Co-Sleeping Experiences

If you are breast feeding, co-sleeping is the only way to go. My oldest (now 7) slept with us until her baby brother came (now 5). She was eager to move to her brand new room and bed at the age of 2. When my son moved to his bed at 2.5 when his baby sister arrived it was a little harder to move him to his bed, but over a few weeks we did so. We would lay with him in his bed until he fell asleep, then we would read him stories until he was almost asleep. We still read stories and he sleeps really well. Now my youngest is 3 and it is time for her to move to her own bed. She is going to be the toughest to transition.

Do not do it, possible to roll over in sleep, etc. plus when you need to have her in her bed she will not go. If necessary that she be in same room, in a different bed.

I never did co sleeping with either of my kids. They did sleep in the same room for their first months. Once they started sleeping through the night, into their own room they went. Is there a certain reason why you have chose to cosleep? I know its hard to get them back into their own bed. My brothers son is 3 1/2 and still wont sleep in his own bed. To make it worse their 7 yo moved from their bed to the floor when her brother was born. My sister in law did this because my brother works on the road and she wants the kids close to her. This has also put a strain on their relationship since bed time is "cuddle" time.

Hi K.,

I have three kids (who are now 8 1/2, 4 1/2, and 12 months) and all three kids slept between my hubby and me. I know that many folks discourage this and I can understand their points. However, for my family, the main reason was because I nursed all of my kids. When it was time to nurse during the night, it was just much easier for me to nurse lying down and of course since I was so tired, I would just fall asleep with the babies. My hubby was all for it as well.

As they grew older, yes, it was a little difficult to get them to sleep in their own beds but we eventually got over those humps. My two older ones now sleep in bunk beds, in the same room and they love it. My youngest still sleeps with my hubby and me, and I truly enjoy it since he is our last and is growing up too fast. I'll take every moment with him at his age.

When I look back, I don't regret anything. I still remember so clearly the time my first baby woke up one morning, rolled over to look at me, and put her two little arms around my neck to give me a hug. THAT was one of the most joyous moments of being able to co-sleep together. Now, that first baby is 8 1/2 years old and in 3rd grade, and as I watch her grow up, that special "hug" moment will always be priceless to me.

Amongst all of the advice that you receive, please remember to do what is best for your family.

Hope this helps!

Smiles,
K.

You may have heard the saying that "opinions are like (insert body part), every one has one", lol! I think everyone has a different opinoion about cosleeping, some are totally against it and some woudln't have it any other way.
As for my opinion, I think it's one of the greatest things you can do for your infant, especially when she's little. Mommys and babies have been cosleeping, for oh, about the last thousands of years, and the human race has somehow survived. When we first bought my little boy home from the hospital, we had one of those little cosleeper thingys and that lasted for about a week, and then he just slept between us for the next year or so. Babies need security and closeness, it's what makes them more secure when they are older.
As he got bigger, we put his crib (which we never used) in our room after adjusting it to a toddler bed. Now that he's 3, we lay him in his bed and still sleeps in our room. As my husband is out of town a lot, he usually crawls in bed with me some time in the night.
I've seen so many battles with people trying to get thier kids to sleep in thier own rooms, but I already ahve too many other battles (like potty training), so I'm willing to keep it this way until he's ready to move to his own room.
The idea of kids actually having thier own rooms is a modern luxury, and I feel that forcing them out too soon would do more harm than good. It's not going to make your child needy, or mentally challanged, and the world won't end if she still wnats to cuddle her mommy at night:} Besides, a day will come when you would give anything to have her warm little body curled up with you:}

I co slept with both of my children. Hadn't planned on it with my first, but she wanted to be close. We nursed in bed and cuddled all night. With my first I was worried about my husband pulling the covers over her at night so she slept between me and a guard rail. By our second, my husband was more aware and it was easy. My kids didn't make the transition back to their own cribs until they started weaning. Daughter at age 16 months and son at age 20 months. My daughter went into her bed easier than my son. With her I had to wait till she fell asleep in her crib before leaving her sight. With my son, I had to move myself into his room with a twin size bed next to his crib. He's very cuddly and had a harder time separating. Both sleep great in their own beds now and I love that I got to have the co-sleeping experience with them.

