# Any positive co-sleeping stories?



## savyjoel (Jan 7, 2010)

OK--I've looked around this site for a while. I've found many post that sound familiar with sleeping "problems" and the like. What I would love to read about are those stories where co-sleeping has been a positive thing both in the "now" and how things turned out for the child later. Please share your good co-sleeping stories. They may just help encourage others to keep it up!! Thanks


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## Trinitty (Jul 15, 2004)

All three of us coslept for the first 12 months and it went well.

DH now has his own room because he likes reading and working until the wee hours of the morning, and I have continued to sleep with DD.

She is now 21 months old. We go to sleep usually around 11 PM, she wakes around 9 AM.... nurses a few times a night. Works like a charm for us.

Trin.


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## dessismama (Mar 3, 2005)

All of mine have co-slept for 1-3 years. All have no sleeping problems. The 4 yo is still in our bed although DH is just about done with the co-sleeping business... Of course, it is child-led so we will let our DS decide when to leave our bed. It has been a wonderful experience and it made nursing a lot easier. Now that all are weaned, it is bitter-sweet to let the co-sleeping go also. Guess the kids are growing up.


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## ~pi (May 4, 2005)

I don't have a 'later' story as DS is three and still sleeping with us, but although it has not been perfect, overall, it has been a wonderful thing for our family.

DH and I were just talking recently about how, years from now, we will probably look back very fondly on the hours we spent cuddling our child at night and wish we could go back and experience that again for a little bit.


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## ssh (Aug 12, 2007)

We co-slept with my DD for about 4 years . She decided she wanted to sleep in her own bed a few days after her 4th birthday. She had recently gotten a new horse shaped pillow and a cool night light snow globe. She had also been sleeping for 10 or 11 hours since she was abit over 3 and before that only waking about once to nurse an hour before getting up for the day since all her teeth had come in at 2.5. Now we read several stories and then after we turn the lights off I sit by her bed until she falls asleep. We don't have any sleep issues, once she's asleep she usually sleeps a solid 10 hours. Co- sleeping was a warm peaceful snuggly experience. I felt more relaxed knowing where my DD was at all times. It was nice knowing that if she felt bad or got a fever I would sense the change and wake up. We didn't have much crying at night at all. When she was waking she would wiggle more and I'd wake enough to take care of her needs. DD was a very busy, use up a lot of the bed sleeper, but we didn't mind so it wasn't an issue. We have a twin and queen put together so there's plenty of room. She's still welcome in our bed if she has any night needs.


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## ~Demeter~ (Jul 22, 2006)

I co-slept with all 4 of mine







My oldest we only co-slept for a few months. He slept through the night fairly early on and seemed to do better in his own space. My second made me a full on co-sleeper. He wouldn't sleep more than 10 minutes on his own and I like my sleep enough that I couldn't do it on nothing. He stayed with us for a little over 3 years. He was initially a great sleeper when he was with me and when he was ready to move out into his own bed, he was a great sleeper then too. My third I didn't even try to put in his own bed







He stayed with us until he was 7 and then moved in with his brother. He's a snuggler and after about a year and a half of sleeping next to his brother, he is now sleeping just fine in his own bed. My youngest is 29mos and still in our bed, she'll be there until she's ready to move into her own bed. I don't foresee that happening anytime soon and I'm more than happy to keep her with us. I've gotten used to sleeping around little ones and accommodating their needs. I prefer to SLEEP... and the only way I found I do is if my little one is with me.


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## RunningMomTegan (Oct 20, 2009)

My DS is 19 months old and when I hear all these mothers of children under one complaining about how tired they are, I never was. Yes, I woke up to feed him in the middle of the night. But I did it without getting up, when I would have gotten out of bed otherwise.

I love waking up with him close by, and knowing if something is wrong. Maybe it's gross, but the two times he's vomited in the middle of the night, I was so glad he was in our bed, because I knew right away and was able to make sure he was safe and comforted.

I work outside the home, and without CLW and "nighttime parenting", I don't know if he would be as secure and self reliant. It helped me feel present to him even when we are separated all day.

He'll be a teenager before I know it, so the sweet nighttime closeness is something I love.


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## rzberrymom (Feb 10, 2005)

I always try to remember that the reason you see so few positive stories here is because people mainly come here for help--kind of like how if you went over to the breastfeeding forum, you might become convinced that nursing is just an impossible feat!

