Co-Sleeping

If you are not a parent or have friends and family with small children around you might not have heard about co-sleeping. You could be sitting there scratching your head and asking yourself what is co-sleeping. Well, co-sleeping and also known as bed sharing or "having a family bed" is the practice of having your infant in your bed with you during sleep. As much as I love both of my children and don't mind if they sleep with us once or twice do not promote co-sleeping in my house.

Personally, it's not for me as I have a toddler who just can't lay still. So someone had shared these pictures, and I thought I would share them with you. I have been in many of these positions in the middle of the night with my young son, and let me tell ya they aren't fun.










As I said earlier I personally don't co-sleep, however both my son and daughter have shared the bed with me. Every child has rough nights when they need to be by mommy and daddy, and I will be right there for them.

However, I would like to share some of the benefits of co-sleeping with you:
Why Do Some People Choose to Cosleep?

Encourages breastfeeding by making nighttime breastfeeding more convenient

Makes it easier for a nursing mother to get her sleep cycle in sync with her baby's

Helps babies fall asleep more easily, especially during their first few months and when they wake up in the middle of the night

Helps babies get more nighttime sleep (because they awaken more frequently with shorter duration of feeds, which can add up to a greater amount of sleep throughout the night)

Helps parents who are separated from their babies during the day regain the closeness with their infant that they feel they missed

I think that if you can do it, co-sleeping is a great bonding experience for parents and children. But please don't think that there are no risk involved.