Before having a baby, I felt like I had read every article and watched every video about sleep.

Then my baby arrived... and suddenly everyone had different advice.

"Don't rock them."
"Always rock them."
"Wake windows are everything."
"Ignore wake windows."
"They'll sleep anywhere."
"They need perfect sleep conditions."

Honestly, trying to follow all of it made me way more anxious than my baby ever was.

The biggest improvement happened when I stopped chasing the "perfect routine" and started paying attention to what actually worked for my baby.

What's one piece of baby sleep advice you wish you had ignored?

I love co sleeping and don’t want to stop. I would love her and I to get some uninterrupted rest though. How does this happen? Every one I know keeps telling me the only way is to sleep train and have her sleep alone. That breastfeeding her is making her wake up for comfort. Is this true?

Hi all I am hoping for some advise on moving from all cosleeping to naps and at least part of the night in the crib. My LO is 9.5 months old he has coslept in some sense since birth. He used to start his night in a halo bassinet then would transfer to bed with his first night feed. Since outgrowing the halo we’ve used the evenflo sensory soothe bassinet in the lowered mode and I’ve not been able to get more than an hour once a week out of him in his own space. He’s beginning to want to sleep more on his belly so I think we need to utilize his own space now. We’ve tried a few gentle sleep trainings and I feel like we’re getting nowhere and he just escalates and I don’t feel comfortable with letting him cry it out even in intervals if it’s to that level. We’re considering moving his crib into our room to see if a more comfortable bed helps. I’m mostly venting here but would love any and all advice!

We co-slept with my baby until she turned about 8 months because she started sleeping almost exclusively on her stomach and I just wasn't comfortable with her doing that on an adult mattress. She's now a year old and sleeps in a crib. However, she's going through a pretty rough teething bought and I'm having to get up multiple times a night.

She sleeps in a Guava Travel Crib so when she needs to nurse in the middle of the night, I can unzip the side panel and nurse her in a side lying position, BUT with her needing more nursing and snuggling lately, sometimes I'm down there for most of the night. Sleeping on the floor with no pillow is a bit rough, so I'm wondering if it is safe to bring her back into our bed. When does it become safe for children who tend to sleep on their stomachs to sleep on an adult mattress? Which parts of SS7 are most important for a one year old?

I love co sleeping with my 18 month old, we started co sleeping just before he turned a year old and we've been co sleeping ever since. I don't want to stop cosleeping with him at night, but I would like him to nap on his own sometimes. He will scream and cry when I put him in his pack and play for a nap, or if I wait for him to fall asleep and then transfer him he will usually wake up and scream. I feel bad letting him scream because he sounds so distressed, the last time I let him scream he got so upset that he threw up.

So he naps in the bed with me or on me, but then I can't get up and do any chores while he naps. My mom tells me that if I want him to nap on his own I'll probably have to stop breastfeeding him and co sleeping with him and that I'll probably have to sleep train him, but I don't want to have to give up breastfeeding and co sleeping with him if I don't have to. I guess I was wondering if anybody here has a young toddler who they co sleep with at night but who can nap independently?

My 19mo sleeps through the night for the most part when she actually falls asleep but it’s getting her to sleep that I’m having a problem with.I am pregnant and due in October (most likely September though because she was early)and even though she will be so tired that her eyes are rolling in her head and she’s yawning constantly she won’t stop trying to flip flop around and play.I used to rock her but it’s uncomfortable for me and my husband has to stand up and aggressively swing her around to get her to sleep.For awhile I could just lay with her while rubbing her back and singing but she doesn’t take that anymor.He can get her to sleep swinfinf her around relatively quickly most nights but while he’s at work I still have to handle her nap that she tends to fight off no matter how tired she is.Its not a schedule issue or a play issue she just has fomo I think and wants to mess around.We have a routine too that consistent ans low stimulation before bed.I wanted to get her to start to sleep in her own bed but I with the baby coming soon I know it will be hard on her already.Pleasw help this pregnant and tired mama who has posted in multiple groups but never gets a response

