I have posted looking for advice on this twice in the breastfeeding sub, and haven't had one answer. I dont want to post in general parenting subs in case I get replies about sleep training. I am getting more and more exhausted by the day and increasingly worried I am doing something wrong that I cant figure out.

Baby was originally a great sleeper- regular stretches of 2 or 3 hours upto 4 months old. Breastfed with an occasional formula bottle when I am not with her etc.

She has just turned 8 months. Since 4 months, she has regressed in sleep and hasn't returned yet. Bar the odd night where she might have one stretch of 2 or 3 hours, she wakes at a minimum of every hour.

She also recently started waking at 30 mins during day naps, of which she has 2. She usually slept for upto 1.5 hours without waking much. Sometimes I can get her back to sleep, sometimes she is wide awake and up to go.

I am at my wits end, I am getting barely any sleep and am returning to work next week, full time.

Is it just a normal reaction to the combination of starting solids and milestones? She has been ploughing through them and so far was early with every milestone so far. We use a floor bed, so I havent been able to leave her lie there awake ro fall asleep herself since she started crawling at 5 mths- she is fed to sleep every single time, unless she is in the car.

Or, is it the boob sleep association and I have fucked up completely? I dont want to night wean as she will not get enough breastmilk during the day when I return to work, pumping isnt an option. I planned to BF until at least 12 months.

I really could do with some advice. Thanks.

How are we getting cosleeping & contact napping babies to nap independently? Been doing exclusive contact naps & co sleeping since day 1 and my baby is now 14wks. Every other aspect of my life has been neglected and my husband is back at work now so I need some hands free time. Unfortunately my baby doesn’t like carriers that much and they are also so painful for me to wear😣 Any advice?

Does anyone know if the Emma mattress is ok? I did two tests on it. One using the stack of CDs and this was very 50/50 as sometimes it looked to pass and other times I wasn’t sure. I then also did the test using the book and ruler and this one passed as seen in photo. It does have some memory foam in it which is why I’m asking

Our 2 year old has been co sleeping in our room for the last 5/6 months. We have been wanting to get her back into her room but was waiting for her brother to arrive as just felt it would have been too much. He is now 3 weeks old. Would this be an ok time to start co sleeping with her but in her room instead? Or is this too soon after baby for her? Also, if this is ok, we have put a double mattress on the floor against her wall, there’s a very small gap of say 3cm - should we use a bed guard?

I have a 2yo who I have been cosleeping since she was 5mo old. She has mostly ever napped in carrier and I currently have her fall asleep in carrier and transition her to bed next to me, and I lay with her (by my choice) untill it is time to wake her.

I am now 20 week pregnant and I worry I wont be able to keep this up as I get more pregnant and especially once the baby is born. I want to transition atleast to the point where she could fall asleep next to me in bed within 15-20min or even better on her own. We have no issues falling asleep at night like that, I or her dad stay next to her untill shes asleep and we can sneak out after that.

I have tried holding her in the carrier but sitting down in bed or just laying with her like at night, but she just keeps talking and playing and not falling asleep. The room is dark but not pitch black. I have no idea how to make this transition happen and worry she will just have to drop the nap once baby is born. I do plan to implement quiet time, as I do need a break in the middle of the day, but she still clearly needs a nap, as she sleeps very well once I get her to sleep.

To add to all this, we are expecting to move to a new house in January, and baby will be born in March most likely, so I know that will be a lot for her to take in.

Has anyone made similar transition succesfully? How can I make naps in bed work when she has never needed to fall asleep like that and won't settle down even next to me?? Help please!

hi team

is it better to transition to room sharing first or go straight to their own room for a transition of cosleeping?

i am expecting another baby in june and i thought maybe to add a toddler bed to our room.

what is your experience with room sharing and a newborn?

We did gentle sleep training (shush-pat + pupd combo) with our 5.5 month son, and he has learned to sleep on the bed without much fuss/crying. Much better than when we did contact naps and had to walk, rock, bounce him to sleep which got us exhausted. However his sleep times during the day is still around 30-45 mins and night time naps around 2-3 hrs at a time. We try to get him to bed by 7:30 pm, and wakes up at 7:30 am with every 2-3 hr wakeups ( 9-10 hrs of sleep at night). No pacifiers. We have a white noise machine and we co sleep.

Any ideas on how to increase the nap times ? Does it happen naturally with age, or are we doing something wrong as I heard from many parents that their LO sleeps 6 hrs at a stretch.

