I created a monster -- a co-sleeping monster, and its all my fault!
It started so seemlessly. A friend had mentioned that she breast feeds her baby at night while lying in bed. She said it was sooo easy. She just rolls over, offers her breast, baby eats, and they both fall asleep. Eventually, she'll wake back up to move baby back to her crib.
So I thought, what the heck, she's a mom of 3 kids, she knows what she's doing, why dont I try that? So I did it, and the first few times where weird, it got messy. Kaua would dribble and there'd be a wet spot where he was nursing. Kaua also crowded me by snuggling so close to me, I felt squished in bed. I didn't like it, so I stopped.
Then I decided to try it again. I got smarter and put a burp cloth underneath....that solved the wet spot. I somehow got used to him snuggling next to me and didn't feel so squished. I also started LOVING the luxury of NOT having to sit up in bed for 20-40 minutes at a time about twice a night waiting for Kaua to finish eating and waiting for him to fall back into a deep sleep so I can move him back to his crib. I also loved not having to get up out of bed to check on him, make sure he's warm, make sure the blanket isn't covering his face.
And thus, our co-sleeping adventures began. Of course, I got lazy and eventually never moved him back to the crib after his first feeding. This went on for approximately a month.
But there's a downfall to this co-sleeping business. Guess where Kaua sleeps in our bed...in between DH and I. So you know what that means...no brown chicken brown cow...at all.
Last night, I decided, I'm going back to my old ways. I'm strictly going to breast feed him, sitting up, then put him back in his crib. (Like I swore I was going to do exclusively from the beginning.) I wanted cuddle time back with DH. Guess who was having none of it....Kaua.
I tried putting him back in his crib four times and he got up each time and cried. I woke DH up and asked him to try. His efforts failed. Eventually, after 1 hour of trying and approximately 45 minutes before DH had to get up for work, we gave up and gave in and let Kaua sleep with us. Guess who fell instantly asleep the moment his head hit our bed.....that little boy!
I guess we try again tonight!!
I feel your pain! I have been trying some night feeds in bed too. It is so nice to fall asleep with them next to you but it is also a bit invasive. Let me know how you get on with settling Kaua in his own bed again. x
ReplyDeleteWe bought that co-sleeper thingy that attaches to the bed. We are hoping that will work out okay....we will let him sleep in his crib around 3-6 months...The co-sleeper is like he is sleeping with us...but he's not...I'm just going to roll him out of it for feeding...and roll him back over to it once he is sleep.
ReplyDeleteMy brother slept with my parents until he was almost 9 years old. LOL He didn't go to bed with them, but the moment they went to sleep he crawled in. Eventually they got tired of putting him back and just let him stay until morning.
ReplyDeleteA few tricks you might want to try... put a heating pad in his crib, make sure it's super toasty. Often the coldness wakes the little buggers, compared to the warm body/bed they fell asleep with. Wrap him in a blanket that you can lay him down in when he gets put back in his own bed. Offer him a bottle when you lay him down so he can suckle warm milk while he nestles into his own bed again.... just things I tried/did with my boys.