Bed sharing safety tips? Did it work for you and your family?

Question

Moms who safely share a bed with your baby, what do you do to make it as safe as possible. I am thinking of doing this (only when my partner is at work so there’s more space). I’ve been sleep deprived occasionally to where I’ll fall asleep and baby is sleeping on my stomach and that scares me so much. Nothing is ever wrong, Baby and I wake up in the same position. But If I’m going to accidentally fall asleep i want to make it safer for baby. He’s having trouble staying asleep in the bassinet

Answer

I never had my baby sleeping between my husband and I. Always on my side.
I had the co-sleeper bassinet joined up to the bed so if she rolled, she would roll into that instead of off the bed (never happened with either of my babies but still a precaution).
My mattress was firm and didn't sink.
I never drank alcohol or was on any medication that made me drowsy.
Kept their head away from my pillow.
Laid them on their back.

Answer

We have a king sized bed and she somehow ended up with more space than we had to ourselves 🤦🏽‍♀️ I don’t advocate bed sharing but I feel like it’s not a bad thing if parents are safe and responsible. I never drank or did drugs, her dad was a heavy sleeper so she stayed between me and a bed rail we bought. I rolled a towel up thick but tight and put it between her and the bed rail while she was still small even though she never moved in her sleep. I folded up one of those long pillows to make it heavy and stuffed it in a case so it wouldn’t budge at night at all and there was no case hanging for her to pull over her face. And yes she DID sleep with a cover on because she needed the air and the fan on to sleep but I was always worried she would get cold. But I was that mom who was asleep but was never really “asleep” if you understand. She could make the faintest sound and I would be up checking on her. This gave me peace of mind, and let me get some type of sleep because she wasn’t sleeping in her crib for more than 15mins after we’d lay her down. She’s never had an issue bed sharing with us but NOW we do.. she’s 2.5 and still in our damn bed🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ She has a bed in her own room but she gets up and comes back in our bed and wakes her dad up so I just said F it.. she can stay in here until she’s really getting on my nerves. 🤷🏽‍♀️ The next one.. will be sleeping in her crib she never used and will have an owlet sock for our peace of mind.. Or we’re getting an custom bed that can comfortably sleep 4 people😂😂

4mos old🙄 as you can see below, I even slept with my eyes open 😴 I looked horrible too 🤣🤣🤣

Answer

No baby on pillow, hair tied back, arm around her, have them in a sleep sack and I have a blanket. But that wasn’t all the time. A few times we shared a blanket and it would come up to their waist so like my lower waist and then I would have a smaller blanket just for me.

Answer

The easiest way is put your mattress on the floor, put the baby’s mattress on the floor close to the wall
This way you know baby can’t fall from bed and he has his own safe space
Put warm clothes or sleep sack on baby and no blanket

Answer

This is how we always sleep my lo is 6months now and weve been doing it since day 1, (i found this picture helpful in the early days) we have a crib attached to the bed one side (i usually end up half in lol!) but it means he cant roll out then and my hubby is the other side so he can sleep either side. Its awkward to sleep with your pillow not by baby and i always find i have to tuck my arm thats closest to baby in between my legs or under baby's legs but it gets easier as they grow, i used to use a sleeping grobag for baby and id have a cover but now we both share it just doesnt come over his arms / waist. Its so much easier tho we hardly wake for feeds or changes and when babe is clingy you can cuddle up and get more sleep than you would otherwise xx

Answer

i got one of these as a gift with my 1st child & now my 9 week old baby girl uses it 
i just cushion it with a soft thick blanket & lay her on top of it
sometimes i fold up a receiving blanket & out it under the top of it so she's a little inclined, she loves it

Answer

Just here to remind you there is no SAFE way to bedshare. There are safeR ways. I slipped up and bedshared for a month because I was exhausted, so I am not here to judge you. However, be willing to live with whatever consequences may arise. You have to accept the risk. I worked in child welfare, so I have seen actual tragedies. They DO happen. They just are kept on the down low obviously. 
My daughter hated her bassinet for a long time. We slept upright in the couch for like 2 months. Also not super safe by any means, but I made it safe enough I felt comfortable with it. Eventually consistency got her in the bassinet. The issue was when she outgrew that. Ha. After I decided I didn’t want to bedshare, I sleep trained her and it has been amazing since. Baby sleeps 12.5 hours in her crib. ❤️

Answer

My bed is against the wall and I have a toddler bed rail on the other side so she can't roll or crawl off. It's a queen bed. Just me and her. She sleeps both sides of me throughout the night cuz when she wakes to nurse we switch sides usually. She's a year now. Doesn't like blankets so kicks em off if they do end up on her. I wake if she wakes and moves around. It works for us.

Answer

Click the download button at the end of the page- it’s the best guidance I could find and kept us safe for 18 months so far
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/baby-friendly-resources/sleep-and-night-time-resources/co-sleeping-and-sids/amp/

Answer

Wear a tight fitting, warm pj top and blankets don’t go past your waist.  All fabric needs to stay away from baby.