Anyone cosleeping with their first and second baby? Did firstborn move to their own room before cosleeping with the second?

MIL keeps telling me “you won’t be able to afford doing this with your second one” and I just don’t think that’s true

We’re cosleeping with our 8.5 month old and up until recently have felt good about this approach. However, recently he’s started crying if he is not in contact with me and is completely inconsolable until I nurse him when he wakes. I am beyond exhausted as he is teething and waking up every hour and my husband feels helpless as he can’t settle baby. Doesn’t help that family and in laws keep telling us how this has created a bad habit and how we won’t be able to afford doing this forever. I just find myself in tears feeling like a terrible mom most days now.

Have we made a mistake cosleeping this long? Is sleep training inevitable? Appreciate any advice/commiseration

Note: in laws did not breastfeed and do not understand the benefits of cosleeping while breastfeeding. Staying with them next week for a week and already anticipating needing to explain myself 🤦‍♀️

We have coslept most of the time over the last 2 years, save for the first couple of months where she was happy in her bassinet. I have loved it and still love cosleeping, however I am ready to move back into bed with my husband. He doesn’t want the kids in our bed, and I’m okay with that.

So far the arrangement has been I put the kids to bed, after they fall asleep I go to our bed. Once my daughter has her first wake I go back to bed with her and stay there for the rest of the night. I’ve been hoping that as she gets older and once we have weaned (which we are now successfully weaned a full 3 weeks now!) that her sleep would improve and we would get at least 2-3 days a week or more where she could sleep through the night and I can be waking up in my own bed. That’s similar to what had happened with our son who was an awful sleeper as a baby/toddler and now sleeps like a hibernating bear.

Any advice on improving my girls sleep and getting her to sleep through the night (OR at least sleep through for the first half of the night 😩). Needless to say I came to this community because I’m not interesting in any crying/classic sleep training methods.

Thank you!

My son is 5 months, we've been co sleeping more and more as he gets older and I start feeling more comfortable and confident with it.

My husband just showed me a "cute pic" of us sleeping he got last night when he came home from work. It is cute except I'm on my back and not on my side. Now I'm stressing about it. I honestly was so tired last night that I don't even remember falling asleep. I don't know if I rolled onto my back from c curl or if I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow before I even had time to get into correct positioning.

As far as I know this has never happened before. I have always woken up in c curl if baby is in bed with me. I'm just so upset with myself and now I'm scared to go to sleep tonight.

My LO is 16 months old and still nurses to sleep. She doesn’t nurse during the day because she goes to daycare, and on weekends, she usually nurses only once during the day. Sometimes, she can also be gently bounced to sleep, but I always nurse her before bedtime.
She wakes up multiple times throughout the night wanting to nurse. On a good night, she wakes up around 3 times, and on a bad night, it can be as many as 6 times.
I’ve been trying to break the association by bouncing her instead. Sometimes, I think it’s working, but then she starts signing for milk. When I try bouncing her again, I get so frustrated because I’m exhausted and just want to sleep. It feels like we keep going around in circles. Her iron level is good, on the threshold but good.
She eats well both at daycare and at home. Her schedule is pretty consistent:
Daycare nap: 11:30–11:45 a.m. until 1:45–2 p.m.
Bedtime routine: 6:15–6:30 p.m.
Falls asleep: Around 7–7:30 p.m.
Wake-up: 6:30 a.m. (sometimes I have to wake her up for daycare).
I’ve always maintained a consistent routine, even when I was home with her, but she has NEVER consistently slept through the night. The only exception was when we were traveling abroad, and she slept for five consecutive hours once in the crib. But now she refuses crib at home at all costs.
My husband tries to help, but she refuses to be comforted by him at night and screams until she gets me. I also don’t want to force the issue because my husband works with dangerous equipment, and I want him to get enough rest to work safely.
I want to continue co-sleeping and breastfeeding, but I would really like to reduce the night wakings and stop nursing every time she wakes up. I’m not looking to stop breastfeeding altogether; I just want us both to get more sleep.
I’m just so tired, and I don’t know what to do anymore. I work too, at office, I’m still productive and not really tired during the day because I go to sleep early at 8pm so I can get some sleep even if it’s broken.
Am I doing something wrong with her routine? Should I change her schedule or work on gradually weaning her off night nursing while continuing to co-sleep? Or should I just wait and hope she eventually starts sleeping through the night on her own?
I’d really appreciate hearing from parents who have been through something similar, especially those who continued co-sleeping and breastfeeding but managed to reduce night wakings. What worked for you? How old was your LO when they slept through? My niece started sleeping through the night with 12 months and was weaned, she always bedshare with my sister.

