Co Sleeping

Whether you're for or against cosleeping (or undecided), you have to admit, it has its advantages. While many Western families have the advantage of enough space to provide baby with his or her own room, some still opt to share their bed with baby for one or more of the following reasons.

Breastfeeding is Convenient

When you're cosleeping, breastfeeding is much more convenient. The breast is more easily accessible, so neither you nor your baby have to wake fully. To feed your little one, you don't have to get out of bed and make a bottle or arrange the nursing chair while your little one becomes increasingly impatient for milk. Perhaps this is why studies have shown that cosleeping moms tend to breastfeed approximately twice as long as moms who don't sleep with their babies.

Awareness of Baby and Prevention of SIDS

When sleeping with your baby, you are more aware of your baby than if you were in two separate rooms. This may lead to less worry on your part. It can also be very beneficial to your baby, too, because if there is a health problem at night, such as sleep apnea, you are much more likely to catch it since you're right there. Also, your breathing pattern may help your baby's respiratory system settle into a healthy pattern. New research is showing that cosleeping may, in fact, reduce the incidence of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). However, this is only if non-smoking cosleeping parents follow specific safety guidelines and avoid certain medications, drugs and alcohol.

Added Closeness

Sleeping snuggled up to your baby generates feelings of closeness. This is especially important when one or both parents work outside the home and are away from baby during the day. It has also been discovered that children who coslept with their parents as babies have much higher self-esteem, more confidence and greater emotional security than other children, along with fewer intimacy issues later on in life. Cosleeping babies tend to trust their parents more to address their needs, which fosters self-esteem as children grow older. Finally, children are less likely to be afraid of the dark and have nightmares when they have coslept as babies.

Better Sleep for Everyone

When your baby sleeps with you in your bed, he or she sleeps much better and so do you and your partner. When your baby wakes during the night, resettling is much easier and quicker. Babies feel safer and more secure being right next to mom, so they often go back to sleep on their own. This keeps parents from becoming sleep-deprived, particularly when the mother is breastfeeding. Cosleeping also makes bedtime routines easier. Babies tend to fall asleep more quickly and with less fuss when snuggled next to mom.