Co-Sleep Doesn't Equal No Sleep.

Being pregnant I enjoyed making up the crib with all fancy bedding ready for my little boy to come home and sleep in, however it didn't quite turn out that way. (See "The Family Bed") So Connor has was in and out of our bed for the whole first year of his life, he dictated when he slept in his or our room each night, most of the time it would be ours but it worked, we were comfy and, more importantly, well rested.

I was worried that when Logan was born and we moved Connor into his room on a more permanent basis that he would feel jealously or some kind of resentment towards Logan, wrong! He has slept in his own bed, in his own room every night, most of the time without even waking once, my clever little monkey! Now the crib is next to my bed again, to make feeding easier, however there are times when Logan does end up in bed with us for a couple of hours between feeds. And just like his brother before him it is when he is in with us he seems to sleep most sound.

There is a lot of controversy around bed sharing and obviously there are precautions to take, rules if you like, he wouldn't sleep with us if we smoked or had been drinking for example, and he doesn't share our quilt, he is swaddled in his own blankets, but I can't deny how natural and normal it feels for me to have him sleep next to me. Having a newborn is exhausting for any parent and sleepless nights are inevitable but when it is constant what do you do? I'm willing to bet that more people have taken their baby to bed than would admit to it, society really does put the creepers up people and makes it something to look down on. Even now I still feel judged and almost like I'm doing something wrong when I'm questioned about how or where baby sleeps, but people judge on the idea that everyone is the same and that simply is not the case. I'm not saying co sleeping is right for everyone but I'm not saying its wrong for everyone either and it's right for us, it just works. And if people are going to do it anyway, wether intentionally or not, is it not better that they are educated and do it safely rather than it be something they feel the need to hide and be ashamed of?

I love my boys completely and I love them being close, sleeping with them in our bed makes for a happy baby, therefor making a happy mummy and daddy equaling a happy family, and when the time comes, probably when I start weaning Logan off breast feeding or when he starts sleeping through the night, he will make the move to share Connors room with him and hopefully the transition will be as smooth as it was with my big baby, but it won't be before he is ready!

 

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