Hello, Again.  I hope you enjoyed my little introduction the other day.  Today, I am back to discuss co-sleeping. 

Before I begin, though, I’d like to clarify something about the name of my blog – “Embracing My Inner Hippy”.  Yes, I know that the conventional way of spelling the word meaning  “a usually young person who rejects the mores of established society” (taken from www.webster.com) is spelled “Hippie”.  However, Hippy is a legitimate alternate spelling which I have purposely chosen so that my blog stands out. 

Now, that I have cleared that up, I’d like to get back to my topic – co-sleeping and the family bed.  I’m sure most of you have heard about co-sleeping.   Though, for some, it may conjure up an image of irresponsible parents who are risking their children’s lives with the possibility of suffocation and various maladies;  more of you, however, recognize it as one of the safest and comforting ways to bed your baby, toddler and family.    There have been numerous studies showing that co-sleeping (as long as following some safety guidelines and common sense) is as safe as, if not more so, than placing your baby in a crib.    Family bed “graduates” are more independent and socially adept as a whole, than those who were forced to sleep solo.   By having all of one’s needs met and having one’s parents right there throughout the night provides the infant, toddler, etc. with the confidence to venture out more securely into the world.   Plus, co-sleepers get better rest during the night and babies cry less, if at all, than their crib-sleeping counter parts.    I’m not going to go into any more definitions as there are numerous wonderful books on the subject.  This decision is a personal one that must be made within a family.  Though it is right for a lot of people, I acknowledge that it’s not right for all . However, I can already testify to how wonderful this decision has been for our family.

Currently, we have an Arms Reach co-sleeper attached to my side of our queen sized bed.  Having this little side cart made me more comfortable when Tangerine was a newborn as I was too afraid that I’d inadvertently smother her with my pillow or blanket – she was so teeny.  However, now that she has full head and neck control, is a whopping 20 lbs and almost 8 months old, I take her right into bed with us.  She likes it MUCH better than being in the side cart as she’s right next to me, listening to my breathing and heart beating.  I like it better too, because I can nurse her while laying down – so both of us barely wake up when she needs to nurse and we both have a great night’s sleep.  

I wish I could mention that Mango also has a great night’s rest, but my poor husband works two full-time jobs and is hardly ever in bed for more than 3 hours at a time.  So his lack of sleep has nothing to do with our bedding arrangements.   Though, I have to say, on the occasions when his schedule affords him to spend the entire night in bed, I love falling asleep and waking up surrounded by my two loves.

As Tangerine is getting older and more mobile, I’m worried she’ll roll off the bed.  I’m currently looking into a few different long-term options.  One is getting a rail for the side of the bed.  Another option is taking the mattress off of the frame and away from the head and foot boards and placing it directly on the floor. This way, if she were to roll off she wouldn’t have far to go and  wouldn’t get hurt from a short drop to our carpeted floor.   I’m actually leaning to the latter option.  However, I’m not sure how it will look in the bedroom, how it will feel (being so low to the ground) nor how my husband will appreciate it. 

I still have a little while before I need to implement a new arrangement.  Tangerine is still perfectly safe in our bed.  She currently doesn’t roll over (a topic for another blog entry) and the co-sleeper (which accommodates a baby up to 30 lbs) is still attached so that if she were to roll over, she’d roll right into that and not on the floor.

I’m curious what others are doing.  How do YOU co-sleep?  What does your family bed look like?  How does it work?   Please comment with your advice and feedback!

As a final thought, having a family bed does NOT affect our, ahem, “romantic” life.  We just have found creative ways to have one that doesn’t involve the baby in the bed/room with us.