From the day Sprogzilla was born, he hated being on his back. For the first three weeks I’m not sure how we actually got him to sleep, though I have vague memories of him being rocked in the Moses basket, taken out in the car or pram at all hours and spending (broken) nights lying on daddy’s chest. The latter was as close to co-sleeping as we got back then, but Sprogdaddy was too scared of rolling over to go to sleep. And I didn’t sleep because I was too busy watching Sprogdaddy in case he fell asleep and rolled over. What a mess lol.
When Sprogzilla was around 3 weeks old, we bought a Cocoonababy nest which he finally seemed happy to sleep in. Within a couple of weeks, he was sleeping 5+ hours at the beginning of every night and only waking for 2 feeds thereafter. He stayed in this until he was 13 weeks old, then we decided to migrate him to his crib (and ultimately, cot) before he got too big for the nest.
Unfortunately, he then developed an ear infection and stopped sleeping so well. At the peak of his illness, when his poor little ear was clearly hurting badly, I brought him into bed with us for a couple of hours at night. He still didn’t sleep well and neither did I, so we stopped co-sleeping after a few days.
Things then seemed to get back to normal until the dreaded 4 month growth spurt arrived. Since around 19 weeks old he rarely goes longer than 3 hours at the beginning of the night, but sometimes it’s as little as 90 minutes – something had to be done for the sake of our sanity. I am not an advocate of sleep training, hearing my little man crying pulls at my heartstrings and goes against every motherly instinct in my body.
So about 2 weeks ago I decided to bring him into bed at around 6am, the time when he often indicates he’s ready to get up for the day but is clearly still knackered. Initially we had him in the middle of the bed, but Sprogdaddy was still nervous about rolling onto him as he does move around a lot at night and likes to take up a good portion of the bed. It would be better if Sprogzilla slept at the side, with me in the middle.
Obviously there is the issue that he might fall out of the bed, but luckily our crib is a co-sleeper that sidecars onto the bedside. We never had any luck putting him to sleep in it early on, but it looks like it may have been a worthwhile purchase after all.
When we first started co-sleeping, I was worried that my own sleep would suffer as it did before. For the first few days, I barely dozed beside him, wanting to make sure that I didn’t squash him or inadvertently pull the duvet over his head. Gradually I started nodding off for longer periods and more deeply and I now sleep for almost as long as he does. I was pleased to find that I don’t shift position when he is lying next to me and I don’t adjust the covers either. Sprogdaddy sleeps soundly having plenty of room behind me, when its particularly nippy he’ll snuggle up and keep me warm so I don’t need the duvet up high.
Earlier in the night, when Sprogzilla is placed back in the cot, he’ll often fuss and work himself up until I nurse him again – this can go on for up to 2 hours. When co-sleeping however, he sleeps very well, having a couple of feeds and settling back down instantly.
I’ve now found that I really enjoy these few hours early in the morning (he now comes into bed as early as 4am). The last few nights in particular have been amazing – as soon as he’s placed down next to me, he rolls onto his side to face me, gives me a pleased-as-punch smile and reaches out for my boobies lol.
After that, I’m in a fantastic mood before the day has even begun!
You may like:
Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, but it doesn't always come...
LGS is one of my favourite companies to buy from and I've ordered tonnes of stuf...
Every day, I can't believe Sprogzilla could get any cuter. But he does. Here he ...
Yesterday we made a major change to Sprogzilla's sleeping arrangements. We conve...
Sprogzilla is usually pretty confident on his feet these days, but today he's be...
Dec 05, 2010 @ 19:12:33
yay for co-sleeping! i’m so glad that we started cosleeping from birth with C and i wish we had with jack, i would have got so much more sleep!
“Earlier in the night, when Sprogzilla is placed back in the cot, he’ll often fuss and work himself up until I nurse him again – this can go on for up to 2 hours. When co-sleeping however, he sleeps very well, having a couple of feeds and settling back down instantly.”
this is C all over. he’s so much more settled in with us. it’s co sleep or no sleep! hehe.
Dec 06, 2010 @ 17:06:39
I think it’s great that you’ve found the key to a happy and sleep-ful night! God know how much us mummies need it!
I’m personally still not too convinced about co-sleeping, though I did give it a chance when our son was born. However when I saw my brother’s 5 year old who still slept in their bed because he suffered serious separation anxiety when they tried putting him in his own bed, I became worried about my son being that dependent and sensitive (my nephew really can’t handle any kind of ‘stress’ or ‘pressure’ and that includes the tiniest littlest things that you’d think a toddler should be able to deal with).
After seeing that, I decided to ‘toughen’ up and tried Controlled Crying – which I know you are not a fan of, but it really worked for us. As a mother, you’re the only one who knows what your child is capable of and something told me that my son could handle it – and maybe even prefer it! It took all of 2 weeks of going in every 5-10mins to reassure our little one that he was loved but that it was time to sleep. By the time he was 4 1/2 months old, he was sleeping silently and without fuss in his own cot – he was out within 5mins of being put in his cot and would go 4-5 hours, and like yours, feed only twice at night. He’s now 2 1/2 years old and is the easiest sleeper of all my friends’ kids – he goes down so easily and quickly, and sleeps 11 hours.
It is a personal choice and you should always do what is right for YOUR family.
I am now 6 months pregnant with my 2nd, and will try co-sleeping again because I don’t expect every baby to be the same. Who’s to say how my baby girl will respond to the different sleeping methods! Each kid is different
Dec 07, 2010 @ 15:58:30
alma – could your nephew have just been a naturally sensitive child? in which case co sleeping probably would have helped him? i only say that because i didnt co sleep with my first, and he is still a very sensitive child.
Dec 07, 2010 @ 16:48:50
Imogen, I decided to try having Sprogzilla in bed with us from his first feed the night before last. Unfortunately it didn’t go too well, he was very restless and I got (even) less sleep than I’ve had in a long time. He isn’t feeling very well at the moment though, so it could have just been a bad time to experiment. Last night, he came into bed at just after 6am and we had a nice cuddle until nearly 9am when he woke up happy. I do love it when that happens.
Alma, thanks for commenting about your experience with co-sleeping, it’s lovely to hear that you intend to give it another go with your daughter. I find it very satisfying, especially as I’m breastfeeding as well. Though as I’ve just mentioned to Imogen, you might not want to do it all night long. I recently read a report on how the majority of bedsharers do so for only part of the night, usually towards the end. This approach might work best for you if you’d like the co-sleeping experience but want your daughter to get used to sleeping in her cot too.
Dec 07, 2010 @ 22:57:52
aw, bless him. Yes, perhaps it was a particularly rough night.
At the end of the day you just gotta do what’s right for you. C tends to start the night in his crib, and then comes in with us for the rest of the night when he wakes between 2 and 3am. After that he doesn’t usually wake again other than for a very brief feed at about 6am. I am SO lucky, i really hope it lasts (although i know it probably won’t, lol).