Co-Sleeping has taken a lot of guff in the last few weeks. One city in particular has taken a HUGE stance against co-sleeping. Below is an anti-cosleeping ad that they recently published.
First off lets start with the obvious. Why in the world would you put your child to sleep with a cleaver?
But all joking aside, this baby would be in danger even if he was in a crib. First off why are there so many blankets and pillows on the bed? Are they just trying to make a point? Probably. But why?
I personally do not co-sleep for very long with my littles. When my oldest was born we had him in a cradle at the side of our bed and I was paranoid all night that something would fall on him, or the sheet in our bed would slip off a little and cover him up. Then it came down to me not getting ANY sleep at all. Every noise he would make would wake me. So at about 6 months as I was getting ready to go back to work we moved him into a crib in his room. The same thing with my middle chile. My littlest stayed in our room a little longer. He was almost 13 weeks before we moved him to his crib.
Having said that I do believe that bed sharing and co-sleeping can have GREAT benefits for both mom and baby if done correctly and safely.
In fact according to Dr Sears it can actually be SAFER than crib sleeping.
What these scare tactics to keep babies out of their parents bed aren't telling you is that the SIDS deaths that have occured have happened while the parents were either intoxicated or under some kind of substance that would impair their awareness of their baby. Both unsafe Co-sleeping habits!
What these cities should be doing is teaching safe co-sleeping techniques. If a mom wants to co-sleep than she should not be told she can't or shouldn't. She should instead be educated on safe co-sleeping habits.
What are your feelings on co-sleeping? Do you co-sleep with your little one?
I've co-slept for a year and a half so far, and I honestly feel sorry for any family that misses out on this joy! (And happy to say my husband feels the same way)
ReplyDeleteI think that ad is ignorant and irresponsible. If you research the facts on co-sleeping, you will find that babies sleeping in rooms by themselves is far more dangerous than co-sleeping. Assuming of course safe co-sleeping techniques, which SHOULD be well known. . . instead people's heads are filled with this fear-mongering nonsense, convincing them that they are too much of a risk to their own child.
I did not co-sleep with my oldest and I remember falling asleep so many nights in the glider nursing him and jerking awake in a panic because I was afraid I had dropped him (which I never did). Nursing was a really frustrating experience at night, mainly I think because neither of us were comfortable. With my second we co-slept for almost 9 months and our nursing experience was a total opposite from my first. I was much more rested and everyone in our home was happier. By the time our third was born we had bought a bassinet which he used until almost 5 months because he was a preemie and he was tiny enough to still fit. Once again we have a wonderful nursing relationship, he is still going strong at 14 months even though I am currently pregnant with #4. I think co-sleeping works for our family because if I am going to nurse on demand I have to sleep (comfortably) at some point...being sleep deprived does no one any good.
ReplyDeleteWhat Milwaukee fails to mention is that out of all of their SIDS deaths, not all of them were co-sleeping, but all of them were formula fed. Accidental overlay (which would obviously only happen while co-sleeping) almost never happens, and when it does, the parents were not sleeping safely. In other words, they were under the influence.
ReplyDeleteRather than needlessly scaring people, there needs to be a campaign to teach people SAFE co-sleeping.
I have 4 little ones, ages 11, 9, 6, and 18 months and we have co-slept with all of them as infants. (Our 18 month old is still in our bed, but that is a different issue) =)
ReplyDelete