 5-6 hours :) i prefer having her next to me to hear her breathe, look and know right away that her gurgles are ok, side breastfeed into sleep, etc. DH and I also both like to sleep sitting up with her on the chest. i just ordered a snugglenest and i'll post a review after we give it a whirl.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

We have been using the Snuggle Nest since birth and we love love love it. We ended up putting it horizontally in the bed above our pillows so hubby and I can start out the night snuggling with each other, but baby is close and one of us, or both of us, can have a hand on her.

Usually after she wakes to eat in the night I keep her next to me on the bed, but it is good to have a place to put her if I want to lay in a position other than on my side.

I like the way it folds up so we can keep the cats out of it during the day. And it is very portable. We went on a trip last week and didn't always have a hotel room with a king size bed. Some nights I slept in a double with the baby and didn't have to worry about her falling out.

As for her sleeping 5-6 hours . . . at 3 weeks old, I would wake her to eat after 3 hours. My daughter was the same way, sleeping 6 hours at night from birth if I did not wake her. Now that she is 8 weeks old (how time flies!) I don't wake her and some nights she eats at 11:30 and sleeps until 5:30 AM. I wake up at 4:30 and pump because I am so engorged that it hurts, and I need to build a freezer stash anyway.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel 2/27/91
Logan Elizabeth 3/25/03

[JulieL]

My son co-slept as well (as still does for an hour in the morning-don't ask some habits just don't die!). I now wish to God I would have bought the co-sleeper, which is found in www.onestepahead.com. It's expensive $170, and is the same thing is as a pack n play. The difference is you can rest your hand on your baby while he/she sleeps on their own, in their own bed. I can't tell you how many sleepless nights I tried desprately to get DS to sleep in the pack 'n play next to the bed. My arm would fall alsleep while it was crooked over the rail of the PNP. Next time I am totally buying the co-sleeper (some come w/a very cute cover up so that it looks good in any room - if that is an issue for you- it's not for me). Another wonderful advantage is that baby can see you sleep "next" to them. My DS half co-slept half slept in the PNP until he was to big for the bassenet part of the PNP. So at 6 months he went to the crib. Listen it's up to you but do what you want. Not what family memebers or good friends tell you should do! GOOD LUCK!!!:)

[egoldber]

Have you tried putting her in the crib? I stopped using the bassinette part of the PackNPlay after a few weeks because she just did not sleep well in it. We just started putting her in her crib and she slept really well there.

And I wouldn't wake her if she's sleeping 5-6 hours at night, provided that she is gaining well and eating well otherwise. My baby was slow to gain (4 weeks to regain her birth weight), and my ped told me to let her go no longer than 3 hours during the day, but it wasn't necessary wake her at night. So talk to your ped before you go waking that baby up! :)

HTH,

[cinrein]

We had a similar problem, except that dd wouldn't sleep in her Pak-n-Play at all and for about 10 minutes in her crib. She co-slept with us for the first 9 weeks of her life. Oh, and we were one of those parents who said we would never co-sleep. It's funny how you change when you are sleep deprived.... I would periodically try to get her to sleep in her crib with no luck. Then something magical happened when she was 9 weeks old. She slept all night in her crib and never looked back. Now she won't even nap with me in bed! I didn't believe when everyone told me that you can't spoil then during the first 3 mos, but now I am a believer.

Cindy
Mama to Anna 2/11/03