does your baby sleep in your bed with you?

I'm just wandering, who sleeps with their baby? do you think its ok to sleep with them when thier under a year old? if you arent a crazy sleeper, dont roll over, keep covers away from them where it would be able to go over their head, and just snuggle to sleep.

 

My babes have always slept with me/us. ALWAYS. I wholeheartly believe co-sleeping is one of the best tools of attachment parenting. They still sleep with us at 3 1/2 and 21 months. We have two queen beds on the floor next to eachother. The babe will of couse join us in our family bed of course. I have no intention of moving the kids to their own bed(s) untill they specifically ask. Then I'm assuming they'll co-sleep together for a few years. It's just so natural

 

sometimes. Although I was very impressed when I got a BabyTalk magazine in the mail that listed co-sleeping as a sleep option (other 2- baby in crib in own room, baby in crib in your room) Most of the time all you hear is how bad that is and stuff. Or at least that was with me.

 

Absolutely! I also totally beleive in co-sleeping.... My babies were born at home and sleep in my bed


My 3.5 yr old is transitioning into his own bed now though. But my 20 month old is still there all the time and has been since day 1.

Co-sleeping is how it was ment to be. Babies need to be next to their mothers to help regulate breathing and encourage breastfeeding.

Dr. Sears has some great books on co-sleeping, you should check it out.

 

I wouldn't see any problem with it as long as you don't roll around too much. There was a story on the news here 6 or 7 months ago about a one year old girl that died because her mother rolled over on her in the bed. But then again, I know many people that co-sleep with their newborns and they haven't had any problems. I do think it would be a great way to have a really strong bond between you and your baby.

 

I agree with ybh. With newborns, it's sooo much easier at night to co-sleep. The baby will sleep more soundly, hearing mama's heartbeat reminds baby of the womb, breastfeeding is a cinch, just pop the boob out and you can nap while baby is feasting. When I had Virginia, I HAD to cosleep as I had a c-section. There was no way that I could get up 4+ times a night to feed her.

Both of my girls have their own beds and sleep in them fairly regularly. But I still wake up at night finding one or both of them climbing into bed with us. They know as long as our door isn't closed (*wink wink*) they are more than welcome into our bed.

 

We do co-sleep, but it's like musical beds around here. Bella has a twin bed in her room and I usually sleep in there with her. Sometimes we end up in Sydney's bed and sometimes we end up with DH. Josh snores VERY loud so it's hard to sleep with him (plus he hogs the bed!). He keeps me and the baby up whenever we sleep in there.

Last night was cute. I got home late from taking Emily to her mom's and I went to check on Sydney but she wasn't in her bed. She was in sleeping with DH because she kept thinking of scary Halloween stuff. She doesn't usually like to sleep with him, but I guess she got so scared she crawled in with him!

 

my daughter's toddler bed is between my bed and the wall. she slept between me and dave for the majority of her life. now she likes to go off and sleep in the livin groom where it's totally dark at night. she hates it when the tv is on. when we bring home my new baby, we have one of those nifty cosleep guards that protect your baby from rollovers. i just think it made is SO MUCH EASIER on me to have my babies near. it just never felt right to have my baby in a seperate room. what if there was a fire or break in or something? what if she started choking or something? it just totally went against my instincts to have her in a crib OVER THERE IN THAT OTHER ROOM. thankfullly dave agrees. we still have a bassinette and a crib option, for when i'm not sleeping.

 

yes!

All of our babies started out in our bed. We put Ryvre in his own room when he was weaned at 2 months ( ) and you guessed it--that didn't go well! After a few weeks of no sleep for either of us, i started putting him down in his bed (after he fell asleep), but having an open-door policy, so he knew he could come sleep with us at any time (which was most of the time).

When Willow was a baby, she seemed to enjoy her own space (probably because her brother wasn't there to bother her), so she mostly slept on her own. but again, as she became a toddler, she was free to go wherever she chose.

Now, Ryvre mostly sleeps on the couch, though sometimes he wants to go to his bed. We told him when he was potty-trained that it was time for him to sleep somewhere besides mommy and daddy's bed (my husband was tired of waking up covered in pee that was not his own, lol), since he was such a big boy. He's only been upset about it a couple of times. Willow shares a room (and bunk bed) with him, so sometimes the two of them sleep there, but if Willow wakes at night (which is the norm) she comes to bed with us. i put the crib matress next to our bed (which itself is just a matress on the floor), and now that Ember is here, she sleeps there. So far, no problems

 

On weekends Isabella sleeps in our bed we used to do that with Aldo but he doesnt want to anymore.

