I love this thread!!! I didn't co-sleep from the start with DD as my DH is such a heavy sleeper and I couldn't trust him not to squash her in his sleep. She has always been in our room tho first in her moses basket then in her cot, right next to my side of the bed so I can actually reach thro the bars and touch her without getting up. I do feed her in bed and at her early morning feed at around 5.30 she stays in bed with me coz DH is already up. And I love it! I always do the nigh feeds in bed tho so sometimes we do fall asleep and she stays there for the rest of the night!

My MW actually encouraged co-sleeping as DD wanted food every 2 hrs and I had a section, like PP (sorry don't remember name) she was breech and her little legs stuck right up in the air if you put her on her back, so she slept on her side too. Maybe with the next baby I will get a bigger bed so I can co-sleep straight away, it's such a natural thing to do for our babies.

I am considering putting DD in her own room soon tho, I think a lot of her night waking now is coz she gets disturbed by us moving around. I suppose I'll still get my morning lie-ins with her tho...

We co-sleep in our house... have two double beds and bed hop to whoever "needs" me - 2yr old BF and 4yr old needs my hair to settle to sleep.  I snuggle up and Bf / hair twiddle them to sleep, sharing a bed together. Then by the time i've gone up to bed one may have gone to 'my' bed, usually my eldest, which leaves me a space to snuggle up and nurse my little one throughout the night....haven't spent a whole night alone in my own bed with hubby for years...wouldn't have it any other way.   There is no use battling against something so normal and natural, our children are meant to be close, why push them away? 

Thanks for all your replies!

DS1 stopped co-sleeping at 10 months (2months ago) as A; we were waking him and disturbing him all night and B; he needed to be in his own room before DS2 was born, 4 weeks ago now.

I always found that my newborns slept better when in with me. Our mattress is on the floor and Seth sleeps over my side, near the edge. He has his own sheets but the odd time he ends up in my covers, I make sure he's cradled by me and only has a babygro on.

I think as long as you use lots of common sense, theres nothing wrong with sharing with your babie[s].

I got given an NHS leaflet by my HV on her first visit entitled something like "safe co-sleeping for breastfeeding mums". DD goes into her cot of an evening but once she wakes for a feed she's in with me. thinking of putting her cot in her own room when I move next week (she's 7mths now) but that's mostly so i can put computer in my room not lounge n sit there of an evening, and also cos I think I disturb her some nights going to bed. Once she wakes she'll still be coming in with me until either she sleeps through or I get fed up & try to resettle her in cot after feeds (which did with DS at about 7 mths though his cot was in my room till he was 21.5mths as he was feeding lots during night n I was getting terrible night's sleep, but she's much better & only wakes when actually hungry not just cos I'm there).

She's in her sleeping bag, I ran out while I had flu the other week (cos wasn't having energy to do any washing) & had her under my duvet with me & it was a nightmare - she was snuggling into me every time I moved & I ended up with no bed. In sleeping bag she rolls a little away from me & I do like a little space to shift position etc.

i sometimes co-sleep with my little one, depends on whether she'll settle in her carrycot or not, she settles more in the carrycot now though, its so much easier in the middle of the night for feeds.  when i had my first 4 years ago (and in Newcastle) the midwives int eh hospital actually encouraged me to co sleep, even giving me a cot side (you know those bed guards that toddlers have to stop them falling out) on my bed, but now my MW and HV (down in Leeds) are disapproving of co-sleeping, but i say me and Adyna are happy, both getting a good nights sleep, meaning im less cranky all day and not as sleep deprived, which has to be better for her!

i noticed that a lot of publications say not to sleep with them in this and that circumstances but they never say never (well a few do but most dont!) its actually the hv that say dont!! the mw doesnt bother just warns of risks!!

I have coslept with all of my three and as has been said, it makes BF a doddle. I was threatened with all sorts of nonsense about them not learning to settle themselves and it turned out to be tosh. The older two now spend all night in their own beds and the youngest (33 months) sleeps in her bed until about 5am and then comes to the family bed for BF most mornings and goes back to sleep there.

I was lucky in that MW and HV both supported my parenting style (or at least were professional enough to encourage me to make my own choices) I also shared a bed in hospital after my third and nobody batted an eyelid (she slept on my chest inside my nightie), so things are changing slowly!

Definitely eco-friendly if you are BF and saving on laundry and having to put on lights to find a crying child at night!

Lucy xx

I co slept in hospital because I had a section and MW recommended it! but in general I CANNOT sleep with dd. My dh can so if she's ill I go in the spare room. I just cannot relax at all. I was the other way and put dd in her nursery at 12 weeks because I hadn't had an hours sleep since she was born. The HV strongly disapproved of this too, and the fact that she slept on her side. This was because she physically couldn't sleep on her back, she was breech so her legs were at 90 degrees to her body for 2 weeks and gravity wouldn't let her. The HV just kept saying "she really should be on her back". Go with your instinct but the only thing I would say is that 2 sets of my cousins still sleep with their parents and they are 11 and 13! I think this way noone gets personal space and privacy and parents need that too.

i co-slept with both my lo's it seemed like the most natural thing to do ,i even co-slept in the hospital after i had my c-section with my daughter much to the midwifes disaproval but i still did it the 2 night i was in there    dont still sleep with them as they are a bit big and we just seemed to disturbe each other everytime we move .

never told anyone especially the Hv didnt want anyone making a big deal about it , it was my call at the end of the day .x

Hi, I also think it's fine, it's so much easier too.  These guidelines and rules drive me up the wall and now I'm on child number 3 have learned that it's best to do what your instincts tand body ell you.  My first child for e.g. found it very difficult to digest on her back, so after 3 months of trying to get her to sleep in this position, and 3 months of no sleep for me, I finally gave in and listened to my  mother who told me to put her to sleep on her front.  She then managed to digest her food and have a good sleep.  With my second child, I fed her in bed and fell asleep many times.  I think it's lovely too.  In the baby bounty book you get when you've given birth, it states not to sleep with your baby if you've had a drink, if either of the parents smoke and some other points, but it doen't say it's not ok - I mentionned this to my hv, she was not aware of this publication.  These professionals change the rules all the time, there's 9 years between my 2 and 3rd child and it's amazing what new things they've managed to come up with!  My LO is now 7 weeks old, I used to have her in bed with me, but couldn't trust my partner tnot to roll over and squish and found I was on edge all the time, so now I feed her, wind and put in her own bed (she is also happy with this arrangement), we do have a nice cuddle though. 

i dont personally like to co sleep as dp cant be trusted not to squash lo!!

i defo think its better (if bf) to not have to get out of bed when lo can be right next to you and see to himself!! saves crying and like you said go back to sleep!!!

my hv told me to get in the most uncomfortable position to ensure id stay awake for the feed!! yeah and the rest of the night with back ache!!!! i thought yeah right!!

lo is now 10 months and too wriggly to share a bed with but i defo back it!!

...but, does anyone else co-sleep with their little ones?

I don't tend to tell anyone that I co-sleep as the shocked looks on their faces and then the lectures I get are getting tiring now...

I just can't stand the thought of him being in my belly for 9/10 months and then having to sleep by himself Plus, I love it. And bfing is soo much easier when I co-sleep. He snuffles for the boob, I pop him on and back to sleep I go

So anyways, the point of this, is, just wanted to talk about it with like-minded people and share experiences xXx