Co-sleeping with newborn: must I go without pillow and duvet?

I plan to co-sleep with my baby, just as my mother co-slept with me and
my sister when we were little.

From what I've been reading, the safest thing to do is sleep on a bare
mattress, warmly dressed, but with no duvet or pillows. At least that
seems to be the recommendation for the very youngest of babies.

Now, I like my pillow and I like my duvet, and it's winter and I can't
see how I would dress warmly enough that I shouldn't need a cover!

How does this look in practice?

I have always used a pillow. My pillow is always under my head, and my
baby has always been breast level. I used a blanket over my legs up to
hip level, so there was no covers or pillow from my hips to my neck
which was the area the baby slept in.

I have noticed my babies blindly scootching toward my pillow with their
mouths open trying to nurse from it when I was out of bed because it
smelled like me, so you might want to remove your pillow when you are
not there.

I have always had high heating bills in the winter when I had nursing
babies so that I could sleep without blanket on my upper half.

I also always slept on a matress on the ground with the baby. I was
personally too worried about being on a high bed with the baby.

KC

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:
I plan to co-sleep with my baby, just as my mother co-slept with me and
my sister when we were little.

From what I've been reading, the safest thing to do is sleep on a bare
mattress, warmly dressed, but with no duvet or pillows. At least that
seems to be the recommendation for the very youngest of babies.

Now, I like my pillow and I like my duvet, and it's winter and I can't
see how I would dress warmly enough that I shouldn't need a cover!

How does this look in practice?

KC wrote:
I have always used a pillow. My pillow is always under my head, and
my baby has always been breast level. I used a blanket over my legs
up to hip level, so there was no covers or pillow from my hips to my
neck which was the area the baby slept in.

This is how I did it too. I removed the pillow if I was not in bed. I was
also cold so I wore a sweatshirt and sometimes a t-shirt under that. That
was probably a hazard as well actually as that is a lot of fabric next to
baby.


--
Nikki
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Thing One and Thing Two :-) EDD 4/06

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward writes:

I plan to co-sleep with my baby, just as my mother co-slept with me and
my sister when we were little.

From what I've been reading, the safest thing to do is sleep on a bare
mattress, warmly dressed, but with no duvet or pillows. At least that
seems to be the recommendation for the very youngest of babies.

Now, I like my pillow and I like my duvet, and it's winter and I can't
see how I would dress warmly enough that I shouldn't need a cover!

How does this look in practice?

If the issue is sheer warmth, I recommend fleece pyjamas, thick socks, with
a dressing gown over all. My problem, though, is that holding a layer of
covering round me is a strong sleep association for me: I couldn't imagine
sleeping without coverings, however warm I was (even in hot climates I
can't do that). This is part of the reason why we went for somewhat
improper cosleeping - a three-sided cot arrangement, fastened to the bed,
so that DS had his own sleeping area and I had mine. I still used my quilt
and pillow, but took care not to have extra stuff over on his side, so that
it couldn't get over him. That worked well for us. Maybe you might be able
to do something similar even if you're literally all in one sleeping area?

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

If the issue is sheer warmth, I recommend fleece pyjamas, thick socks, with
a dressing gown over all. My problem, though, is that holding a layer of
covering round me is a strong sleep association for me

Yes, I need the covering just like you, summer or winter. It's not the
warmth, though there's that too, I suppose.

(But your proposed outfit reminds me of what we wore in boarding school
on cold winter nights, UNDER our blankets!)

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:
I plan to co-sleep with my baby, just as my mother co-slept with me and
my sister when we were little.

From what I've been reading, the safest thing to do is sleep on a bare
mattress, warmly dressed, but with no duvet or pillows. At least that
seems to be the recommendation for the very youngest of babies.

Now, I like my pillow and I like my duvet, and it's winter and I can't
see how I would dress warmly enough that I shouldn't need a cover!

I co-slept with both my babies and didn't worry too much about the
pillow or my duvet. I wouldn't cover the baby, and I kept the pillow
away from them. But I would take them out of the bed and put them into
the bassinet or crib when I wasn't there. The duvet would get bunched
up behind my shoulders so it actually propped me up while I nursed and
then while I fell asleep.

Stasya

I have used duvets with all 6.

Andrea.

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward wrote:

Now, I like my pillow and I like my duvet, and it's winter and I can't
see how I would dress warmly enough that I shouldn't need a cover!

How does this look in practice?

I used a snuggle nest: http://www.dreamtimebaby.com/snugnesbybab.html

We have a king-sized bed, and we put the snuggle nest between our
pillows. The sides are rigid, and the pillows didn't (couldn't really,
without extraordinary effort) slide over it.

We had our big comforter/duvet, but since she was between our heads,
the comforter only came up to her knees. We used this until she was 7
months old, when she was doing things like wiggle downwards and turning
sideways. Then we built a side-car with low rails around 3 sides of
it, and attached it to my side of the bed. That way, she had her own
space. When she was little, I put her across the side-car, so that her
feet were pointing at our bed - again so our duvet would be far from
her face. But after she was about a year old or so, she was moving
around so much - I didn't worry about it much.

Cathy Weeks

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward writes:
: I plan to co-sleep with my baby, just as my mother co-slept with me and
: my sister when we were little.

:From what I've been reading, the safest thing to do is sleep on a bare
: mattress, warmly dressed, but with no duvet or pillows. At least that
: seems to be the recommendation for the very youngest of babies.

: Now, I like my pillow and I like my duvet, and it's winter and I can't
: see how I would dress warmly enough that I shouldn't need a cover!

: How does this look in practice?


We co-slept with both Clara and Niel. We used pillows, and we had a
down comforter, which we never had higher than the babie's waist.
They each wore a "onesie" when they were little.

Larry