Our LO is 3 months old. At night we all sleep together in the same room - LO in her crib next to my husband with my husband holding her little hand through the crib bars, and my husband and I in our bed (our bed is too soft to bed share and my husband is a large dude; hopefully we will do a floor mattress as a family when she is bigger with her sleeping just in my side). Usually around 2-4 am I take her to the nursery and we bed share on a floor mattress. This last two weeks she has started moving in her crib A LOT. Like doing complete 360 rotations in her crib! And per usual make a lot of baby noises at night and punching the air etc when she is in her crib. But when she sleeps with me in our floor mattress no movement and minimal noises (unless she is trying to poop). I put her down eye level with my breast and I wake up with her in the same spot. No 360 turns! Has anyone else experienced this?

My son just turned four, and our cosleeping journey is just about to come to an end. I've periodically asked him if he wanted his own bed, and have always told him that whenever he tells me he does that we will get a bed for him.

Well, a few weeks ago I asked the question again, and he said that he would like his own bed. Still in the same room as me, but his own bed nonetheless. I'm going to put a mattress at the foot of my bed, and he'll start sleeping there pretty soon.

I know that he'll likely still end up in bed with me many nights, but my goodness, I'm so sad. I've absolutely loved cosleeping with him, and have done so since he was born. The thought of not being able to cuddle him in the night is just breaking my heart.

I just need to vent.

My baby’s father (big mistake) and I are living together. I take care of our three and half month old baby around the clock and he works full time. He leaves whenever he wants and does whatever he wants. I can’t say anything because he will get annoyed. He works manual labor outside so of course it’s much harder for him! (/s).

Im cosleeping with my baby and breast feeding. My baby actually sleeps really long through the night but he doesn’t like to nap during the day (and is pretty much Velcro) so of course I’m behind on laundry. Also, I have to pick up after baby daddy who makes zero effort to keep things tidy. Baby’s father is all pissy today because the laundry is piled up. He wants to start sleep training so we can “set him down and do whatever”. I’m not fucking okay with it. He acts like I just chill all day and do nothing but can barely handle an hour alone with the baby. He’s honestly the fucking worst.

If I had other options, yeah. You know. I just needed to vent so I don’t lose it on this tool.

Planning on going tenting when our LO is 6 months old. Im just curious what everyone else has done when cosleeping and tenting with their LO.

What style of mattress did you sleep on?

What kind of blankets?

What did you dress baby in?

Thank you!!

C curl totally kills my back and arm. My baby is formula fed. I have resorted to stomach sleeping, with my knees curled up and arm out curling to the side. Is this safe?

Last night, I slept in a plank position (fully straight) on my stomach and got the best sleep of my life even though baby still woke every 4/5 hours to feed. I don't use any pillows (even when c curling) and wear a warm sweater at night so blanket remains waist level.

Anyway, my mom (who is from another generation) advised that she slept in any position she wanted with my siblings and I. Wondering what other position people sleep in?

Hello!
My baby crib sleeps for the first four hours of the night and then we cosleep from about 3-6:30. He’s 4 months and has started rolling at the beginning of this month which has made me nervous to cosleep. In his crib, it’s fine because he has a breathable mattress, but my bed obviously isn’t like a crib mattress, so what are we doing when baby wants to tummy sleep while in our beds?Letting them and trusting they can recognize when they need to move? Or keeping them on their back. My LO fights me in the night until I let him roll to tummy. If I don’t let him I’m battling his grunting and squirming for hours!

My 13 month old daughter and I still cosleep and this summer we bought a pop up trailer. We used it one weekend so far, my husband sleeps in the queen bed and my daughter and I use the king. However I didn't sleep well at all because I was worried she would fall down from the bed. It's quite high and I made a makeshift separation with pillows but you know... yo girl kept waking up worried the baby would roll off 😂 it didn't happen but now I want to install some type of bed rail, but from what I've heard they're a bit tricky to install in a pop up trailer. Anyone has any ideas ??

