Why I Share A Bed With My Baby Part 1

While still pregnant, I decided to share a bed with my baby. I figured:

• it seemed a little harsh to make my baby (who slept inside my belly for nine months before being born) sleep apart from me just because he had been born, and
  
• it seemed a little silly to have an entire bed/crib (not to mention a separate room) for a tiny little baby.
  

For some bizarre reason, I allowed a co-sleeping (but not bed-sharing) friend to convince me it was a good idea to buy a co-sleeper bassinet. I ordered the Original Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper a few weeks before my due date, but due to a handful of mishaps it didn't arrive until a good five weeks after my baby was born. By that time I simply couldn't imagine him sleeping anywhere other than snuggled up next to me, even if it was only a few inches away. So my baby never used it for more than a handful of naps. We are still sharing a bed and love it! Here are some of what I think are the best benefits of co-sleeping:

• When a mama and baby sleep together, both mama and baby can easily fall asleep and stay asleep since they are both already in bed and mama doesn't need to later transport baby to another sleeping surface. (I couldn't even begin to count the times I accidentally fell asleep with my baby even though I was planning on staying awake to work.)
• When a mama and baby sleep together, they share sleep cycles. When baby is in a light sleep, mama is in a light sleep; when baby is in a deep sleep, mama is in a deep sleep. Because babies only naturally wake up out of a light sleep, mama only wakes up out of a light sleep (and so is never awakened out of a deep sleep). This means better quality sleep for mama!
  
• When a mama and baby sleep together, nighttime nursing is a breeze. Mama can pop baby on the breast and both can fall right back asleep while baby is nursing. Mama doesn't have to get out of bed, and once mama and baby have mastered the art of nursing lying down (which for us was at about 6 weeks), mama doesn't even need to sit up.
• When a mama and baby sleep together, they get more skin-to-skin contact, which is essential for baby's health, physical growth, and emotional well-being.
• When a mama and baby sleep together, mama's sixth sense is put to good use. When my baby was little, I always woke up about 10 seconds before my baby even stirred. This meant I could comfort my baby at the breast and lul him back to sleep without him ever really waking up. And because I rarely was awake longer than half a minute, I usually had no idea in the morning how many times my baby "woke up" during the night.
• When a mama and baby sleep together, baby feels safe and secure and so often sleeps better than he would if he were alone. My baby sleeps sounder after I have joined him in bed for the night than he does when he is asleep but I am still up. When we are together, he feels my warmth, smells my presence, and hears my heartbeat and breath. When my baby was very little he would often open his eyes, see me, reach out his hand to touch me, then smile and close his eyes and fall back asleep. Precious!
• When a mama and baby sleep together and wake up together, the first thing they see when they open their eyes in the morning is each other. Now that my baby is active, we snuggle, giggle, and play together before getting up. What a great way to start the day!
• Baby sleeping in close proximity to his mama is the second best thing (behind baby sleeping on his back) that can be done to reduce the chance of SIDS. According to Dr. Sears, "[r]esearch shows that infants who sleep in a crib are twice as likely to suffer a sleep related fatality (including SIDS) than infants who sleep in bed with their parents." There's a reason SIDS is also called "crib death." It is normal for babies to stop breathing in their sleep for a short period of time, then start breathing again. Hearing and feeling mama breathing regulates baby's breathing and so babies who sleep close to their mama have a lower chance of NOT starting to breathe again. (This is not surprising given that skin-to-skin regulates breathing, body temperature, and heart rate.)