I live in an old century home that’s been converted into apartments we do not control the thermostat or even know what it’s set to another tenant in the building has control over the temperature over the whole building however they like to turn the heat on and off based off how they are feeling instead of keeping it a constant temperature this results in it being freezing in the morning (like need a coat inside) to boiling hot by the end of the night my LO is 8 weeks old and we always start the night with her in her mini crib and by morning she’s in bed with me im guessing because she’s freezing any tips on how to dress her

Right now we put her in a cotton sleeper and I swaddle her with her arms out if she’s in her mini crib and just the cotton sleeper if she’s in the bed with me however as we move more to winter I feel like she’s getting cold in bed with me in just a sleeper I’m thinking on getting her a sleep sac but I have no idea how to go about the TOG because it’s never the same temperature

I EBF and have a little bit of anxiety when it comes to co sleeping and having fabric around her face so I’ve been sleeping topless with a pair of warm fuzzy pants and a blanket tucked at hip hight but now I’m also freezing while co sleeping what can wear that’s still safe (not super loose)

I just read that formula fed babies shouldn’t cosleep I had noooo idea. My daughter will be 10 months on the 18th, if I try to sleep train her now it will be a nightmare.

Can i continue? She sleeps so far away from me now on a queen floor bed. The other half of the time she’s climbing on me to sleep on my chest still

I bedshare with my baby (7 months) and now that it’s getting cold (our room is about 20 C, less in the morning) I have no idea how to dress baby. Right now i put her in a long sleeve body and a onesie pijama without feet ontop, but I’m not sure this is enough?? She HATES anything covering her feet like a blanket (I will sometimes cover her with my blanket while nursing her to sleep, not while I’m sleeping myself) and she hateessss it! She also hates baby sleeping bags and onesies with feet for this reason.

I’ve slept in basically the same outfit just to see how I feel, and it was definitely cold, but I don’t know what else I can do and also don’t want her to overheat.

Can anyone give me advice, or let me know if there is anything I can try?

Edit: I wanted to add that both my husband and I HATE having our house too warm, I’m already ‘suffering’ and it’s 20-22C, so definitely don’t want to turn up the heating.

FTM here, my little girl has pretty bad reflux, if we lay her on her back at night she wakes up choking on her spit up and her nasal gets too congested for her to breathe properly for a good hour after waking up
We usually put her on our chest slightly elevated (although she seems to do fine completely flat on her tummy) I also like to lay with her we are both on our side facing each other and her head rests on my boob while my arm is under her head.

Just wondering how others are cosleeping with their reflux newborn and if there’s a safer position or alternative

We have tried flat on her back with incline in her bassinet but we run into the same breathing issue :(

How can I sleep in a cold winter without blankets if the bed is supposed to be free from blankets and pillows?

my husband and I have co slept with both kids (currently 4.5 and almost 2) since they were babies. Up until now, its worked well, but we’ve reached a point where one or both kids are waking up at night or too early in the morning and waking everyone else up. We’ve been sleeping so poorly. I want to transition my oldest to sleeping in his own room but he’s very anxious about sleeping by himself.

In all honesty, I also have some anxiety about him sleeping by himself because his bedroom is on the main level and the rest of us sleep in the basement. I’m also contemplating moving both kids into their room, but their bed is a bunk bed and the youngest knows how to climb up it but not down it and has gotten himself stuck (he’d obviously be sleeping on the bottom, but I’d be worried about him trying to climb up with his brother).

Advice on how to make this transition would be so helpful- especially anything around how to incentivize sleeping alone, kids books or tv episodes dealing with the topic, or specific words you’ve used with your own kids when letting them know they’ll be sleeping on their own.

Hi all, I love cosleeping and breastfeeding my 1 yo, but there are often times when he doesn’t sleep well, and the accumulated stress and repeated nursery illnesses are getting to me. He has split nights and crawls over to me to grab my nose, pull my hair, and I find myself shoving him off me, which makes him cry and makes me feel like the world’s shittest mother. Add teething to the mix for a child who refuses medicine, and I can’t help feeling that when he learns to walk he’s going to start jumping on me in the middle of the night.