Regarding keeping kids out of the bed because of the fear that your child may be in your bed past babyhood, I wouldn't listen to those kind of things. When kids have the confidence to be in their own bed, they love being in their own bed. Just make sure your daughter loves her room and you make sleeping and bedtime routine a happy big kid thing.

We adopted our daughter at 10 months, and for bonding purposes, we were planning to co-sleep with her at first. But that first night, we put her between us, and while we were asleep, she rolled OVER me and off the bed onto the floor! Luckily there were a bunch of sheets that broke her fall. So, then my plan was to just put her in the pack n play next to the bed. (When I thought I was going to have a biological child, my plan was to have the child in a co-sleeper next to me for nursing purposes.)

So, we got home from China, and the first night in our bedroom we put her in the pack n play and she had a fit. So off to her crib. Then she was fine. Basically, every child is different. Do some research so you know what's safe and try what works for you.

Although she was not interested in sleeping near us as a baby, now, at age five, she sneaks into our bed in the middle of the night about once or twice a week. It's officially not allowed anymore but she's learned that if she doesn't wake us up, she can get away with it. We've actually told her that it's OK that way. She knows that we need our privacy and our sleep, but if we are already sleeping AND she doesn't disturb us or wake us up while creeping in bed with us, she won't get in trouble. And I have to admit, I like waking up with her next to me.

I loved the co-sleeping experience my husband and I had with our three boys. They are now 15, 10, and 7 years old!

I had my aunt relate one way she handled co-sleeping. What they did was put the bed mattress on the floor and a pad for the baby right beside the mattress. The baby sometimes slept on the pad and the pad (like a crib pad) was useful when they wanted their baby to start sleeping in a separate bed.

I was very convinced with an article I read that the rate of SIDS is greatly decreased with (responsible) co-sleeping. The idea was that babies can use Mom's breathing as a cue if their breathing became irregular. I loved watching my baby fall asleep. I know there were many times when he would roll over to be closer to me, or just put out an arm, and he would immediately resume a deep sleep. There were also times when he would stir as if having a bad dream, or was about to wake up, and just a touch on his back or head was enough to quiet him back to sleep. I know I was a very light sleeper. When I woke up in the middle of the night, it was very calming to hear my baby breathing or just to feel his leg, back, or arm. I will always treasure that in my heart.

One thing I didn't have to worry about was getting up in the night to warm up some formula. I would just nurse him there in bed. There were some colicky times when either I or my husband would pace the house a bit with him in our arms. That seemed to help a lot.

One tool I liked using was a railing type thing at the edge of the bed. It was very nice knowing that if my baby rolled away from me toward the edge of the (king-size) bed, he wouldn't fall off onto the floor. We had several and at least one wold fold up for easy carrying to grandparents' house. Then there were times when my husband didn't feel comfortable, especially in the beginning, if the baby was between us on the bed. So the bed rail was very handy.

When our first boy was about three, he became "mr independent" and really wanted to do things himself (make his own peanut butter sandwich, etc). I used that time to start taking naps with him in the day in a bed just for him in the other room. I gradually spent less time with that to where he napped alone. Then, with a few false starts, he was sleeping by himself. When the younger was old enough, it was cute to see them fall asleep together in a hug. They seemed to sleep better through the night too.

Please feel free to send me a personal message for more information and if anything is unclear in my post here.

Good luck!
D.

