# Co-sleeping positions with newborn?



## wagamama (Jul 3, 2006)

My two-week old loves to sleep snuggled up against me. I love it too, but I feel worried about her suffocating during the night. I put her down next to me on her back, but she always immediately flips onto her side (I didn't think a newborn could do this, but she can!). So, she sleeps on her side, very close to me, either with my arm curled over her head, or with my arm uner her neck.

So my question is, is this a safe position for sleeping?

And also, I'm wondering how others sleep with their newborns.


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## Martha_2sons (Mar 28, 2007)

The same thing happened with my first son! I would lay him next to me on his back and he would wiggle his body until he was on his side, in direct contact with me. After some time with this I would just lay him on his side, chest to chest with me. He slept like this for a looooooong time. He's five now, very tightly bonded to me, very independent and sleeping in his own bed since 2.5 years old (by his own choice). I think our mommy radar is strong and you'll know if your baby is in any danger.


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## GooeyRN (Apr 24, 2006)

My ds sleeps latched onto me since birth. (with the exception of when he was wrapped in the biliblankets, we had to modify it a bit) We are both on our sides. If I pop him off, he wakes. He won't sleep on his back at all. He rolled onto his side at 3 days old to get into our position. For the first time, last night I started to roll over onto him, and I immediatly woke up.. So don't worry.


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## Irish (Jun 3, 2007)

Until DD was 5 weeks old she slept lying on my chest and I was hyper aware of her movements and noises. When we did start sleeping side by side she also liked to be close so I swaddled her (starting at 8 weeks) which made her startle less, so she slept longer, and she stayed on her back but I would sleep with a hand on her tummy so she felt even more secure.


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## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *wagamama* 
My two-week old loves to sleep snuggled up against me. I love it too, but I feel worried about her suffocating during the night. I put her down next to me on her back, but she always immediately flips onto her side (I didn't think a newborn could do this, but she can!). So, she sleeps on her side, very close to me, either with my arm curled over her head, or with my arm uner her neck.

So my question is, is this a safe position for sleeping?

And also, I'm wondering how others sleep with their newborns.

That's exactly how we slept with DS when he was new. It's your weight on the bed I find that makes a little "hill" they can roll down.

TBH, DS still sleeps pretty much in my armpit.


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## blueridgewoman (Nov 19, 2001)

We sleep this way too.







I sort of look at it the same way as I do breastfeeding- if dd starts to have her nose too stuck into me, she'll pull back and start to fuss a little. Sure enough, that's happened once or twice.


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## gigismom (Nov 26, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Twinklefae* 
That's exactly how we slept with DS when he was new. It's your weight on the bed I find that makes a little "hill" they can roll down.

TBH, DS still sleeps pretty much in my armpit.









:


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## momoftworedheads (Mar 6, 2003)

Our babies all have slept attached to us in the beginning. My oldest son would sleep lying on me or my DP's chest. Our middle son would be right up next to you, or right next to the boob when he wasn't nursing. Our third son slept right next to me and would go on his side as well. As long as you both are comfy and there is no blanket near baby's face/head I'd say-go for it!

Take care,
Jen


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## Nantucket (May 2, 2007)

Sorry, but tacking on another question to the Original Poster's question.... I'm completely new to the co-cleeping thing- we have a co-sleeper but he still wakes in the middle of the night....

where do you position the newborn? on your side or between you and DH?... and how do you cover yourself with blankets and assure that the baby's face isn't covered... how do you cover him? ..... sorry sounds like dumb questions.... but just want to know if I'm doing this right and/or if there are better ways of doing things....


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## SparklingGemini (Jan 3, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nantucket* 
Sorry, but tacking on another question to the Original Poster's question.... I'm completely new to the co-cleeping thing- we have a co-sleeper but he still wakes in the middle of the night....

where do you position the newborn? on your side or between you and DH?... and how do you cover yourself with blankets and assure that the baby's face isn't covered... how do you cover him? ..... sorry sounds like dumb questions.... but just want to know if I'm doing this right and/or if there are better ways of doing things....









My baby was a newborn in the summer months so cosleeping was a little easier blanket-wise.

To answer your questions~

My DD slept on whatever side we were nursing on at the time. I never worried about rolling over onto her because you develop an acute awareness of their proximity right away. If she was on the outside of the bed, I laid her on top of a receiving blanket, folded it over her and then tucked the edge under me. Then she could wiggle off the edge of the bed.

Now that its cooler, I just make sure I sleep with long sleeves and only pull a blanket up to my midriff which is just at baby's chest. If that is too cold for me, I just sort of lay the blankets across us diagonally. There are times when it is more convenient to have separate blankets. I also make sure to dress my baby girl in light layers so she doesn't overheat while sleeping with us.

And now that she is older, I don't worry about her falling off the bed because she is ultra aware of where I(translation, my boobs)am and always turns toward me, onto her side. She also rarely moves when she is asleep, unless it is to latch herself!!

To the OP~I am pretty sure there have been cosleeping studies done that have found that infants instinctively turn toward their mothers. I wouldn't worry about smothering your baby. Your subconscious know right where he is at!


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