# POssibly dumb question- how do you cosleep and keep warm?



## ophelia2002 (Oct 11, 2006)

We co-nap







but we've not really coslept at night. For those who do, how do you and DH manage to stay warm without blankets? And do you wear a top and pull it up or just go topless (which I usually do when co-napping)?


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

We use not only a blanket but a quilt as well







: it has never been a problem as I put ds with his head really high up in bed. I wear a nursing gown or just a regular gown that buttons up the front. There is no way we could not use blankets as dh keeps the temp around 65 at night and I always have a fan running as well for white noise.


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## ophelia2002 (Oct 11, 2006)

Maybe I'm too paranoid about the blanket thing??


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

We use blankets. And pillows. Have since day one.

-Angela


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## Autumn Breeze (Nov 13, 2003)

blankets and pillows here too.

My 'mommy instinct' and my daughters now incessent kicking if covered up keeps me "on my toes" so to speak, so I know when her head gets covered. She has been like this since birth. I think around 3 weeks old was the first time she got covered up by the sheet, and she was moving an awful lot (it was also the first time she wasn't sleeping on my chest) and I woke up, she wasn't having trouble breathing, but she doesn't like things on her face.

So, if i'm reallycold, I either scoot down so we're face to face, or scoot her up.


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## Viriditas (Aug 30, 2004)

Another blanket user here. When ds was really little I made sure never to pull the blankets up past my waist. Usually they'd just be covering his legs. Now I feel comfortable covering him up to the chest.

I have a variety of old t-shirts that I've cut down the front. They are really handy for keeping warm at night and still provide access to the boob.


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

There is nothing wrong with being carefull







but honestly it never occured to me it might be a problem. Like AutumnBreeze said my mommy instincts kick in and I do wake if the blanket gets to high but neither of my kids ever even came remotly close to having trouble breathing. The always starting wiggling and if anything was even touching there chins.


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## Benji'sMom (Sep 14, 2004)

I just put the blankets only as high as my knees, that keeps me warm enough. I wear long sleeve/pants type pajamas.


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## Hokulele (Mar 2, 2005)

DH uses blankets and the duvet as he always has - but our bed is a king so there is space for him to do that and for me to freeze still! But I tuck the duvet into the bottom of the bed so that it can't creep up to high over DD. Then I put DD's head high up next to mine. And I wore a sweatshirt to bed on the coldest nights. So DD was covered up to hear waist and me up to mid-chest level.

That was last year, I expect this year I'll be less worried because DD is that much older.


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## floydmom (Nov 9, 2005)

Our dd is a January baby and I wasn't comfortable using our duvet the first year. My answer was 2 pairs of socks, leggings and long sleeves, and I had a twin-size blanket that I tucked around myself. It worked out pretty well for us, since neither my dd or dh can stand blankets.

Listen to what feels comfortable for you, and stay warm!


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## l_olive (Jan 18, 2005)

When my little guy was still nursing, we had him on top of the covers between us. He had his own little blanket on top of him. Then I had an old sweat shirt that I cut up the front. So, I'd be under the blankets to my waist, and didn't have to worry about them going over his face at all.

Now that he's a weaned four year old, we just do whatever. Over the summer, we all were on top of the bed with our own covers. Kinda crazy, but we were all comfortable with different weight blankets.

--Olive


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## cutic (May 19, 2005)

Dd sleeps on the side of our mattress and I use our comforter since she started cosleeping. I just cover myself and let the edge of the blanket be under my body so she has nothing for herself. If I nurse her at night, I remove the blanket so she is not under it.

On the funny side, my dd has developed an uncanny obsession with the corner of our comforter, she adores it and during the day she cuddles it and sings songs to it LOL.


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## Meg_s (Apr 13, 2006)

Dh and I have separate blankets. He's way over usually on his own mattress, the baby is with me and I used to have my blanket only up to my waist and am wearing a long sleeved shirt. Now that the baby is bigger and rolls around instead of just kicking, he refuses to have a blanket touching him, even on his legs or feet. So he is bundled up in warm pjs, and I now have the blanket tucked around me wherever I need it and him tucked up in front of me, outside of the blanket. But I've also had a blanket since day 1, pillows too. I'm a very light sleeper, are is DH and ds.


