Why Do You Do That? (Co-Sleeping)

I was going to say that I’ll try not to make this blog controversial, but who are we kidding?  If I’m being true to myself, I’m bound to be controversial, right? ;)  So here goes.

4. Bed-sharing.  You may have heard the term "cosleeping" instead.  Technically, bed-sharing is a type of cosleeping, but cosleeping does not necessarily mean baby is in the big bed with mom and/or dad.  If baby is in a bassinet next to the parents' bed, this is considered cosleeping.

Natalia in a rare moment of calm in her bassinet.

This was our goal - to have Natalia in a separate little bed right next to our bed, where we could easily and quickly respond to her needs at night.  Except that she wouldn't let us put her down her first two weeks, and then spend the next 2 or so months tolerating nighttime sleep only in her swing as an alternative to being in our arms.  In order to try to regain some sanity and get sleep ourselves, we let her sleep in her swing in the same room as us.  I felt comfortable knowing she was safe away from all of my pillows and blankets, yet we could hear her early hunger cues and get her bottle ready before she started crying.  (Note this coincided with our heavy use of bottles and powder formula.)

The only sleep position tolerated by our little darling in the first two weeks.

In her trusted swing.

Playing possum... or freeze tag.

When we moved to our new apartment, she was approaching 3 months of age, and it finally felt safe for me to bring her next to me in the bed.  Now that we were breastfeeding full-time, having her next to me made nighttime feedings a cinch! When she starts to wiggle around, I reach over and help her latch on, and keep right on sleeping.  It's marvelous!  I get a ton more sleep than if I had to get up, and I know this because before I learned how to nurse lying down, I'd get up and sit in my nursing chair, put my nursing pillow on, and then feed her.  It was a whole production. But it's not just about my comfort.  She is happier too, knowing that mommy is right beside her.  I cannot imagine not being able to sleep with her by my side.

Snuggling for a nap.

Having said that, we are now helping her learn to take naps in her playpen.  Once she is sleeping through the night, or at least only waking once and letting mommy sleep in ;), we may likely start keeping her in the playpen overnight.  After all, as she gets bigger, her wiggles will inevitably turn into kicks and being elbowed out of a sound sleep doesn’t sound as lovey-dovey as a gentle baby hand reaching over in the middle of the night.

For the most part, Natalia has been using her playpen to fight - er, play with -  her Giffy Jr.

So, why do we share sleep?

Because it's more convenient for me to nurse her at night, and because we both prefer to snuggle close than to be separated from each other.

What's hodgepodge about that?

Well, we didn't start out sharing a bed, and we are starting to utilize her playpen for sleep as well.

Finally, while we are on the subject of sleep, I couldn't not share this image.

Like father, like daughter!