Co-sleeping Bedding

[Mummafrog]

Hello lovely parents

I am still pregnant, in my 36th week, with my first. Me and my OH plan on co-sleeping completely if it works for us and we have learnt a lot about how to do it safely.

Information I haven't had much luck finding is what bedding to use for the baby? How do you co-sleep?

What I have heard is that they need their own space on the bed (we have a huge bed for this purpose) and something to go underneath them like a sheet that only they are lying on and maybe a blanket over them (tucked safely) or a sleeping bag type thing which we also have.

We have also been bought a special newborn grade sheep skin which we have been advised is safe for newborns to sleep on if it is completely covered by a sheet, making a sort of soft mattress for baby that is seperate. Has anyone done this?

Thanks in advance for your experience/advice

 

[Rachel_C]

I'm not sure why you would have a sheet that only the baby is lying on. To me, that just seems like an extra thing to come loose and possibly become a hazard.

I didn't use sleeping bags for my LO when co-sleeping (and I definitely wouldn't have swaddled). Although arms are free and legs can move, I still feel they restrict the baby's movement more than blankets. Baby might need to be able to move or at least kick you unrestricted. While it can be a good thing that a sleeping bag can't be kicked off, I also think that can be a bad thing i.e. risk of overheating and it's a barrier between you and baby. One of the major benefits of co-sleeping is shared body heat and ability for each of you to feel the breathing of the other - a sleeping bag interferes with that so I wouldn't use one in bed together.

No experience with sheep skins as I'm a veggie but I know a lot of people use them in buggies. I don't think a huge bed is necessary either - a standard double should be fine with two average sized adults and a younger baby. Bigger won't hurt but I would expect baby to want to be pretty close to you.

What we did is share a light quilt that was firmly tucked under the end of the mattress so that it couldn't come above baby's waist and I slept with my knees bent under her legs so she couldn't slip down under it. It was summer so nothing more than that was needed for a couple of months. When it got colder and she was a little older, I had the same light quilt a bit further up her body, but it was the kind of quilt I'd have been happy for her to use alone if she was foot to foot in a cot (and my knees provided the foot to foot).