When it comes to co-sleeping with your baby, you might have some questions or concerns about doing so. Although you may already be co-sleeping with your child, you most likely have some concerns about safety for your child. Your safety concerns are not unheard of. There have been unfortunate accidents when parents co-slept with their babies. However, there are ways to do so successfully. Keep reading to learn more about co-sleeping and the most common questions, problems, and solutions to those problems.
Are You Worried About Spoiling Your Child?
If you are worried about spoiling your baby by letting him or her sleep with you every night, don’t be. When babies are still in the infant stage, their brains are only 25 percent developed. Because of this, the infancy stage of their life is the most critical for them. The remaining 75 percent of their brain development will be on you during your caregiving stage. Caring for him or her to your best ability is very important. Never raise your voice to your children, especially if they are under three-years-old. Go into another room to scream or scream into a pillow.
Are You Worried About Intimacy With Your Partner or Spouse?
You might be worried that you won’t be able to be intimate with your spouse because of co-sleeping with your baby. However, this is when you get creative. Get creative by being intimate in other rooms of your house. Putting baby down for a nap or to bed at night is your chance to take the fun into another room with your spouse or partner. Not only will you have your privacy in another place, but this may even be your chance to spice up your love life.
Do you Worry About Not Getting Enough Alone Time With Your Partner or Spouse?
Don’t worry! You will get a lot of alone time when taking your intimacy into different rooms in your house and you will have a lot of fun doing this. Not only this, but you had plenty of alone time before the baby was born and when you were trying to conceive him or her. After your child is old enough to leave the house and to go off on their own, you will have plenty more alone time. Take advantage of your time now with your baby and as he or she grows. Now is your chance to spend as much time with your child and your spouse or partner as a family together and enjoy this time with them as much as you can.
How Do You Prepare For Co-Sleeping With Your Baby?
There are a few things you can do to prepare for sleeping with your baby. They include:
- Avoid drinking any alcohol and taking drugs, even prescription drugs. You should especially avoid drinking or be taking medications if you are breastfeeding.
- Do not smoke anywhere around your baby. If you do need to smoke, take it outside or downstairs in the basement if it is too cold out. Just don’t smoke around your baby.
- Avoid laying your baby face-down on the bed.
- Avoid co-sleeping in a waterbed.
- Never use quilts or heavy blankets when sleeping with your baby.
- Make sure to tuck the sheets down really low, so they don’t accidentally cover his or her face.
- Take all of your pillows off your bed if you lay your baby down by his or herself.
- Turn the heat up if it is during fall or winter seasons.
- Avoid co-sleeping if you are obese. The reason for this is because being obese can decrease physical sensitivity and when your baby is this young, they need physical sensitivity.
- Avoid putting your baby in between you and your partner. The reason for this is because your partner or spouse is not hormonally programmed to respond to your baby while sleeping.
- Try to co-sleep with your baby in your room but in another bed, or bassinet, especially if he or she is bottle fed. The reason for this is because bottle feeding mother’s are not as responsive to their babies in the middle of the night when woken up as much as breastfeeding mothers are.
- Avoid leaving an older baby in your bed alone without a railing because he or she will roll off the bed and onto the floor.
- And last but certainly not least, take care of yourself. Don’t over-exhaust yourself because you can’t take of your baby if you don’t care for yourself first. Take care of yourself always.
Is Co-sleeping Related to SIDS?
No. The fact is, according to Kid Spot, most of the babies born in North America and Western America die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) while sleeping alone and without an adult around to observe them. In fact:
- Babies who are breastfed are less likely to die from SIDS.
- SIDS related deaths are lower in cultures where parents co-sleep with their babies.
According to the psychologist, Margot Sunderland, Scientific research says that when a baby is left alone to sleep without their mother near them, they go into defense mode. When going into defensive mode, their breathing becomes irregular as well as their heart rate. In fact, after being away from the mother for six hours or more, their stress hormone levels increase. However, when a baby and mother are near each other, even when sleeping, the baby’s breathing and heart rate are regular and just fine.
How Will Your Baby Learn to Sleep By Themselves?
Once your baby becomes a toddler or even older than that, it will become harder for you to co-sleep. Hopefully, as they get older, they will want to be independent of mom and dad. They may even get excited at the prospect of having their bed and being able to pick out their own comforter. This will make them happily ready to sleep in their private room and bed.
Is Co-Sleeping With Your Baby Helicopter Parenting?
Think back to when you fell in love with your partner. All you wanted was to be close to him or her. You just wanted to cuddle, caress, hug, and kiss them. This is what your baby wants from you. Don’t worry about it being like helicopter parenting. Take advantage of this moment and stay close to your baby, loving them with everything you have in yourself.
Are There Any More Benefits to Co-Sleeping With Your Baby?
Yes! According to science writer Maia Szalavitz, thinking back to orphanages in the 1940s, children who didn’t get enough affection ended up getting sick and dying, sadly. Those who ran these orphanages just made things worse by thinking the children were dying because of contagious diseases.
Because of this, they sterilized the whole orphanage and even kept sheets in between their cribs so they couldn’t be near each other to spread the disease to each other. However, it wasn’t because of illness they were dying. It was because they weren’t getting the love and affection they needed. They then became withdrawn and eventually died.
Your Baby Could Die Without Your Love
A research study was done to test this theory out that babies died when they had no love and affection. In fact, according to the research done by Austrian Psychoanalyst and Physicist, Renee Spitz compared babies and children who were born in places that kept them isolated to other babies who were born in prison with their mothers and allowed to stay with their mothers.
Love Won!
Love won this scientific study! According to the research study done by Doctor Spitz, 37 percent of babies who were kept isolated in the hospital after birth, died from being left alone while those who were born in prisons with their mother’s caring, loving, and giving them a lot of affection, lived healthy, happy lives.
Now you know that co-sleeping is suitable for both you and your baby! Go for it!
Related Article: An Overview of Co-Sleeping Along with 8 Tips to Help You Start