The New York Times has an article about co-sleeping with your baby. In it there are three types of co-sleepers described: the intentional co-sleeper, the reactive co-sleeper, and the circumstantial co-sleeper. We are intentional co-sleepers and proud of it. I originally was in the 'put the kid in a crib and call it good' category so it surprised me when, after much reading, I was swayed by the arguments enough to join Darren in co-sleeping land. I am happy to report that things are going smoothly so far. Lil' Henry is a great co-sleeper. Sure, there is some residual baby spit on the sheets and the risk of him experiencing a bout of CDF (Catastrophic Diaper Failure) that ends up damaging our mattress and has us racing to Sleep Country USA is always present but it is one we happily assume. 'Cuz he's just too darn cute to hide in another room across the condo.
Do/did you co-sleep? If so, what was your experience like and would you recommend the practice to new parents?
3 comments:
My husband never felt comfortable with it (always afraid of rolling over on the little ones). We had both boys in the room in a basinet until they were too big for it - then, off to their rooms in the big cribs. Part of me would have liked to have co-slept with Liam, he seems like he would have done well. But it's too late now. When he's in our bed he thinks it's play time. As does Quinn -Quinn has never slept in our bed and when I try to have him lay with me in the morning he just talks and talks and plays around. Would I recommend it? I'm not sure. Since I didn't do it myself I can't say. I do know that Quinn sleeps better than most kids his age and well, Liam is getting to be a better sleeper than he was. Would I tell people not to do it? Absolutely not - I've read many good things about it and would never tell people that the way I do/did things is the best way for everyone.
Have you mastered breastfeeding while lying down? I could never figure that out, but I bet if I was co-sleeping we would have figured it out quick.
We're intentional co-holding-the-baby-in-bed-waiting-for-the-baby-to-fall-asleep-or-at-least-calm-down-after-feeding-ers. Also known in the pediatric community as "masochistic".
In truth, it's working out pretty well for us so far. Erin is a few feet away in a bassinet, and when she tosses a little occasionally, I don't feel like I wake up as much as I would were she in bed.
However, I think co-sleeping is a great idea and people who say otherwise can go stuff it. My thought is that, like most baby-related things, people have zero emotional tolerance for any perceived increased risk, real or not. I'm always curious about so-called "bad" practices, because my question is always, what's the risk? Instead of just being told "oh, you should never do X", I'd prefer to know what the real risks are. What are the physical dangers, what are the benefits, what are the developmental pros and cons, and so on. I'd prefer to feel like I could just trust and accept the common wisdom, but my feeling is that it's probably unrealistically risk adverse.
I will be facing this dilemna myself shortly. I am thinking of going with the bassinet next to the bed thing. Partly because my husband really would roll over and crush the baby...he currently does this to me and our little dog nightly. She may end up sleeping in our bed when I pass out with her in my arms. I'm in support of people doing what they think is best for their child whether it comes to co-sleeping, circumcism, dating as young as age 12, etc. They are your kids. If you screw 'em up, you are just making life harder on yourself!
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