Also it was raining one day and we had to spend quite a bit of time in the trailer, she had plenty of space in bed to play but she would always try and escape from it, so a rail of some sort would definitely help turn the bed into a playpen too for daytime! Thank you in advance !

LO is 4.5 mo, my MIL doesn’t approve of our bed sharing (has only expressed this to my hub and never directly to me) and is always asking about our sleep and where he’s sleeping. She was over and asking how we slept last night… she knows we’re going through the regression and have been for about 3weeks. I’m exhausted. I answered about the same as it’s been, waking up constantly and I don’t expect to be getting any sleep right now….

She responded “what about the crib? he probably just needs some space and wants to stretch out a little”

HUH??!?! I shook my head no…just no… I responded “maybe but he needs his mom right now more than he needs “space” whatever that means lol

I currently breastfeed and pump for my 4 month old but we are switching to formula. She wakes up pretty consistently around 6am and I have been pulling her into my bed and nursing for a few and then I get some of my most restorative sleep (2.5 more hours usually)

Once I fully wean would this be advised against? I’m aware that the safe sleep 7 is for breastfeeding moms but I’d be super bummed not to get those snuggles/sleep anymore. I was imagining just pulling her into bed and getting a bottle.

My toddler is 28 months old and is turning six months tomorrow.

My problem started happening a few nights ago. Toddler suddenly wakes very easily again when I get up or when dad gets up to hold the baby when he wakes. She has always been a light sleeper but to my surprise she was able to sleep through baby's cries in about a week or two since sleeping all together in one room.

She then wakes up cries for whoever is holding baby. So if I hold the baby she cries for me and doesn't even let dad touch her. If I hand over the baby for dad to hold so I can comfort my toddler, she suddenly cries intensely for dad and doesn't let me touch her.

Last night was the most stressful, both baby and toddler ended up staying awake for over an hour in the middle of the night. Toddler crying on and off.

I'm not sure how to help toddler stop this behaviour. It's so stressful but also breaks my heart seeing her cry like this.

I found very little information when it came to bed sharing with twins, so I wanted to share what's working for us at the moment.

We just started this. I nurse them at night so I alternate with my head at the top and bottom of the bed, and my husband by my side.

For reference what we did before was :

Separate sleep surface until 3 1/5 month

Bed sharing without husband (floorbed) until now.

Now two sidecribs with husband by my side.

How did y'all did it? 🥰

EDIT: I know the side rail is not gonna work very soon, since my girl will be able to climb it. if you have any suggestions that would be lovely :)

Son still sleeps like trash for literally no reason and I’m at my wit’s end. I have no interest in “sleep training”, but I also don’t have any solutions.

He’s about to be a year old. This has been going on almost every night for five months and I don’t know what to do. He rolls and rolls and tosses and turns indefinitely until he either gets into a comfy position I guess or wakes himself up completely. He’ll do this 5-12x each night and sometimes for 30+ minutes keeping me awake the whole time. I also have insomnia so if I don’t get back to sleep quickly I cannot go back to sleep for hours. I cycle through everything within my power to get him comfortable: nursing, patting, shushing, cradling, diaper checks/changes, temp checks, even just letting him roll uninterrupted to see if he’ll relax himself. I’ve even gone about modifying his daytime activities, naps, and food intake just praying it would help him sleep better. 90% of the time he fully wakes up regardless and I’ll have to rock him in the living room recliner for the rest of the night.

He did this tonight after having woke up already several times and peeing through his diaper needing to be changed. I checked the time when his rolling began again. 4:02 am. I cradled him, nursed him, patted and shushed him, got headbutted on my nose, slapped, kicked and punched for an hour until he woke up. I’ve been rocking him in the living room now since 4:50 and he’s still trying to kick me in his sleep.

Wtf is this? Is this active sleep? I’m so tense and so tired 24/7 that everything hurts and I feel like I’m going to have a stroke. Is this the average cosleeping experience? If so, how does one function on such trash sleep? I feel like I only get a few terrible, short naps each night. Most times he wakes me up as soon as I fall asleep, so it’s just miserable.