You know, all of the advice out there says that co-sleeping is bad. I vehemently disagree! In fact, it can save an infant's life.
When my husband and I brought our oldest son (now 4) home from the hospital, we wanted to do everything right. The doctors and nurses had lectured us, as new parents, against co-sleeping - but I still had a gut instinct that it isn't safe to put a newborn in a seperate bed across the room and then go to sleep. My husband felt the same. The first night home, we put our son in bed between us. During the night, we both woke up in response to our baby making little jerking movements. His eyes were wide and he wasn't breathing. My husband grabbed him, turned him over, head down, and started firmly patting his back and out came this (literal!) river of amniotic fluid that had been trapped in his lungs and diaphram. It came from his nose and mouth and was in such great amount that we rushed him back to the hospital, where we were informed that his lungs and diaphram were healthy and clear, no more amniotic fluid. (Thank God!) If our son had been sleeping in a seperate bed, we would not have been able to feel his tiny jerking movements and he would have suffocated. Point blank.
We made the decision that, for any and all children we have, they will be co-sleeping with us until at least 7 months old, when their SIDS risk is over. I discussed this with our pediatrician and he insisted that SIDS rate has gone down since the American Academy of Pediatrics has started edjucating parents to put babies to sleep in seperate beds and that's how it should be done. I started asking around, to any moms of babies I could find, whether they co-sleep or not. Do you know what I found? 90% of the moms I talked with have their babies co-sleep and lie to their pediatricians about it to avoid a lecture! Of the parents, two have lost children to SIDS. Both of these families had heeded medical advice and had their babies sleeping in their own crib.
What it all comes down to is this, the best advice I ever got when I was preggers with my first: "Always trust your gut. YOU will know what's best for your baby. Always trust your maternal instinct." Because we did so, we have a happy, healthy, energetic 4-year-old!
As far as moving them to their own beds when it is time, we chose to make the transition when they were close to a year old, when the SIDS risk was over. For our oldest son, it took three nights. For our younger son (now 2-years-old), it happened on the first night. We got both of the boys on a schedule once they were sleeping (mostly) through the night. We would have dinner, bath, book, songs and then bed. Before putting them in the crib, I rubbed some of my lotion into the crib sheet and let it dry, so that it would smell like me. Then, instead of laying down with them, we'd put them down, put the mobile on and walk out of the room.
With our first son, we let him cry for 30 minutes. Once 30 minutes hit, we got him and put him in bed with us. The second night, we set the timer on 30 minutes again... he made it to 20 and then was asleep. The third night, he cried for 5 minutes and then was out.
On the first crib-transition night with our second son, we set the timer for 30 mintues and put him down and he lasted 15 mintues, then was out. And the next night, he didn't cry at all, just went to sleep!
For both of them, we made sure to give them regular play-time in their crib before making the transition so that it wasn't unfamiliar to them, and also layed them down in their crib for naps so that they would wake up there and equate it to a sleeping place. ;)

I always said that I’d never co-sleep, even though I had friends that did so and highly recommended it. The first night I brought my oldest home from the hospital, I held/nursed her until she was asleep, and as I eased her into her Pack-n-Play, she woke up screaming, as if to say, “It’s COLD and LONELY in here!!!” After a few more tries, I finally caved at around 3:00 a.m. I explained in a whisper to this brand-new creature, sleeping peacefully on my chest, “okay, I’ll still hold you, but Mommy REALLY needs to lay down.” She woke up between me and my husband the next morning.

Fast forward two years: I was pregnant with my youngest, and was tired of my oldest kicking me through the night. For her 2nd birthday, we surprised her with “a princess bed,” a twin-sized bed in the corner of our bedroom (it’s large enough to accommodate it). It took a little convincing/laying with her to go to sleep, but eventually she got comfortable sleeping a few steps away.

When my youngest came along, her noises and sleep patterns disturbed my husband for some reason, so instead of sleeping between us as my oldest did, I put up a bedrail on my side, and put her between me and the rail. She was in our bed a bit longer than her sister, but when my oldest transitioned to her own room (at around 5), the little one took over the twin in our room. They still come into our bed now and then, if they’re cold, have a bad dream, or just want to snuggle. Some nights we even end up four-across. :-)

I nursed both of my girls long-term, so co-sleeping made it MUCH more convenient, and I got much more sleep than I would have, otherwise. I was also much more comfortable co-sleeping, in case they were sick in the night. . . I was right there. I’d also like to make note that both of my girls were premature (one was 6 weeks early, the other was 5), and it was so reassuring, if I stirred in the night, because I could hear their soft breathing and feel their warmth.