I had trouble bonding with my DD#1, and co-sleeping is what finally made us bond. Her birth was traumatic, she had a terrible latch and was losing weight, we were living in Europe far away from any help from family or friends--I had a terrible time with her at the beginning. But, we co-slept and at around 4 months she started to snuggle with me in the night. I'd move away to give her a little room, and she kept scooting to snuggle right up against me at night. And it melted my heart! She's almost 5 now and has her own little bed next to ours. Co-sleeping still helps with bonding--if my DH has a long day at work and they don't get much time together, he makes sure to snuggle with her at night. If my baby takes a lot of time from me during the day, I make sure to have DH sleep next to her so I can get extra snuggles with DD#1.

With my DD#2, co-sleeping has made her sleep longer stretches. I was giving her plenty of space at night, but then I realized that if I slept pressed up against her she got through her light awakenings and kept sleeping. I swaddle her, snuggle up against her and she sleeps for 5 hours--I then wake up for about 5 minutes and nurse her on her side, and we both drift back to sleep before I even realize it. Co-sleeping has even made it possible to put her down wide awake--if she's alone in bed she can't fall asleep if I put her down awake, but she has no problem lying down wide awake if I'm snuggled up against her. I can't imagine doing things any other way.

I've heard so many lovely positive stories on here over the years! I hope others join in with their stories!


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## anniegirl (May 17, 2005)

I don't think I've ever posted in this forum, but co-sleeping is one of the best parenting choices we made, and one that I always felt confident about. And I think it helped a lot with their bonding to their dad.

I think the key for us is that we are both 100% on board with them sleeping with us until they decide on their to sleep in their own beds.

I loved not having to get out of bed when they were infants. I love that (for the most part) we all get sound, contented sleep most every night. I love the closeness and cuddling the most.

Our 6yo falls asleep in his own bed every night. Dh usually brings him into the big bed when he goes to bed, but sometimes we leave him in there and he comes in on his own in the middle of the night. Our 4yo still spends the whole night in our bed. Every once in a while he wants to fall asleep in his bed though.

Every once in a while we get flack for it from family, but I don't let it bother me. The criticism is odd to me because neither of us ever complains about it. But I think it just doesn't make sense to them since they're not babies any more, or that they have to sleep on their own by age x, or they never will. Well, they can't do algebra yet either, but I'm sure they will someday! There are so many things in parenting to worry about and question and it's pretty dang nice that sleep and where we sleep has never been one them.

ETA: I thought of a couple more things. Now that they are getting older, some days are so busy it feels like we all hardly see each other. I'm glad that at least we are all together and close at night rather than it being even more time apart. Related to that, I always lay with them while they fall asleep and they tell me things about their day that they might not otherwise. Especially for my older son, something about lying in the quiet dark, snuggled together makes it easier for him to tell me if something is bothering him. It's really important to me that my kids continue to trust me with their emotions and co-sleeping and staying with them while they falls asleep really facilitates that.


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## ElaynesMom (May 24, 2008)

My dd is almost 2.5 and we still cosleep and love it







I did not originally plan on cosleeping and her first 2 weeks she slept in a bassinette beside our bed. Except she didn't sleep. I know newborns need to eat frequently, but she would nurse for 30+ minutes, sleep for 20 mins and wake up again. I was sometimes getting less than 2 hours of sleep at night and was having a hard time functioning. Having someone give the baby a bottle so I could sleep was starting to look really good. The public health nurse who came by to help with breastfeeding, weigh the baby, etc. said that maybe she was waking up so much partly because she wasn't used to being alone, after all, she had spend the last 9 months about as physically close to me as someone could be. She told me to let the baby sleep in our bed. She also told me to throw away the schedule I had of when the baby ate, how long she ate, when she went to the bathroom that the hospital had started me on. She was smart







After that my dd woke up at more reasonable intervals and I got a lot ore sleep.

I soon learned how lovely it was to wake up to a sweet baby beside you. When she was older she'd wake me up by giving me kisses. When I go into bed now she smooshes up against me and whispers she loves me. I'm very glad we coslept. And I'm very glad we didn't buy a crib


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

We didn't start out co-sleeping, it came later on - around 7-8 months maybe?