 

yuppers!
we have a crib and a bassinette, but she has become our sleeping buddy now.
I find when I put Leane in her crib (even though it's in the same room), she hates being alone. And I don't like it, either. It's just a little hard when me and her daddy want some alone time for a few minutes when she's gone to sleep....she generally wakes right back up again.
It scared me at first to roll over on her, but I find that we just instinctively (sp?) know that she's there.
It's so cute to wake up in middle of the night and have her little fist grabbing at my nose and my lips and see those little eyes looking at me. It's funny.

 

We frequently wake up to find Dakota in our bed, usually around 5 or 6 in the morning. Especially if he has to go potty. After he is done he will get in bed with us. He was weird. He slept in his own bed in his own room from the time we brought him home until he was about a year and a half old. We took him out of his crib and into a toddler bed at that time and he didn't sleep in his room again until he was three. He either slept with us or in his own little bed in our room. Right about the time he turned three years old, he decided to sleep in his own bed in his own room and to stop wearing diapers at night. He went to bed at 8:00 for a while. Now he has started to fight sleep again. We wake up more and more often with him in bed with us.

I think it's fine to sleep with your kids. The only time I would say no is if you have been drinking or using drugs of any kind. Then you could use those little cosleeper pillows that protect the baby if you start to roll over.

Kathi

 

I used to sleep in my parents bed all the time. I only stopped when I got so big that there wasn't enough room for all of us.

 

i never rolled over my daughter, but dave had an incident where he nearly did. but i'm a super light sleeper and caught it. it's kinda the same thing that keeps you from rolling outta bed, you know? but anyway, after dave nearly rolled on her, i got a couple big pillows and put them between dave and kai and everythign was perfect after that. here pretty quick we're going to have joey sleeping between us, and kai on my other side. lol. craziness. people always think dave is such a redneck, which is hilarious to me.

 

that makes me feel much better, cus i love sleeping with my son in my bed, but all you hear is bad things about it, its nice to hear good things. I think that its one of our best bonding moments actually.

 

I'm trying to convince Brian it's ok....he's decided that we can try it....we need a bigger bed though, lol....two big people in a full-size just causes trouble on its own....

 

We've slept with Jim from the beginning. He sleeps between us and when he's hungry I just roll over and feed him. We usually both fall asleep again within a minute or two. He likes to wake up when DH does, which means I have to get up too. If I try to sleep for an hour more he gets bored and hollers at me till I wake up. I open my eyes and look at him and he stops and stares at me as if to say "Heeeey! Mornin' sleepy head! It's about time you woke up and payed attention to me!" I agree that it's the most natural thing. I tried to put him in a bassinet a foot away and got lonely for him. And there really is no danger of us rolling over on him. We are totally aware of him at all times, even in our deepest sleep.

 

my son totally co-slept w/ me until he was about 5 years old and i wouldn't have it any other way. It makes it alot easier on a hungry baby and a tired mama. He seems to want his own space more know at the old age of 7 but every now and again Devin will find himself a space big enough for us all to fit. It is natural and i plan on co-sleeping with all of the other children i may someday have.

 

YAY! Co-sleeping is the greatest! Sasha sleeps in the family bed with us. It nice that she can have me next to her when she needs to nurse or just cuddle and feel safe and attached. AP all the way baby!! My 6-year-old slept with us until he was almost two and he is confident and independant in his own room now.

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Benefits of sleep-sharing include:

• Babies sleep better because they feel safe and secure next to their mother, because they are more relaxed, and because their needs are met more quickly
• Mothers sleep better because the baby cries less, nursing is easier, and the baby goes to sleep faster and easier (allowing mother to get more sleep)
• Bonding between parents and child improves significantly (especially important for parents who work and do not get to spend much time with their baby during the day)
• Some research shows a lower incidence of SIDS with babies who sleep with their parents
• Children who share sleep with their parents generally have a healthier attitude towards sleep and may experience fewer sleep disorders in the future
• Sharing sleep with your baby may also help your him/her become more self-confident and independent (contrary to what many people think).

Good sites for info on Co-Sleeping:

www.kellymom.com
www.breastfeeding.com
www.militantbreastfeedingcult.com
http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com
http://www.bygpub.com/natural/family-bed.htm

Here's a funny comic:

 

How long should you let the kids sleep in bed with you? Does co-sleeping cause any problems at an older age, when you want your kid to sleep in his own bed?

When my husband was little he slept with his parents, but when he was older (like 5-12) they wanted him to sleep in his own bed. He said that he was terrified of sleeping alone, and spent like 6 years sleeping outside his parent's bedroom door on the floor with all the house lights on. He says now he wishes his parent's would have never let him sleep in bed with them in the first place, so he didn't feel like he had to have them to sleep.