Dr. Sears is a proponent of co-sleeping, and here is an article where he answers some questions, and gives the common guidelines on how to co-sleep safely.
http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Health/Ask-Dr-Sears...

On several occasions, I was asked, “aren’t you afraid that you’ll roll over on her and squish her?” My standard reply became, “Every night when you go to bed, aren’t you afraid that you’ll roll off the edge?”

Motherhood is a matter of instincts, so go with your gut!

We have been co-sleeping with our little girl since she was born. We love it. She is now two and a half and wants to sleep in her toddler bed. It is nice to have the bed to our selves, but I got to tell you, sometimes I miss having my sweet cuddly baby next to me. Remember this time is short and will not last forever. Enjoy it while you can.

Hi K.,
We co-slept with both of our babies. Our 1yr old still starts her crib and then ends up in ours sometime in the night which is fine with us. :)
1. you have a 6 month old who is probably crawling or about to so lower your mattress down! Either remove the bedframe so that your are left with boxspring and mattress or remove the boxspring as well. We removed both (frame and boxspring) initially then added the boxspring back as she became a toddler. Our little trick for a king bed - separate the twin box springs and spread them apart so that you have a platform bed with a 'step' surrounding the mattress on both sides. It lets them get up and down on their own when they are toddlers. It looks awful, but who cares? If you have hardwood or concrete floors then surround your bed with padded carpets as well. Better safe than sorry!! This isn't a ticket to let baby sleep there by herself, but just for added protection.
2. in the next few months start teaching her 'feet first' to get off the bed. put her on her belly and let her slide off feet first. do it over and over again and keep saying 'feet first'. it amazed me how quickly both of mine understood this (around 8 to 10 months).
3. use less clothing. Anything more than a onesie on our baby and she got hot.
4. use lighter bedding - no heavy comforters, minimal pillows.
5. we put baby in center. we started with one of those 'snuggle nest' box thing-a-ma-jigs from the start so we both got used to having something between us. She also can't crawl out without us knowing. Men are less aware of their surrounding while sleeping than us women so baby should be next to you.
6. use fans! the more airflow you have aimed at your bed the better for baby. Especially in the winter when most people just have the heater on. Snuggling can get stuffy.

Of course no drugs or alcohol should be used by parents!! Even a product like tylenol PM can make you so groggy that you are less aware of their presence.

I recognize that cosleeping is discouraged right now by AAP. When families cosleep without preparation it can be lethal, thus their need to take the position that they have. However, when done thoughtfully it does not. You can find articles from other medical experts that support your choice and more how-to information at Mothering.com.

Best Wishes

co-sleeping is a very controversial thing and it also means different things to different people. Even for me, it was a very different experience for both of my children. My first slept in the bed with myself and my husband. My second slept in the co-sleeper next to my bed. I nursed both children, and it was GREAT for the night nursings. My daughter co-slept for the first 5 months before moving to her own room and the transition was VERY simple. However, she has been more difficult to stay in her own room at night. We had a lot of struggles at different stages. My son co-slept until he was 9 months, and while it was harder to break him of the co-sleeping habit, he is VERY easy to get to sleep in his own room now. With my first, I used a bassinet next to the bed and one of those in bed sleepers. I did not like the bassinet, but I did like having her in bed with me. I would have done it again with my second child, but I was so tired that I did not trust myself as much, and I was very happy to have the co-sleeper. I LOVED the co-sleeper, but I gave it to my sister when she had her babies and she did not like it. I want to add that is important to think about yourself and your child, because your experience is going to be very unique. Personally, I would not START at the age of 6 months, it is at this point that crying in the night is not because of hunger - only because they want to use you as a security blanket. But, again, everyone is unique, and if it works for you, go for it! Just be prepared for the habit to develop - and be aware that the longer the habit is around, the harder it will be to break. Good luck with your decision!