Prior to DS, DH and I both thought anyone who let their kids sleep with them was, at the very least, crazy. We didn't get it, at all. Never, never, never, ever would we do that.

A few hours after DS was born, DH lifted him out of the hospital plastic thingie and announced they were going to bed, on the vinyl chair! Together!

When DS was an infant, I was so scared something would happen that I would nurse him to sleep in our bed but then put him in his crib. When I would get up, DH would beg me to leave him with us.

Months go by and one night, I simply feel asleep and never took him to his room. When I woke in the morning, he was tucked into the crock of DH's arm and they both looked so pleased with themselves, like they pulled one over on me.

From there on, DS would sleep with us on the weekends as a special treat.

Then it was every other night.

Now it is every night.

For our family, it has been a positive thing for everyone. We like having that together and cuddle time at night. DH is equally, if not more pro-co-sleeping than I am.


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## starrmama (Aug 7, 2008)

We love co-sleeping! dd 1 (now 6) has been in her own bed since shortly after dd2 was born (when she was 4), and she sleeps great most of the time (only wakes up occasionally to pee or if she's hungry). She was in her own room for about a year doing fine, but has now moved back into our room again, but still in her own bed. I think she just was a little lonely in there by herself. Dd2 is not the best sleeper, but co-sleeping allows us to get much better sleep than if I was trying to put her to sleep on her own. Being next to me and able to nurse whenever she wakes up is what helps keep her sleeping... can't imagine doing anything else.


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## ~pi (May 4, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunningMomTegan* 
My DS is 19 months old and when I hear all these mothers of children under one complaining about how tired they are, I never was. Yes, I woke up to feed him in the middle of the night. But I did it without getting up, when I would have gotten out of bed otherwise.

I love waking up with him close by, and knowing if something is wrong. Maybe it's gross, but the two times he's vomited in the middle of the night, I was so glad he was in our bed, because I knew right away and was able to make sure he was safe and comforted.

I work outside the home, and without CLW and "nighttime parenting", I don't know if he would be as secure and self reliant. *It helped me feel present to him even when we are separated all day.

He'll be a teenager before I know it, so the sweet nighttime closeness is something I love.*











I feel exactly the same, especially the bolded parts.


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## Amberenergy (Mar 10, 2009)

We coslept until our kids were about five. Now we sometimes sleep in the same room, just for weekends orspecial occasions. We always cuddle together and hang outright before bed before going to ourrooms. The kids were fine sleeping on their own, no probs with the transition.
It was agreat experience and I have two well adjusted little campers now, I'm glad we did it!


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## lessmith23 (Apr 1, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Caneel* 
We didn't start out co-sleeping, it came later on - around 7-8 months maybe?

Prior to DS, DH and I both thought anyone who let their kids sleep with them was, at the very least, crazy. We didn't get it, at all. Never, never, never, ever would we do that.

*For our family, it has been a positive thing for everyone. We like having that together and cuddle time at night. DH is equally, if not more pro-co-sleeping than I am.*

This has been our experience exactly, esp. the bolded part!


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## verde (Feb 11, 2007)

DH and I both love cosleeping with our 4 y/o DD. I feel so happy when she cuddles up with me and I kiss her and curl up with her. I do not understand why everyone doesn't cosleep. We've had no sleeping issues, no nightmares, and potty learning was a breeze. Maybe we've been particularly lucky but what's not to love?


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## kgreenemama (Dec 31, 2008)

There is nothing sweeter than when DS snuggles up with his back against my chest and his head under my chin.


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## Ravenlunatic (Jan 7, 2010)

Really I can't imagine why anyone would not sleep with their child. I spend 6 to 10 hours every single night snuggled up to my daughter. This is high quality time spent. I love this

_There is nothing sweeter than when (DS) snuggles up with his back against my chest and his head under my chin_

and second it with my DD.

Sure there are ups and downs just like in all facets of parenting. My heart actually aches when I think about a time we will not sleep in the same space. But for now







we are happily a cosleeping family.


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## ~ Wonderful Life ~ (Apr 14, 2009)

I have been seriously blessed in the sleep department...twice!

I co-slept with my now 12 YO with no issues. He STTN from about 5 months and co-sleeping was blissful and wonderful. We had no struggles or challenges. We co-slept untl he was about 1.5.

