Co-sleeping is a fairly common practice and many parents sleep in the same bed or room with their young baby or toddler. This is a very controversial topic in the United States and most people think co-sleeping is completely dangerous and that it should be avoided. However, as a mom I know how hard it is to be able to get a good night sleep especially after you return back to work. If you are like me, it is difficult for me to function on a few hours of sleep and I would do what I had to do some nights. I know that if your baby isn’t sleeping at night then neither are you. Co-sleeping isn’t for everyone. I highly recommend that if you are planning on co-sleeping, you should discuss it with your spouse while you are still pregnant so that you can come to an agreement on how you want to handle sleeping issues.
Disclosure: All the opinions in this post are my own and may differ from your own opinions of co-sleeping.
When my babies were younger, they would always fall asleep on my chest or in my arms but the moment I would put them in their own crib they would instantly wake up. Most parents can attest to this behavior. You have to remember your baby naturally had a different sleeping schedule while inside of the womb. When your baby is born, most baby’s have a hard time adjusting to life outside of the womb. When you were pregnant, during the day time you were constantly moving around while you are working and you don’t realize that you were constantly rocking your baby. If you recall your baby’s movements during your pregnancy, you probably noticed that you were able to feel your baby moving in your belly when you were trying to sleep or while you were stilling still. So when baby’s are born, they no longer have the soothing rocking motion and can no longer hear the sound of your beating heart unless they are snuggled against your chest.
Comments
4 responses to “How to Co Sleep With Your Baby Safely”
I wonder how moms and their babies slept in the olden days? How did they keep warm?
Like 100 years ago?
It would be such a tragedy to find out upon wakening that you crushed ur own baby…
Perhaps the baby sleeps on top of the mother.
Hope to know,
Steph
I love this article, Christy! Cosleeping is a wonderful thing, and there are so many options. We used the arms reach and loved it. We now have a sidecar crib for our toddler. I can’t imagine it any other way!
So happy to see this article! The more it’s written about in a positive way the more “normal” it can become! It’s the best and actually the safest thing for baby. Ever wonder why a child wakes up once you put them down? Because that’s not how they’re meant to sleep!! Co-sleeping is instinctive. I couldn’t imagine how miserable my life would be if I’d forced my children to sleep away from me. = )
I always tell parents to trust their instincts and go with their gut. I wanted to give parents options so that they could do what is best for them and their baby, after all a baby grows up in the womb rocked and held closely. Plus they are used to soothing sounds like mama’s heartbeat, which is why they are comfy when they are laying on your chest because it is a familiar sound.