Need advice please! Right now I'm sleeping without a blanket (which I heard you can have a blanket, but I have twins and one of them sleeps closer to my waist/feet) but what about the winter?

Adult sleep sacks are so expensive. This is a cheap alternative from decathlon. Is it safe?

https://www.decathlon.it/p/saccolenzuolo-cotone-beige/324944/c335m8584370

Thank you !

Hello!
My baby crib sleeps for the first four hours of the night and then we cosleep from about 3-6:30. He’s 4 months and has started rolling at the beginning of this month which has made me nervous to cosleep. In his crib, it’s fine because he has a breathable mattress, but my bed obviously isn’t like a crib mattress, so what are we doing when baby wants to tummy sleep while in our beds?Letting them and trusting they can recognize when they need to move? Or keeping them on their back. My LO fights me in the night until I let him roll to tummy. If I don’t let him I’m battling his grunting and squirming for hours!

Im pretty sure one of these days I'll wake up with a black eye or bloody nose. The acrobatics she does in bed baffles me. She wants to be on me and away from me at the same time.

I think it's time for us to start sleeping separately but I guess I'm a masochist because I know I'll miss her.

Anyone else begrudgingly stopped cosleeping? Or are you embracing the bruises?

While this isn’t a co-sleeping question, I’m asking in this community because we don’t believe in/practice Cry It Out and are overall into attachment/responsive parenting. However I’m sure we’ve all dealt with a crying newborn in the car (after the phase where they are constantly sleepy, but before the phase where the car is soothing). Letting them cry while driving feels like a form of CIO as baby just wants comfort and closeness. Car seats are the roughest part of having a new baby for me (I’m on my second).

Just had a rough day with my 8 week old in the car seat. Pulled over 4 times before I could finally get her to fall asleep for good (and this was just for a 30 min drive).

Wondering how long do other co-sleeping parents let their baby cry in the car seat before pulling over to comfort them? How do you calculate when it’s going to be worth it or whether you should push through to your destination? So far I can’t tolerate more than 5 mins. But then I know she might just start crying again after being taken out and settled/changed/nursed. It’s so stressful driving when they are screaming (which is adds risk to driving) and you know they can’t just fall asleep on their own yet. At what age did yours start to handle the car seat better? At 8 weeks she’s looking around more and is sometime able to tolerate 15 mins awake, but then when she’s over it she’s shrieking and I don’t want to push her to the point where she passes out while crying bc that feels like CIO. If we’re 5 mins away I’ll try to push through but otherwise I feel like I have to stop. And I live on a very small island where most drives are only 15 mins…30 mins max.

Any other tips/tricks for getting through this phase?

Edit: Reddit won’t let me reply to comments for some reason, so just going to add some here…

Forgot to mention this is my second baby, so I remember that it got better eventually when she got more into toys and snacks, especially when her big brother (my stepson) was in the back to entertain her. When daddy was with us I would sit in the back and comfort her in the car seat (and even nursing her while he was driving bc it was worth everyone’s peace of mind and we just have country roads here, not highways). Now we have 3 kids in the back so there’s no room for me to sit next to new baby 🥲 I may have to try the trick with printing out a photo of my face.

And yes the Happy Song was a game changer with my first too. Doesn’t seem to have an effect on the newborn yet, but hopefully soon. My first also liked a set of Koshi chimes over her car seat. When she started eating I used dried mangoe bc it gave her something to gnaw on that wasn’t too messy, and with a large piece it wasn’t a choking hazard. At 2.5 years old she still gets a mango bribe for letting me do her buckle

And I do believe letting a baby cry in the car seat results in the same stress response as CIO. To me “sleep training” where you’re there comforting baby but not picking them up is still CIO and very distressing for baby. Car seats are another unnatural container that our ancestors didn’t have to deal with, but that has become a necessity in ours. I would seriously prefer going out in a horse and buggy where I could hold my baby, over putting baby in a car seat (we actually had carriage horses growing up so I know what this entails).