Whatever works for your family.

I’ve written about co-sleeping before and have been the recipient of some pretty harsh comments about how I don’t care if I kill my baby and all the usual finger-pointy uber judgmental stuff you’d expect.

I am firmly in the Whatever Works For Your Family Camp.

What works for my family is not full-on co-sleeping, but keeping newborns in a bassinet by the bed and bringing baby in for some breastfeeding whenever he or she cries. And if that involves me lying on my side to breastfeed while both me and baby doze, so be it.

My husband is a big whale of a sleeper so there is no way in hell I’d ever let baby be subjected to his fitful bursts of flopping. But, as most moms tend to be, I can wake to the sound of a binky falling out of my child’s mouth on the other side of the house. So I have no problem trying to catch some Zs while breastfeeding at three in the morning.

And guess what? A pediatrician agrees with me and has no problem publicly sharing her co-sleeping stories on The Huffington Post. Continue reading »

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I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in more than seven hundred days.  And it is my own fault.  We have become a family of co-sleepers.  I was always adamantly opposed to the notion of my children sleeping with us.  Our room, our bed = our space.  But somewhere along the line something shifted.  I don’t know if we were too tired, too lulled by their cuteness or we simply gave in and became lazy.

But now…. I am frequently woken by a swift kick in the ribs.  And what was once adorable and sweet – the snuggling, the love has now become a symbol of just how little sleep I am getting.  Our pleas fall on deaf ears.

It seems as though this was a once occasional occurrence, but is now and every night thing.  Our regular sleep is a thing of the past.  I’m torn.  I love to cuddle and know it won’t last forever, but also know…. I NEED SLEEP.  And waking to a kick is anything but fun.

Do you embrace co-sleeping?  Have you always?  Do you keep your bed off-limits and if so, how do you make it happen?

Read more from Danielle on Strollerderby and her personal sites ExtraordinaryMommy and DanielleSmithMedia.
You can also follow her on Twitter.

More from Danielle on Strollerderby:

Will You Teach Your Kids To Give Like The Anonymous Kmart Donors?
McDonalds Outsmarts San Francisco Happy Meal Ban
Sticks and Stones: My Son Cut His Hair So Another Child Would Stop Calling Him A Girl

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The ad campaign was launched following the annoucement of another co-sleeping death in Milwaukee

Co-sleeping is one of those parenting/health debates that will never be settled. The city of Milwaukee has let it be known in no uncertain terms on which side of the aisle they fall.

One look at their new ad campaign, and you can see they’re not supportive of co-sleeping.

There are two posters in the recently unveiled campaign, both of which show babies (one white, one black) sleeping in a bed next to a large knife. The text reads: “Your baby sleeping next to you can be just as dangerous.”

Continue reading »

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According to the AAP, co-sleeping is one of the leading causes of sleep-related deaths in infants

About 2,500 babies die annually from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Now the American Academy of Pediatrics is speaking out with updated information about how sleep-related fatalities can be reduced.

New recommendations state that no bumper pads should ever be used in cribs, not just “puffy” bumpers that were previously frowned upon. The AAP also suggests pacifiers be offered to infants, and women breastfeed their babies, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But what’s bound to spark some debate is the suggestion that while babies should sleep in the same room as parents so they may be monitored closely, they should not sleep in the same bed.
Continue reading »

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Many parents enjoy co-sleeping just as much as their children do.

Well, it’s really no secret that we are a co-sleeping family. But it’s definitely a touchy subject. It does seem “the norm” is to not talk about it because most people in America think if you’re co-sleeping you’re doing it wrong, but I have also confessed a secret from the other side- that even co-sleepers complain sometimes about sharing a bed, it’s not nearly perfect. I definitely have found that we get much more quality sleep when co-sleeping vs. putting our baby in a crib, from past experiences. But I’ve also come to the conclusion that no matter where your baby or toddler sleeps – whether it is in your bed or in their crib- none of us are getting much sleep. Continue reading »

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Owen and I napping together

My parents separated when I was five years old. For several years after that, I remember coming into my mom’s room late at night, after lying in bed sleepless as long as I could stand it. “Can I sleep with you?” I’d whisper hopefully.

And yes, sometimes she did bring me back to my own bed, with a tuck-in and a kiss. But just as often, she’d let me crawl into the warm bed beside her and fall asleep there. And what a good, happy, safe feeling that was.

Later, Mom told me what a horrible co-sleeper I was as a little girl. I kicked and punched, rolled and sometimes wound up lying diagonally or stretched horizontal across the bed. Not only was sleeping next to me, uh, not so restful, but she worried about whether letting me in her bed was the right thing to do. Co-sleeping wasn’t a thing people admitted to in those days, even if they did practice it.

So I appreciate that, more often than not, my mom took my need to not be alone at night seriously even if she wasn’t 100% sure she was doing the right thing and wound up with a few bruises in the meanwhile. Because wanting to sleep next to my mom wasn’t weird. Continue reading »

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Bed-sharing causes no psychological effects, study says.

Bed-sharing with children is one of those topics that gets a lot of lip service.  You’re messing your kid up, it’s good family time, it’s creepy…  I’ve heard arguments from all sides.

Now, a new study brings good news to those sporting a Family Bed in the master bedroom.

Continue reading »

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