You have a lot of great responses. We co-slept with both of our children, as it is so much easier when you are nursing at night. Also, if your bed is King-sized, then every one will be more comfortable. I also used a bed rail on my side of the bed, to prevent anyone falling off the bed. My only word of caution is that you should never co-sleep if you or your husband have consumed any alcohol or any type of medication. Dr. Sears has some wonderful info on co-sleeping, so please get his book to have as a resource. Also La Leche League should have some great info on it too. Enjoy your baby and all the wonderful sleep that you will have together!

Blessings to you and your,
K.

Good for you! The best peice of baby funiture you can buy is a king sized bed :) We co-slept with our son, and I would all ways start him out in a baby hamock next to our bed. The fist time he would wake up I would bring him to bed to nurse and if it was a little early I would put him back in the hamock, if not I would keep him in bed. Then the next time I would just keep him in bed. We did this until he was around 10 months and then started him in the crib, still bringing him to bed when he awoke. Eventually, he would only wake once or twice and I would keep putting him back in the crib after nursing or holding him in our rocking chair. All I know is co-sleeping kept me sane because I could rest and take care of our baby. Dr. Sears has great things to say about it, I recommend his book Nighttime Parenting. Good luck, you will not regret doing this for your baby! ***EDIT*** Thought I should add, my son is now 2 1/2 and sleeps through the night in his own room, and in his own bed.

Hi K.,

I always said I didn't want my children to sleep with me and my hubby. The day I brought my daughter home she slept in her bassinet next to the bed, but after her first feeding I tucked her in next to me and she has been there ever since (almost 3 yrs). I love co sleeping. It is hard to get your "business" taken care of but you do get creative which can be fun. On negative thing for me is that it is now hard to get her to fall asleep. I will lay with her for about 45 min until she finally goes to sleep. All in all, I love it and when she is older I know I will want her back in the bed next to me.

We co-slept with all 3 of mine and it was great. Everybody got rest. I always put them to sleep in their bed and only took them to bed later. I am not sure it matters but I always assumed it would be easy to transition back if necessary.

I usually transition back when they are old enough to wake up and roll/crawl or anything else that would make it possible for them to get away from me and fall off the bed or we start sleeping on a mattress on the floor (we have all hard floors here). Then then they are able to get down on their own we start co-sleeping again.

Anyway it all worked and worked well. In generally my 5 yr old stopped on his own (he seems to be back while he is cutting his 6yr molars), but he and my 4 1/2 yr old will stay in their beds when asked. It isn't hard.

My other philosophy is they will stop when we want them to stop. It may take some sleepless nights but if I stuck with it long enough I figure they would stop trying.

But we haven't needed to and so far it has worked out fine. Good Luck
J.

We have always co-slept partially with our chilren. We had a bassinet with our daughter next to our bed and now with our son have a cosleeper next to the bed. That way I can easily nurse at night and then fall back asleep and wake up and put him or her back into their own bed. Then we did it as my daughter woke up and it was hard to get her back to sleep or when she was sick. I would recommend having a crib or pack and play so that once your child is fully asleep, you can move him or her back into their sleeping space (or so you can have some space in bed!).

Hi K.! The bottom line here is that you need to do what is best for you. My husband and I co-slept with our daughter and it was just fine. She actually let us know when she was ready to go to her own bed. She is a well-adjusted, confident little girl. I noticed there were a couple of posts here that indicated children were somehow less secure because they co-slept with their parents, but I would be willing to argue there is information missing with those mom's. Our experience has been the exact opposite and frankly, the research establishes that co-sleeping is quite beneficial. For more information on co-sleeping, look at books/resources written by Dr. Sears. For information on the damaging effects of letting your child cry it out, google the Harvard study. HTH!