I have co-slept from day 1 with my now 13 month old and it has been equally as blissful and wonderful. He has been STTN since about 4 months and I have no trouble what-so-ever getting a good night's sleep.

I am very, very, very lucky...I do realize that.

I work full time, so it's important to me to take advantage of every opportunity I have to connect with my LO.

Hubby told me yesterday that the LO woke him (I had already left for work) up by kissing him on the cheek and putting his head on hubby's chest.


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## pixiepunk (Mar 11, 2003)

DH and I have been co-sleeping with little ones for almost 7 years now, and we love it. It's rare that all 5 of us are in bed together anymore, though we do sometimes all cuddle up together and it's the greatest!

Both of my older two (now 6.5 and 4.5) transitioned to sleeping in their own beds quite easily. sometimes of course they still want to snuggle in the 'big bed' and we have no problem with that (especially if they're sick or going through a hard time for some reason). but for the most part they happily climb into their own beds each night and are asleep in a minute or two. My oldest slept in the family bed until she was about 4, #2 was 3 when he started asking to sleep in his own bed.

For us, co-sleeping was the best way for us all to get a good night's sleep, and a wonderful compliment to other aspects of our parenting like breastfeeding and EC. None of my kids have ever had any sleep issues/problems and are now and have always been great sleepers. i can't imagine having done things any other way.


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## starling&diesel (Nov 24, 2007)

We're still newish to the game ... our DD is almost one and we've co-slept with her since the night she was born. It has been awesome! She stirs to nurse every few hours still, but no one has to wake up for it. What a cool thing!
My DP works long hours as a chef, so co-sleeping is one way that she and DD can bond.
We're both resolved to enjoy co-sleeping with her until she's ready to move to her own bed.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

I don't know how it'll play out in the future, but co-sleeping has meant that *I* have slept through the night nearly every night.


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## *bejeweled* (Jul 16, 2003)

My DD is now 7.

We coslept with her until she was 4 or so. I am so glad that we did. It is as much a part of our parenting philosophy as breastfeeding and not CIO. She is so snuggly, secure and independent. When she was ready to sleep on her own she went into her own room, closed the door and said good night. Blew us away.

Now she comes into our room at 4:00 am (that's the new rule) and we enjoy our snuggly time.


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## *bejeweled* (Jul 16, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunningMomTegan* 
He'll be a teenager before I know it, so the sweet nighttime closeness is something I love.


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## *bejeweled* (Jul 16, 2003)

This is thought provoking. Thank you for sharing.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *anniegirl* 
ETA: I always lay with them while they fall asleep and they tell me things about their day that they might not otherwise. Especially for my older son, something about lying in the quiet dark, snuggled together makes it easier for him to tell me if something is bothering him. It's really important to me that my kids continue to trust me with their emotions and co-sleeping and staying with them while they falls asleep really facilitates that.


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## Kivgaen (Dec 5, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *savyjoel* 
OK--I've looked around this site for a while. I've found many post that sound familiar with sleeping "problems" and the like. What I would love to read about are those stories where co-sleeping has been a positive thing both in the "now" and how things turned out for the child later. Please share your good co-sleeping stories. They may just help encourage others to keep it up!! Thanks









Both DS and DD co-slept until almost 2. When we moved them into their own rooms/beds, there was a natural adjustment period, but everything worked out well.

Now both DD and DS sleep in their own beds *most* of the night. (DS actually came into my bed last night and kept me up from his moving around, but that's the first time its happened in months. He recently had trouble in school with an incident with another boy, so maybe that's what it's about?).

I love that we took our babies into our bed, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I got sooooo much sleep at night while my little ones were still young and breastfeeding. It got to the point where I would sleep through night feedings and DS and DD would basically stay in bed all night without fuss.

I wouldn't have had it any other way.


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## To-Fu (May 23, 2007)

My son is two and we're still co-sleeping, so I don't have a "later" story yet. I LOVE our family bed and wouldn't trade it for the world. Any sleeping problems we might have seem like they would be made worse, not better, by having our son sleep apart from us.


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

We've had babies in our bed for the last 9+ years. A few rough nights but for the most part we are absolutely thrilled with it. My babies all sleep well from early on and I can pretty much bf in my sleep.

ETA: My older children all sleep fine on their own. I have no fear of having a one who "won't leave the bed" cause I didn't kick them out soon enough.


