How we co-sleep

Soo.. Co-sleeping has been a thing in our house.. not that we "planned" to do it.  I(We) did it out of desperation to sleep.  Lizzie is very much a must be nursed to sleep kid, and doesn't transfer well.  In the early days.. it was not uncommon to wake 4-5-6 times a night..   Well this mama had to go back to work and function. 


What some others say on Co-Sleeping


So when I went back to work and was functioning on little sleep, I started sleeping with Lizzie on the fold out couch.  So we could get used to the nursing in bed, and get used to her sleeping habits.  After about 3 weeks of that.. .we moved into the big mommy and daddy bed.  My husband is an early riser for work.. So 99% of the time.. He goes to sleep first, and I get Lizzie to sleep --usually in my arms.  Once she is well asleep and so is my husband  we transfer to bed.  You may ask, why not just put her in her crib. ( well I tried that  and still do on occasion) and she would wake almost immediately.. Something about the warmth, and being close to us..  and oh yeah.. really close to the mama's milk.  So the big advantage to co-sleeping is that she just latches on when she wants some.  50% of the time doesn't wake me up = much more sleep.


So what things have we done that we can share that have made co-sleeping work:


We have magic bumpers in our bed, they actually go under the sheets so they don't fall off.
Mom and dad sleep with separate blankets.
We don't co sleep if anyone doesn't think they can wake up..  (overtired, or had a drink or 2)
No blankets above the waist for mom.
 We recently invested in a Dockatot   .. since she is getting older.. and we would really would like our marital bed back.  In the few short weeks we've had it we've used it in our bed, and have been able to put it in her crib, and she's slept in it for 4-7 hours.. still ending up in our bed ( to nurse ) but not waking 3-4-5 times a night is joyous.


Co-Sleeping is not for everyone.. if you are a heavy sleeper, or don't wake easy, I would advise against it.  Nursing mom needing sleep.. I might give it a try solo to see if it can help.