My child co-slept with me and my fiance for a few months and then I couldn't take it anymore. I was always paranoid that I would roll over on him or he would suffocate on pillow. I just couldn't do it. I started weaning him by placing him in his crib for 1 nap a day for 1 week. To me it didn't matter if it was 10 mins, as long as it was in the crib. Week 2 I put him in for 2 naps a day. And during week 3 I would put him to bed in his crib. I would let him into bed with us if he slept a few hours in his crib. By week 5 he was sleeping in his crib all the time. It took a little while, but I slept better when I wasn't worrying about one of us rolling over on him. That and a friend of mine made me make the decision to stop co sleeping. She went through a horrible ordeal because her husband had rolled over on the baby, and woke up to hear him breathing funny. She went to the ER and he was in intensive care for a bit. After that was when I started to wean him out of our bed. (this is not intended to scare anyone, for some, co sleeping is a great option)

My daughter quit co-sleeping at 6 months because the doctor said she would sleep better and longer without the interruptions of other people moving in the bed. Also I was nursing and she was still trying to wake up to nurse every few hours. The breast was too convenient, so I put her in her Pak-N-Play in our room and she is still there now. She will be a year on the 22nd at which time she will move to her real bed for more room.

I was told by my Leleche Leauge woman not to co sleep if any of the following: husband is over weight (by 30 or more lbs i think) drinks, has sleep apthemia, seems like there were a few others but we didnt want to co-sleep and it became out of the question with us both being over weight and my husbands sleep aphtmeia. look up when its not safe to co-sleep. we now have a larger king size bed and there is a huge space between us. if i ever planed on co-sleeping i would get one of those little crib/beds that attaches to our bed. good luck.

For us it worked out best to have the special evening time with my husband once the kids went to bed in their own rooms. It gave us time to de-stress. We would enjoy TV or videos together and continue to build the bonds needed in a good marriage.

Our daughter fought going to bed in a room by herself at certain times and missing out on more time with us (she is a strong-willed child) but we continued to reassure her that we were still there until she taught herself to fall back asleep. She never slept during the day after about 2 mos. old! She didn't want to miss a thing. So nights were invaluable.

We never let our kids into our bed unless it was just snuggle time. If they were sick or had a nightmare, I would go in their beds until they fell asleep or rock them to sleep if they were still in the crib.

Make sure you still have private time with your husband whatever you choose to do. So many husbands have to deal with wives who put their children before them.

I usually tell people to break the co-sleep habit by 6 months because 6 months is the time babies really start to hardwire things. If you want your baby to transition to their own bed easily, I wouldn't start co sleeping now but that is my own opinion.

I would take this time to enjoy having the bed with just your husband; because as soon as she starts walking she's going to be trying to crawl in bed with you every night until she's about 7!
You also will not sleep very well, as you will be constantly waking up with the fear that you might be smothering her.
I bought a "co-sleeper" and that works great for us. I can pull it right up to my bedside. I am able to check on my son throughout the night & breastfeed, without having to get up.

Never co-slept with either of my kids. I nursed both but I did not want to start the habit of them sleeping with us. Now if they had a bad dream or such then they would crawl in bed and we would snuggle but then we would put them back in their beds. We also never had them sleep in our room. They always went directly into their cribs in their rooms. It worked best for us.

I was a huge proponent of co-sleeping and because our daughter had some serious health issues in the first few months of her life (including stopping breathing and turning
purple until we got her breathing again, luckily before having to call EMS...my husband is a doctor...this helps)
(she stopped breathing because of her N/G feeding tube complications...seven different times) I could not and would
not hear of her sleeping anywhere but right next to us in bed or in a port-a-crib butted up next to our bed.

Now we have a nine-year-old who, to this day, has trouble sleeping in her room alone as well as trouble getting to sleep without someone in the room. She also has a great deal of trouble getting up in the morning unless one of us acutally gets into her bed with her and snuggles or tickles
her awake. I refuse to do this, so as you can imagine, mornings are difficult.

It's a BAD concept. Period. One I wish I'd never bought into
It's fun for the parents at first and quite frankly, just selfish and childish on the part of the parents.

No matter how young they are when you try to move them into their own space (be it a bed next to Mommy's and Daddy's
or a bed in his or her own room)it causes emotional issues
for both the child and the parent. Trust me!