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## lovesea (Mar 6, 2007)

I started cosleeping with dd as a means to maximise my own sleep. DS is 30 months older than her and I was frequently getting up with him at night when she was born. Plus, she was sort of high needs, I couldn't put her down a lot of the time. I needed to sleep as much as poss so I realised the only way to do this was to have her by me and breastfeed when she woke up. Fairly early on she would pull off, roll over and go to sleep when she'd finished feeding. I encouraged this, thinking that if she didn't come to rely on the breast to go to sleep we may have an easier time of it. By 8 or 9 months she was waking once around 2am to feed. Around 12 months dh decided he'd like to come back into our bed so we tried dd in a crib sidecarred. She took to it straight away and started sleeping better. Now she's nearly 13 months and sleeps through til 5am when she feeds then sleeps for another couple of hours. I'm so glad I made the decision to cosleep with her rather than stressing over ways to get her to sleep through the night when she was 6 months old like I did with ds.


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## accountclosed3 (Jun 13, 2006)

my DS is 16 mo, and we love cosleeping.

early on, it allowed all of us to get great nights of sleep. he would wake every 5-6 hrs in the night (asleep at 8:30 pm, then up at 1:30, then up again at 6:30 or 7:30), and now he really sleeps through (from 10 to 7:30 am). he naps for two hours "alone" in a comfy chair.

his new thing is that he will not, i repeat WILL NOT, go to bed without Dadoo ("daddy") if Dadoo is in the house. if my Dh is out late, he'll go to bed with me, but likes to be in Dadoo's spot. he also wants to sleep in between us now, which is working out quite nicely overall.

we are considering having a family bedroom (keeping him in our room) until he wants his own room maybe when he's 10 or so. but, nothing specific on that yet.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

my dd has anxiety. she is super sensitive. she has a v. high moral sense and is hurt by what is happening around the world.

she is 7.

i am a single mom.

i knew nothing of this when dd was a baby. i coslept and bf because it felt right to me.

we still continue to do both. she also got her dad to cosleep with her.

she needs that to help her.

she is an awesome person. and i am not saying this because she is my dd. i definitely say its coz of cosleeping and bf. its therapeautic to her. she is a confident child happy in her 'alien' skin. she is different and she celebrates it.

there is definitely something about skin to skin contact. and i know it really really helps my dd.

however it does something for me too. i love it and feel sad that one day it will end. i hope we can keep on going for longer because as a 7 year old we do les and less together. and i miss that. so i am grateful i can hug her little body and snuggle with her. that is true heaven for me. i love it!!!!!!

and oh yeah i was one of those moms who could sleep thru the nursings. so even though she didnt sleep thru the night till she was 3 or 3 1/2 - i really didnt wake up completely to nurse her. so i got my rest.


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## pixiekisses (Oct 14, 2008)

We co-sleep with the baby, 4 yo. and two 6 yos.
It's wonderful!
We love it, we've loved it all the way.
Our 11 yo. also co-slept, he moved out of the bed when he was around 6 yo., out of his own free will and on his own initiative. He moved straight from our bed to his own bed in his own room, because he wanted too, so it all went great.
I think our two 6 yo. would have been ready to sleep together in their own room around now, if it wasn't for the fact that one of them has severe SN and needs to be right next to us at night too. (And they don't sleep without each other.)


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## noworries (May 23, 2006)

My three year old slept with us until his was a year old and then on and off until we had another DS. The baby sleeps with us now, eight months. Now is when people start to say things to me, - you have to get him into that crib or he will never sleep alone, you have to get him used to sleeping without you etc etc. The funny thing is some of these same people seem to have forgotten my older son slept with us. He has survived I tell them..
I am very very happy to cuddle up with my little one, and wish I hadn't pushed my older son to go to his own bed when I had the baby. I miss him terribly, and feel that he might be jealous of the baby. (might be - ya right, he is!)

I could not imagine getting out of the warm bed to get the baby to feed him, I could not imagine leaving him alone - especially when he is sick.

As some of the other posters said, there will come a day when they won't want you to hug and kiss them let alone sleep in the same bed with them. I say enjoy it while you can.


