This afternoon I had coffee with a friend and we got to chatting about cosleeping.
The conversation inspired me to blog about why we cosleep and how much we love it.
First, a picture.
How cute is this??
(Note two safe cosleeping habits in action here: baby's head is not on a pillow and blankets are not up by his face.)
This picture was taken after I had gotten our little guy up, bathed, and dressed, but before we left for the morning, he took a little nap while Daddy slept in.
If that picture doesn't sum up why I love cosleeping enough, I will elaborate. :)
1. Cosleeping = better rest for our family. Now, I want to note that some of my friends have tried bedsharing and the paranoia of sleeping with a little innocent baby resulted in little-to-no sleep for them, but bedsharing for us results in many zzzzzzs in dreamland. Not having to get up to go feed or soothe the baby really helps. Once I got the hang of side-lying nursing, my hubby was no longer disturbed by our night nursing. When the baby fusses, I soothe him right back to sleep or nurse him if he is hungry. It's soooooooooooo EASY.
2. Health of the baby. My little man was premature and I knew that bedsharing would help him develop in ways he especially needed. However, all babies benefit from bedsharing and/or cosleeping (which simply means that baby and mom are in the same room) because it helps them regulate their blood pressure, temperature, breathing, and sleep patterns. For more information on the biological effects of cosleeping, check out Dr. McKenna's research.
3. Cosleeping also helped to establish a healthy milk-supply for my breastfeeding baby. Not limiting or regulating baby's nighttime nursing helps to bring in a mother's milk quickly and helps it stay in good supply. It also helps put off a mother's fertility!
4. Waking up to this face starts my day off with such joy!
Usually though, before I see his cutie-pie face, I hear his little voice giggling and cooing or raspberry-ing bubbles and then I look down to see his face looking up smiling at me.
It is cute beyond words and we start the day off with a tickling and cuddling session--and I can't imagine having him in his room playing in his crib in the mornings by himself (although overhearing that might be cute in the future). I love having him there with us in the morning!
The most common question we get when people find out we cosleep is, "Aren't you afraid you're going to squish him!?" Um, no. Once and for all, I want to shout, "NO!!" I would not smoosh my baby. He sleeps safely in my arms next to me and I am fully aware of where he is. Are you afraid of falling off the bed? (Although I said that once to a friend who responded laughing, "Yes!") If I was afraid of smooshing him, I would not sleep with him. Duh.
Sooooo if you are pregnant or have a little baby and are considering cosleeping, I highly recommend Dr. McKenna's book, Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent's Guide to Cosleeping. It offers lots of great information about how to safely sleep with your little one. After all, your little one spent nine cozy months right next to you, why separate yourselves just because he or she is living outside of you? Give it a try, your baby (and you!) will love it!
The conversation inspired me to blog about why we cosleep and how much we love it.
First, a picture.
How cute is this??
(Note two safe cosleeping habits in action here: baby's head is not on a pillow and blankets are not up by his face.)
This picture was taken after I had gotten our little guy up, bathed, and dressed, but before we left for the morning, he took a little nap while Daddy slept in.
If that picture doesn't sum up why I love cosleeping enough, I will elaborate. :)
1. Cosleeping = better rest for our family. Now, I want to note that some of my friends have tried bedsharing and the paranoia of sleeping with a little innocent baby resulted in little-to-no sleep for them, but bedsharing for us results in many zzzzzzs in dreamland. Not having to get up to go feed or soothe the baby really helps. Once I got the hang of side-lying nursing, my hubby was no longer disturbed by our night nursing. When the baby fusses, I soothe him right back to sleep or nurse him if he is hungry. It's soooooooooooo EASY.
2. Health of the baby. My little man was premature and I knew that bedsharing would help him develop in ways he especially needed. However, all babies benefit from bedsharing and/or cosleeping (which simply means that baby and mom are in the same room) because it helps them regulate their blood pressure, temperature, breathing, and sleep patterns. For more information on the biological effects of cosleeping, check out Dr. McKenna's research.
3. Cosleeping also helped to establish a healthy milk-supply for my breastfeeding baby. Not limiting or regulating baby's nighttime nursing helps to bring in a mother's milk quickly and helps it stay in good supply. It also helps put off a mother's fertility!
4. Waking up to this face starts my day off with such joy!
Usually though, before I see his cutie-pie face, I hear his little voice giggling and cooing or raspberry-ing bubbles and then I look down to see his face looking up smiling at me.
It is cute beyond words and we start the day off with a tickling and cuddling session--and I can't imagine having him in his room playing in his crib in the mornings by himself (although overhearing that might be cute in the future). I love having him there with us in the morning!
The most common question we get when people find out we cosleep is, "Aren't you afraid you're going to squish him!?" Um, no. Once and for all, I want to shout, "NO!!" I would not smoosh my baby. He sleeps safely in my arms next to me and I am fully aware of where he is. Are you afraid of falling off the bed? (Although I said that once to a friend who responded laughing, "Yes!") If I was afraid of smooshing him, I would not sleep with him. Duh.
Sooooo if you are pregnant or have a little baby and are considering cosleeping, I highly recommend Dr. McKenna's book, Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent's Guide to Cosleeping. It offers lots of great information about how to safely sleep with your little one. After all, your little one spent nine cozy months right next to you, why separate yourselves just because he or she is living outside of you? Give it a try, your baby (and you!) will love it!
I understand where you are coming from. However, my daughter sleeps in a crib. The few times I've had her sleep in the bed have turned into me starting to sleepwalk. For weeks afterwards I'd wake up my husband looking for my daughter... So I guess it works for some but not everyone. :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVED cosleeping as well Adrienne! It was so easy to breastfeed in the middle of the night and get her back to sleep quickly. I knew it was time for her to sleep in her own crib when she would wake every 2 hours at 10 months old and want to nurse. I couldn't stay up later than her because she would wake up if I wasn't right beside her. At that point, I needed my space as well:) She was old enough to be good with 1 or 2 feedings a night and sleep ALL night. So, I moved her to her crib, it wasn't easy....but the 1st night in her crib she slept without waking up for 6 hours straight! I knew I had definitely made the right choice. We were both ready to sleep in our own beds. But I have to say I really did enjoy having her in bed with us...and I'm sure we will cosleep with the next baby until it's time to part again! Enjoy this time, it's so precious:)
ReplyDeleteWe love it too! L.O.V.E. it. And after reading a lot of the research that says it's preferable, I really love it :)
ReplyDeleteLike you've said, I can nurse, and we're back to sleep. I feel safer knowing they're 'ok', and I feel like the warmth from me does a better job at keeping them warm when they're tiny. (uhm, if my babies were ever "tiny" lol)
Zach probably would have bedshared forever ;) I woke up to him yesterday morning actually. A few months ago Lilly started squirming and fussing a lot until we realized she did better in her crib. le sigh. she still wakes a couple times a night, I bring her into bed to nurse, and usually wake up 20ish minutes later and put her back in her crib. she likes to nurse/cuddle for a bit, but needs her space to sleep man ;)
It's so great to see new mommies who are so enthusiastic about cosleeping. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd might I add that as a mommy of 4, I am STILL enthusiastic about cosleeping too. I always get a good night's sleep, and so does everyone else in the family.
While I love the *idea* of bedsharing, we don't. Mostly because my husband is a violent sleeper :) And both of my girls have been WIGGLY whilst trying to bedshare. I could never get them to GO TO SLEEP and when I would finally give up and put them in their crib or bassinet, they'd fall right to sleep! Alas, they are crib sleepers and it is only I who wake up with bruises. Tho I DO co-sleep! Great post, as always, mama!
ReplyDelete