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## treemom2 (Oct 1, 2003)

I am a paranoid momma as well so this is what we do. DH, DD, and I all have our own pillows plus I sleep with a body pillow. In the beginning when the baby is really little I refuse to let anyone sleep next to the babe except for me because I have these great mommy instincts that DH does not have. We do all have our own blankets because I sleep with two blanket thieves. In the beginning the baby sleeps in one of those sleep sacks so I know they are warm enough but I don't have to worry about it getting over their head. I sleep in a t-shirt and just raise it up to nurse or I sleep in no shirt--which leaves lots of nice white milk stains on the bed causing me to wash the sheets way more often.


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## roxyrox (Sep 11, 2006)

We use pillows and duvets and have done since the start. Ds sleeps right at the top of the bed in between our pillows in a baby grobag and the duvet is no where near him. He wiggles and turns a lot so blankets/duvets have never stayed on him!


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## Miasmamma (Sep 20, 2006)

Pillows and blankets here too. If for some reason DD gets covered up, she starts fussing. She's one of those babies that doesn't like to have her head covered by anything! Makes NIP interesting sometimes since she also likes to lift my shirt higher than need be! The only time she likes to be covered is when she's on my chest, then the blankets can be up to her ears and she's fine.


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## artemis80 (Sep 8, 2006)

We have our comforter tucked in at the bottom of the bed so it only comes up about to our chests. When DS is at nursing level, it comes about to his upper belly (he's 4 months).

DH can scoot down a little if he wants to be covered up to his neck, and I do the same if DS is in his co-sleeper. I wear something with long sleeves to bed and am usually warm enough.


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## sweetfiend (May 22, 2004)

We used duvet and pillows with baby on top of them with a light blanket.

If you were nervous about the baby's head getting covered would it work for mom and dad to sleep in sleeping bags? That way the blanket is firmly associated with the sleeper, and not likely to wander off onto baby's face. Just a thought.


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## tsk_mum (Nov 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
We use blankets. And pillows. Have since day one.

-Angela


We do too, I just place them away from babe as much as possible.








Our blankets are tucked in the end of the bed so they only come up so far anyway & I put my pillow kinda sideways behind my head & only lay on the end corner.


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## indeospero (May 23, 2005)

Pillows, duvet etc. here too. We turn off heat at night, so this is pretty much non-negotiable. Last winter I worried a bit (dd was a wee babe then







), and I'd keep a hand on the top edge of the duvet so I knew where it was and could hold it away from her face. This year it's no big deal at all -- "big kid" dd just fends for herself







.


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## ~Nikki~ (Aug 4, 2004)

We use a duvet and a quilt. We have since he was born (well, not the duvet, as he was born in the summer. We only add that to the bed in the winter). We were cautious of the blankets at first, and I was very careful to tuck them under my arm so that the milk would be accessible for him, but there was no risk of the blankets going over his face. I got a little more comfortable with putting the blankets over him as he got older, but he HATE them. He always kicks them off. Even in the winter. I worry about him getting cold, so we keep him in a warm sleeper in the winter. But he sleeps beside me with no blanket (unless I can sneak it onto him), while I'm able to bundle up.


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## WhaleinGaloshes (Oct 9, 2006)

When my baby was tiny -- say less than 9 months or so -- we each had separate blankets and I tucked the side of my blanket that was near baby under my body. It does solve the blanket-hog problem nicely. Now that she's over a year it's not a problem; she throws off anything you try to cover her with anyway.


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## witchbaby (Apr 17, 2003)

piles of blankets because both a and i get cold easily and our house is drafty. we've never had any trouble with either kid co-sleeping-- like others have said, the mommy instinct kicks in and by 4 or 5 months, they're able to push away a blanket near their face.


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## luv2sah (Sep 30, 2006)

I hate being cold...I used to have the blankets up to my ears every night! Now that we co-sleep, we still use a sheet and a comforter - DH has them up around his shoulders and then on my side, they are diagonally folded down to my waist, which is at DS' armpits since he sleeps at nursing level.

My best suggestion for keeping your arms warm but still keeping your breasts available is one of those *sweater shrugs*. I have a thin cotton one that works so well, I think they should be re-marketed as a nursing essential!

Also, check out the cute nursing pj's at www.pajamagrams.com ... I have the lavender ones with long sleeves.

My last nighttime-nursing 'must have' is the Nurse-n-Glow pillow that I saw advertised in Mothering magazine. www.belababy.com This solid little curved pillow acts as a great positioner/backrest for baby, as well as keeping DH from feeling like he's going to roll over on DS - without taking up a lot of room in our queen-sized bed.

