When I tell people, including the pediatrician, that my baby sleeps in bed with me, I usually get the "are you insane?" look. I do not think that a lot of people co-sleep with their babies here in the United States, but it is common practice in many other cultures. I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoy sleeping with my baby. It benefits me as much as it does him. By sleeping with me, he is close enough so that he can just breastfeed on demand without having to cry to me from a crib. Less stress for him and less stress for me. Sleeping together allows us to be close to one another, fostering the bond we have even further. I love feeling his little breath on me at night and sometimes, I wake up to find him gazing at me and smiling.
Many people say, "Aren't you afraid of rolling on him?" Well, no, honestly, I am not. I slept with my other children until they were 9 or 10 months old and they are still walking, breathing, and doing well. Even though I am asleep, I am very aware of the fact that he is right there next to me. Afterall, you don't roll on your significant other, do you? No, because you are aware of their space. I have heard of parents rolling on their babies and sufficating them; however, in every one of these instances, the parents were under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, therefore decreasing their awareness of the small human next to them. I also think that co-sleeping would probably not be safe in a waterbed because of the instability of such a bed.
At my baby's 1 month check up, the doctor we saw (not our usual pediatrician) lectured me that there is an increase in SIDS when baby's co-sleep with their parents. I realize that this topic is very controversial and I choose not to get into this pissing contest with the doctors. The bottom line is this is my baby and I am going to raise him the way I want to raise him. I respectfully let the doctors know this and usually they back off. I know it is their job to "inform" me and I respect where they are coming from. At his 2 month check up today, I confirmed that he was in fact still sleeping with me and the doctor just nodded.
I think there are so many benefits to co-sleeping, but the most important benefit is that it nurtures the bond we have. Babies are only babies once and it is during this time that attachments are being formed. He is learning what attachment is. I want him to know what a healthy attachment is. I will never second guess myself when it comes to the co-sleeping topic.
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Comments: 33
He still sneaks in my room to sleep at night. My two middle kids always slept in their own bed. They just never seemed to need me as much.
I don't have any kids yet. If I had a baby, would I share a bed with him/her? Probably not. I am a light enough sleeper that sharing a bed would probably destroy whatever chance I had at sleep.
As long as your a light enough sleeper to not roll over on the little one .. and your hubby is too then you should be fine.
Oh yeah .. we had one night where my daughter slept in her crib and my ex hubby and I woke up because we were having a nightmare about her falling off the bed! We actually couldn't sleep without the lil one!
I don't see anything wrong with it if that's what is right for you and your family. It just wasn't right for me. I know some kids who slept with their parents until they were 8 or 9 years old, though, because they refused to sleep apart.
My mamma goats sleep with their kids.
My hens sleep with their chicks.
My mamma cats always slpet with their kittens, etc, and so forth.
It's a good law God has in place, for a good reason.
You are to be commended.
It was kind of funny, all my friends kids cried and wanted to sleep with them and they couldn't believe it when I told them how I wanted my daughter to sleep with me and that she wanted to sleep in her own bed.
My daughter is 20 and she grew up to be a very secure and independant person. Do what feels right and forget what people say!
Our pediatrician told me at his first visit that he would never presume to tell me what was right for my baby or for our family. He might tell us what he had been taught, or what he had discovered was "right" for many babies. But he said that each mother, if allowed to discover what works for her baby and family, does a better job than any textbook probably written by a man.
I co slept with all of my children they are now in there 30's.
I even wrote an article titled The Family Bed back in the 70's and it was published in Mothering Mgazine. My research included that we are the only culture that separates children from parents.
Thanks for posting to Goldfish Post All!