by Rebecca K.

Created on: February 05, 2010   Last Updated: February 06, 2010

Co-sleeping! Are you kidding? That's DANGEROUS! Comments like this may be heard from doctors, friends and other relatives. While co-sleeping can be dangerous, cribs can be dangerous as well. So what's a parent to do? Baby is awake screaming. You're drop-dead tired and recovering from childbirth. You lie down to nurse the baby, planning on putting him back in his bassinet as soon as he's done eating but... you fall asleep.

As you wake with your baby snuggled happily against you, your initial reaction might be panic. After checking him over to make sure he's okay, you find you actually LIKE co-sleeping. What's more, baby seems to sleep well and there is more peace in the house. Despite all the negative things about co-sleeping, I believe it has its place for some families. I've done it with both my babies, but I was very cautious and aware of potential troubles.

I never really wanted to co-sleep because I heard it was bad. However it worked for us when my babies were very small and nursing frequently and it allowed us to sleep better thought the night. My son was really clingy as a baby- he refused to let me lie him down in a crib, but he'd sleep happily next to me. In the act of allowing some of us to sleep, I'd let him sleep next me until he began to roll around and transferred him to the crib for his own safety. 

When you are all kinds of sore and have a spinal headache the last thing you want to do is get up and down five times a night when baby is new and needs frequent feedings. So when I had my daughter a few months ago, I decided to let her sleep next to me- being very alert to her- and it was nice. I was able to recover, she was able to eat- it worked.

Contrary to the popular notion that co-sleeping makes a baby clingy, my little girl is not the least bit clingy. I think clingy behavior has more to do with baby personality than co-sleeping. My son was very clingy and my girl is not- both co-slept. Matter of fact, my daughter is so independent that she'll sleep in her bassinet for the entire night now once she has a good feeding. She is not spoiled. If I fall asleep with her next to me at naptime, I don't worry either.

If you want to try co-sleeping make sure: That no one in the bed is obese, has been drinking or is on medication. That the mattress is firm and doesn't create a ditch that the baby call roll into and have his face covered accidentally. That the baby doesn't roll off the bed. That there is nothing nearby that the baby can get tangled in. To use just a sheet or very thin blanket on your bed and not a comforter - for suffocation risk.

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