My final suggestion...do what feels right! Before DS was born, we bought the Arm's Reach Co-sleeper and only used it one night. It felt better to have him sleeping with us. Now the co-sleeper serves as the decoy for everyone looking for the 'crib' - many people around here don't understand the advantages of co-sleeping. They actually think it leads to SIDS, etc. We are 'this close' to outing ourselves...wish us luck!


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

We are duvet/pillow users too. When DD was a teeny baby (born in February) we still shut the heat off at night but kept an electric space heater in the room so our room stayed reasonably warm but our heating bill wasn't outrageous. I pulled the covers up on an angle across my knees/hips/back and she slept tucked in against my tummy. Our room in our new house is a converted attic and very drafty, I am a not sure what we will do this time. Probably a version of the same thing... In any case, we stopped worrying about the covers by the time she was rolling/scooting on her own. At 2 and 8 months, DD has never been found under the covers and has co-slept every night of her life.


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## mollyeilis (Mar 6, 2004)

Pillows and comforters from the beginning!

I know, you're looking at my late May baby's arrival and thinking "comforters?
", but really, I can't sleep without a certain weight of blankets being on me, so yeah, comforters.









I put my pillow vertically so I was automatically down further in the bed. I put the baby up higher in the bed in his cute little sleepers. It all worked out very well.

And once he demonstrated that he would loudly and obviously make us aware that he was stuck somewhere, we dropped even those small safety measures.


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## MysteryMama (Aug 11, 2006)

we have a comforter on the bed (no top sheet, easier to make the bed, lol) and i usually pull it up to my chest and sleep, but if im real cold and want to pull it all the way up i just scoot down a bit so it's not coming up over DS head.


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## majikfaerie (Jul 24, 2006)

since the three of us (DH, DD and I) all have different temperature preferences, we each have seperate blankets. Actually, until DD was 18 months, we were travelling and camping, so we each had seperate sleeping bags!


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## MommytoB (Jan 18, 2006)

Actually, we have used blankets with a quilt -in winter already got our first snow fall it was last week. Summer time is just sheets .

I do get a bit cold if B decdies he doesn't want to sleep under the covers and will push them off off of me while he's nursing so here is what I do is i cover just the stuff over me he puts his legs over the top of the blanket/sheet.


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## mamums (Jun 10, 2006)

Pillows and comforters and sometimes an extra little baby blanket for DS. It's funny. . .I used to be a heavy sleeper, but now that I'm a mama, I wake at all his little movements. When he's uncomfortable in any way he gets VERY fussy and thrashes around. The other morning we woke up to find DS awake and happy as a clam with the blanket over his head! Obviously, there was enough space for him to breathe. . .


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## chickieleighc (Feb 10, 2006)

Pillows, blankets, quilts -- it has all been in our bed from day one. We slept a bit "safer" in the early days, though. DH and I had separate blankets, and I kept mine down around my waist. I kept baby up at chest level, and I slept on just the edge of my pillow, with the excess behind me, so there was no pillow near the baby, it was only right under my head. On the nights that our small electric radiator didn't keep the bedroom warm enough to keep my shoulders bare, I used one of the baby's blankets to cover my shoulder.

I became a little less paranoid around the third week, when a corner of DH's thick duvet fell onto DS's face, completely covering it. Newborns are far from helpless, I discovered! He woke up immediately, and started grunting and rooting at the strange thing on his face. "What is this? Can I eat it?" His eating grunts woke me up within seconds, and I just took the blanket away and nursed him back to sleep. A baby doesn't just lay there and smother.









Now that DS can reliably flail at anything on his face, we use the same blankets, pulled up to our shoulders, and he sleeps just below my pillow. He is very active and strong, and I am very in tune to his movements. I'm confident that I'd notice if anything were wrong in the night.


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## NaomiLorelie (Sep 2, 2004)

I used to worry about seperate blankets and I wouldn't use a pillow. I'm on baby #3 and I find the best thing for us is to share a comforter but DD sleeps either face to face with me (if I can breathe so can she) or while latched on. Sometimes the blanket may come up on her neck and back of her head but she is always very near to my body and can breathe. If she couldn't she'd let me know but we've never had a problem. *fingers crossed*


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

We started out with just using our blankets (and pillows) like normal. DD was always right by mean and would wiggle if the blanket was up to high for her. Then for awhile, we went to two blankets, one for dh, one for me. This was more because dh is a blanket thief and I was left FREEZING at night. Now, we're back to the one blanket for everyone and dd will kick it off if she doesn't want it (most of the time.)


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