I don’t know if we should just try putting him in a crib. He slept in a sidecar for a bit but we were worried about rolling so he’s not been in one for a while (and is used to bf from me all night, so there’ll be a fair amount of screaming I reckon)z

Perhaps a strange ask - what kind of bedsheets would you recommend?

Myself and my LO are constantly wiggling which causes the fitted sheet to come loose. I lose so much sleep just because of that and it’s a pain to always have to tighten the sheet before bed.

Please help!

Baby girl is 4.5mo. We tried the bedside bassinet but after her first few days of newborn sleepiness wore off she absolutely could not sleep without being in contact with someone. At 5 weeks my spouse and I were just taking turns staying awake all night so she could contact nap, and I was starting to hallucinate, so we brought her into bed. It immediately got so much better. She is a stage 5 clinger — when she’s nursing to sleep she is restless unless both feet and both hands are touching me, and i have to either hold her hand or rest my hand on her back. If she unlatches and I manage to roll away, it’s like she can smell that I’m gone and will, without fail, wake up within 2-5 minutes. She has not slept more than like 20 mins in a bassinet or crib ever.

I’m okay with cosleeping — I enjoy the baby cuddles and I know that it’s temporary. But I do feel like I can’t sleep as deeply with her in the bed, and my spouse is such a light sleeper that they usually sleep separately. Recently I was talking about something at night and in a freudian slip, referred to the guest room as “[spouse’s room]”. It was kind of a wakeup call to both of us I think, that the baby being in the bed is affecting our ability to connect with each other. We’re still very loving and affectionate to each other but almost never get a chance to do more than hug briefly while handing the baby off.

Will she (the baby) get less clingy over time? Am I making her even more clingy the longer I cosleep? Sexual intimacy is completely off the table rn and idk if I’m prepared to go 2, 5, 10 years without that connection to them :( but i also can’t imagine that transitioning her to her crib will go any better than it did before. I’m also soooo tired i can’t really bear to sacrifice the sleep i currently get trying it out.

I’m ready to stop cosleeping with my 10 month old, but I don’t know how to get started. My sleep quality but mostly my physical and mental health are starting to suffer too greatly for it, otherwise I would keep going.

We have been cosleeping since day 1 for both naps and overnight. He contact naps with his dad occasionally, but for 99% of the time he’s with me and nursing too. When his dad naps with him he has to hold him the whole time. He takes 2 naps a day, and I typically lay with him for both. For his first nap my toddler lays next to us and watches a show, for his next nap my toddler naps at the same time in his own room. This isn’t ideal for me but I don’t know a way around it. If I try to roll away for nap time, he always wakes up. At night, he does let me roll away, but I have to resettle him once or twice before I go to bed myself. He wakes every 2-3 hours at night to nurse and often is hard to resettle early in the morning for a long stretch.

I just don’t know where to start.

How do I get him used to the crib?

He’s a very sensitive little guy. He’s with me all the time, and gets upset when away from my arms most of the day. I just feel like it will never work. If even every time I’ve ever attempted to lay him down on my bed he’s woken, how can a crib work? He always has to be nursed to sleep while laying down (or bounced to sleep in someone’s arms- not mine though, always cries until he nurses).

I also don’t know what to do with my toddler during babies first nap because I don’t really trust him to hang out without me for very long while I settle the baby… he’s a mischievous little guy when on his own and way too high energy to hang out in the same room as the baby and I during put downs.

Any advice? Thank you x

My son is 7 months old and almost 30 pounds 😅 he is EBF and we have coslept since birth . He is happy all day and rarely cries, he naps 2-3 times a day and can be left alone in the bed and sleeps totally fine for up to two hours ! up to 4 months he was giving me 4 hour stretches but since then is continuously gotten worse and now he is waking almost every 45 minutes. He cries and is mostly soothed by boob or but patting and falls back asleep and this continues all night . I’m going insane… my husband sleeps with my two year old . I’m just so confused why he can nap for over 45 min but at night it’s the opposite ? I don’t think he’s teething since this has been for months .. I love cosleeping but man I’m tired and taking care of a toddler on top of this … any advice please

My baby does really well with Sidelying feeding. He is 6 weeks old and we have been doing it since about 3 weeks only at nights. But the problem is it is killing my neck. I will switch between boobs at night every night so it’s not like I’m favoring one side. I do the c curl. Any pillow suggestions or advice overall? I just suck it up cause it seems it’s the only way we can both get some sleep and works really well for us. Just us two In a king bed

Anyone that coslept then transitioned to the crib at 4 months how did it go? Any advice?