Co-sleeping w/a mobile baby?

[votre_ami03]

I wasn't going to co-sleep, it just "happened", but here we are at 7 mos & co-sleeping. Last night, I put Nolan to bed aeound 7:30/8pm in my bed & I left the rm to clean up & eat dinner. Checked on him around 8:30 & all was well, still asleep. I went outside, came back in around 9 to find my baby on the floor screaming. Luckily, all was well, he was just upset.

He isn't quite crawling yet, but he can wiggle & scooch very well. How do you do it? Should I put him in his bed until I go to bed? Do you put a fortress of pillows all around?

All in all, I need to start training him to sleep there any how.


Christy, mommy to Nolan 7/22/03

[deborah_r]

After my DS took a header off the bed, I stopped letting him nap in our bed alone (he always was willing to nap in his crib, it was just easier to get him to sleep in the bed and he seemed more comfortable and slept lonoger). For bedtime, I *try* to start him in his crib, but he is really resisting it lately. However, he is also resisting going to sleep in our bed - he is just so crazed about pulling up and standing that last night he was pulling up and standing against the wall at the head of the bed and I swear he was already asleep!

So anyway, this is what we do. He starts in his crib and then when he does his first wake up around 11 or midnight usually, I bring him to bed with me. However, if DH is going to bed early, I put the baby in the bed with him and they go to sleep and I check frequently to make sure DS isn't moving about. DH is a light sleeper, so I don't worry too much.

[NancyJ_redo]

We had been doing the fortress of pillows...until last night. Because DS is much too mobile now, and has no interest whatsoever in sleeping (so he tries to crawl out of bed all the time), we had to go to the crib last night. I had been worried about him falling out of our bed for a long time, so although I missed him terribly last night (and am dead tired today because I slept on the floor next to his crib...well actually I was in his crib a couple times snuggling him to sleep, then climbed out and slept on the floor), I know it's the right thing to do for his safety. I'm also hoping it improves his sleep habits since he tries to stay up and play with us when he's in our bed and puts up a major fight to go to sleep.

Others here have suggested putting your mattress on the floor. That wasn't an option for us, but before we moved DS to the crib we did push our bed against the wall so that there would only be two exposed sides. That helped, but I was still worried enough to make the move to the crib. One night down...many to go :)

[Marisa6826]

You were IN the crib? Really?

I didn't think it could hold an adult! LOL!

-m

[Rachels]

We put our box spring on the floor and put Abigail's crib mattress on the floor next to it. She naps and starts the night on her little bed, and I don't have to worry about her crawling over pillows and landing on her head. It has been a great solution for us!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[NancyJ_redo]

Yeah, I wasn't so sure it could hold me either, but it seemed to hold up just fine :) I'm only 5'3", so it was a little tight but comfy. I figure if it helps DS fall to sleep, well then a night in baby-jail ain't so bad.