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## faldaste (Dec 17, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rzberrymom* 

I had trouble bonding with my DD#1, and co-sleeping is what finally made us bond. Her birth was traumatic, she had a terrible latch

We have had much the same experience with our son, now almost five months old and happily co-sleeping with us. His birth was traumatic, he had a very difficult time nursing and I couldn't bond with him. It wasn't until we moved him into our bed when he was three or four weeks old that I really started to bond with him and he had a much easier time nursing. It was really good for me, for my husband and for our baby. I only wish we'd done it from the beginning! We all get more sleep as well. My husband rarely wakes up at all during the night and my son nurses a few times but really never fully wakes up. I get up once to change his diaper but I change it in bed and he barely seems to notice.


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## ann_of_loxley (Sep 21, 2007)

We dont have any 'stories' and we are still co-sleeping (DS was 4 in September)...and we have another one due this April...so we just bought a super huge bed! lol...
But I have nothing negative to say about it! We have only had good come from it!


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## Norasmomma (Feb 26, 2008)

Co-sleeping made me a better mom because I was actually getting sleep.


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## Collinsky (Jul 7, 2004)

We didn't plan to cosleep - I was on board with all other "AP" type things, but not that one. I knew I wanted to keep our baby nearby when she was a newborn, but in her own basinette - not actually IN our bed. And then she was born, and the basinette hadn't arrived yet (she was born at 38.5 weeks, and I had anticipated actually going past my EDD!







) So for the first couple nights, she slept with me, and my nervous hubby slept on the floor, terrified that somehow, some way, during the night he would roll _over me_ and onto her, squashing her flat. Then the lovely carefully chosen basinette arrived... but I didn't want to put her in it. I had a couple nights to find out that I loved sleeping with her, that it was the most natural-feeling thing for me. So I told Dh I wanted to keep her in the bed with me, at least for a while longer. He didn't argue, but spent the next couple nights on the floor again, still worried. And then after about a week of sleeping on the floor, he realized that it probably wasn't dangerous at all - that we would be safe and take precautions and that it would be okay. We've slept together since then, and never once regretted it or wished for something else.

That was 7 years ago, and we now have a full-on family bed -- all four kids cosleep. (Dh works 3rd shift, so he's only home 2 nights a week.) It's not necessarily what would work for everyone, or what everyone would love, but it works for us and any of the bedtime/nighttime issues we've had would be made harder to deal with by *not* bedsharing, IMO. Now that my daughters are 7 and 5.5, they do sometimes sleep elsewhere, especially when Dh is home for the night because that does make the bed more crowded! But I'm not in any hurry to get them out permanently -- I know that they'll eventually be sleeping somewhere other than my bed, and I know that if the family bed stops making sense for anyone involved that we can figure out ways to change the sleeping arrangements.

I love it. Not only does it enable a sleepy mama to be more present and responsive to her baby/child during the night, I also think it facilitates bonding and closeness while we sleep... between ANYONE sharing that sleep space. I think that's beneficial for everyone.


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## brownskinchinee (Dec 27, 2009)

I've always co-slept with dd...still do and she's 7. She just loves to sleep in my bed lol. We bought a crib...she just never slept in it. I took the gate off and rolled it up to our bed and she'd start off sleeping there but end up on my bed by morning lol (didn't do that till she was 1 though, before that she was in our bed).

She got her own room when she was 2 and I put her crib/bed in there and she would sleep in it maybe 2 nights out of the week...maybe. When she turned 5 we bought her a big girl (twin) bed and the deal was that she'd sleep in it...never happened.

Every once in a while she'd surprise me and decide all on her own to sleep in her room, but it never lasted more than 3 nights in a row lol. We never planned to co-sleep, it just worked out that way and Idon't mind. She's a very well rounded girl, very independent and all that, she just likes to sleep with me.


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## Lilygoose (Oct 27, 2009)

I don't have a later story yet, as DD is only almost 15 months, but co-sleeping saved my sanity!!!! I did not start out with the intention of co-sleeping and resisted it for many months because our mattress is very soft (pillow top) and I was scared. She was in an arms reach co-sleeper until about 5 months, and woke every hour or three to eat, which was hard but doable. When she grew out of that I didn't know what to do (did not know about sidecarring at that time). We went through months of no sleep (i mean she would wake up every 20 minutes all night long). I was a wreck. Both hubby and I work outside the home and drive quite a bit as part of our jobs. finally when she was around 9 months old I thought maybe she would be okay in the bed with the soft mattress (pillow top). Still nervous, but desparate we tried it. And i have had beautiful sleep ever since. She snuggles right up and sleeps, easily, with very few waking moments, all of which can easily be dealt with without me having to fully wake-just snuggle her closer or rub her back. And the bonding. Is beautiful. I didn't have any troubles bonding with my daughter without but co-sleeping just amped it up. Some of my favorite times are when we snuggle up to go to sleep and she grabs my arm and puts it over her body so we can snuggle. Recently she has become rather aggressive in her sleep and I'm tired of getting kicked in the face, so we brought her toddler bed into our room and she is starting the night in that quite happily. She wakes more easily though and ends up back in bed with me at some point every night for the last week. Which is okay- its a process, slow and easy.