Do your child and yourself a huge favor...DON'T START this ridiculous and foolish trend!

I'm not an expert(having only one child myself), but I've watched Nanny 911 and its been shown if you start that behavior it will get worse. I know children cry and it hurts us to our heart but one or two nights of crying themselves to sleep doesnt hurt. They eventually get use to it. So be strong, try it and see what happens.

OH Boy...you may want to look out for this one. Several months ago, there was a mother who posted here that her best friends baby died due to co-sleeping. I felt horrible for her b/c she was grieving and trying to tell other mothers not to co-sleep. The backlash was appalling and she retracted her post. Prepare for some strong opinions and I hope the Mama's advise and not attack :)

I did co-sleep with my baby but after saying that and reading some terrible stories, I'd have to say I wouldn't recommend it. Maybe hundreds of people do it with success, but after reading of one incident of a babies death, it's hard for me to reccommend it. If you do, leave the blankets and comforters AWAY from your baby.

How about the bassinet next to your bed or those bed extensions for baby that puts him/her next to you on your side of the bed?

Hi K.
Not the best of ideas.

did it with first child and it was always a problem. When she was 5 yrs old we finally had to have the big screaming fit (her not us) and said you will stay in your bed. Had to lock our bedroom door. It was awful. She was always insecure and did not form her own identity.
Next two we started them in their own bed from hospital and they were always secure and much happier children. I nursed them all for two years and so they get plenty of bonding and attention. do not need to sleep with parents.
My nephew is now in 2nd grade and still sleeps with his parents and will not go to bed until they go.
Nightmare.

Due to a severe startle reflex our son would only sleep on his stomache. This was really scary for both my husband and I, after a ton of research on co-sleeping we decided that it was the best thing for all of us. I read that mom's and babies are physiology and subconsciously linked and that the closer they are(same bed instead of crib and bed) the better they rest. I found that I was better able to respond to his needs and get us both back to sleep when he was right next to me. I was way more aware of his movements and noises then when he was in a crib, even one placed 2 1/2 feet from my side of the bed. I was so worried about him and SIDS that I couldn't sleep if he was in his crib. We placed our pillows wide apart and put him on his tummy in between making sure all airways were not obstructed. This way he was up by our heads and not in any danger of being rolled over on. I knew I would never roll over on him - I am an extremely light sleeper, however my husband is not. This was never an issue as we were both so aware of him. W transitioned him to his crib at about nine or ten months. I think it was easier on him then it was on either me or my husband. He is 15 months old now and although he sleeps in his crib our bedroom is so large that he is still in our room. He still wakes up once or twicw at night and this is easier for all of us. Hope this helps. I did not co-sleep with our daughter but did with our son who is younger. I am a huge fan of co-sleeping. I have also read that the USA is the only country where this is not a widely accepted practice.

K.-

This is a hot topic, and sure enough, it drew out a lot of different responses. As a first time mom myself, I made many decisions that other people couldn't comprehend or felt the need to try to "scare" me out of doing. Topics covered everything from using a midwife to breastfeeding to co-sleeping. Accidents are just that...accidents. Bad things happen to babies in cribs too!

My best advice is to make the decision that YOU can live with no matter the outcome or consequences. You and your family have the control in the matter and have to responsbile for the outcome.

That means something as simple as still having your 12 year old in your bed with you or something more unfortunate.

There are numerous devices, advice, and techniques on ways to co-sleep. I did it and did it safely--in fact, my toddler is still in my bed and I wouldn't have it any other way (even though she is now telling me she wants her own bed--hhmm co-slept and independent...that can't be right!). It must be trickier with two adults in the bed, but I know plenty of people who do it.

Every child is different and will react to change in different ways. I work with someone who WANTED to co-sleep but believed it when people told her she'd never get the child out of her bed. She never allowed the baby in her bed, used Ferber, and now has 4 year old that crawls unto their bed every night.

My point is, there is no ONE exact way to do it. What works for someone else will have no effect for another. Gather all the advice and information...and make the decision you can live with.