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## savyjoel (Jan 7, 2010)

Thank you all for your comments. My son is 12mo and we co-sleep. Not from the beginning though. When he was a newborn he slept in a bassinett until about 5mo old, then to his crib. He's been in my room since he's been born. He actually slept through the night from 8 weeks till 8mo. Then he started night waking again (?). Anyway I was getting up 1-2 times, I would nurse he some time and other times not. It was just easier to bring him to bed with me. I have found that I love him being beside me or on me








. He still starts the night in his crib, this way I can get some time baby free. He wakes between 12:30-1:30 and stays with me the rest of the night.
My DD is 10yr and I never co-slept with her as a baby (well maybe just a few times). She has always been a good sleeper. When she was little, can't remember what age maybe 4-5 , we started having "sleep overs" where she could sleep with me on Fri-Sat. Her dad would sleep in her bed on those nights. She really looked forward to the weekends and her sleep over with mom. Well, now she's 10 and sleeps with me most of the time along with the baby. My DH sleeps in her twin bed and we get the queen, although I'm king bed shopping! DH is not much for co-sleeping but is fine with me doing it (I guess).
I love having them with me. I know it will be over too soon. I really just wanted to here some positive long term stories. You hear so much negative from others about co-sleeping and habits. I know they mean well. I wish I knew something quick and positive about co-sleeping to tell them when they give their opinion about how it's so bad. Thanks again!!!


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## Qbear'smama (Jul 15, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *~pi* 
DH and I were just talking recently about how, years from now, we will probably look back very fondly on the hours we spent cuddling our child at night and wish we could go back and experience that again for a little bit.

We have had this discussion, too. It's so short, isn't it?







We coslept exclusively til DD was 3, now she starts out in her bed but generally ends up with us and DH and I look at each other and smile when we wake up and realize she's there. She always tries to burrow under DH and she rubs my neck (says it's "so warm") and when we all wake up together on weekends, it's bliss.


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## peaceful_mama (May 27, 2005)

We loved it and are still lovin' it!

DS1 I started putting him down in his own bed at 11 months, I would go join him the rest of the night. Gradually he just stopped waking up. I would say he was about 18 months ish when that happened, I know it was not long after I found out I was preggers with DD. I napped with him after that.

DD coslept with us until just a few weeks before ds2 was born. (in retrospect I probably would've started her in her own bed like I did ds in our old house, for some reason I thought it would be easier to do one big change than two smaller ones.) She transitioned to a mattress on the floor, then moved to sleeping with my mom after I made the mistake of buying 2 "big beds" after the baby came. After I moved her mattress back on the floor she started sleeping alone just fine. (she will be 3 in a few days and sleeps 98% of the time on her own.)

DS2 is 14 months and I am about to try a pallet on our floor to use occasionally when we want some privacy in our bed. we'll see how that goes.

I don't figure I'll transition ds2 out of our room till someday MAYBE we have a bigger house or something where the boys can have a room and dd and any future sister she might have (SOMEDAY NOT SOON







) could share, or we could set up one room that is basically beds and clothing storage for all and one that is a playroom, I don't know. Or DD might express an interest in having a "big girl bed" that might be the day I'd consider bunkbeds or something.

I've not had a big issue transitioning anyone other than not keeping dd on a mattress on the floor longer.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

oh by the way i found a great use for our bassinet that my nervous self wanted to use that my friend passed down for me.

it makes a great cat bed. and that's how it stayed.







until at 3 months the cats decided dd needed protecting and started sleeping with her.

interestingly enough the first month the only place dd would sleep on is me. she slept on my chest the whole night thru. i have no clue what i did but i managed to get some rest too.


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