Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Co-sleeping and how it's worked for us

I know, I know. Two posts in one day? Wtf dude? Well I don't care. I'm at the gym and the tv's in the cinema room are broken, and I can't schedule posts. If I write them early they'll never actually get posted. So you get them as they come to me. You're welcome :)

I recently saw a girl I went to high school with (who is pregnant with her 3rd) post something on FB about how dangerous and selfish co-sleeping is and how parents who do that should have their kids taken away. She's been a mom awhile, and should know better than to judge another parent's parenting choice, but it irked me and made me feel personally attacked (it wasn't a personal attack, but it still felt that way). So we co-sleep with Charlotte. Yeah I know she's 15 months old and why is she still in our bed?! B/c it works for us.

We had NO plans to co-sleep when she was born. I'm fact, we were so against it that I even judged (only a little bit) people who did. Well that's what I get for being judgy. Keep that in mind non-moms. The second you start to judge things you know nothing about wham! Life happens.

Anyway, back on point. As you know I had to have an emergency c-section with Charlotte. I stress the emergency part b/c a scheduled c-section is completely different than one that's like "oh crap! Baby and mom are not gonna make it! Emergency!" The actual surgery and recovery are totally different. So b/c of this, I couldn't get in and put of bed, I couldn't sit up, hell I could barely breathe without feeling like my insides were going to explode. This is obviously a problem when you have a newborn that needs to be nursed every 2 hours. Co-sleeping became a necessity for us. I could easily roll onto my side and nurse the baby, and I could still doze while doing so and she would immediately go back to sleep. Late night feeding a went from a 2 hour process to a 30 minute process. Sleep=good.

I eventually healed and could get in and out of bed, but she was sleeping though the night with us and I felt better having her right there with us. Joe is ready to kick her out. He's sick of getting kicked in the back, and feeling like he has to sleep on the edge of the bed. I'm totally fine having her stay though. But it's not just about me. I may be the mom and get a majority say since I'm home with her all day, but he's the dad and he's been patient so that means its time. When we move back into our house in NC in June is when she's getting the boot. It's time I think. She's a big girl baby as we like to say. But I am gonna miss my snuggle bunny :(

Co-sleeping gets a bad rap. I realize that it can be dangerous, but not of you're smart about it. She is always between us, never on the side. She never gets covered with the blanket or sheet (she hates being covered anyway so that worked out) we have a snug bottom sheet, and she's never buried beneath a pillow. Oh! And they make these co-sleeping bassinets now that actually go in your bed between you and your spouse. So it can be done. It's not for everyone, but it's also shouldn't be compared to a baby sleeping with a butcher knife like that ad that was in Michigan or Minnesota a year or so ago. I think co-sleeping is the new bottle vs. breast war. We should all support one another as mothers. Just sayin...




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1 comment:

  1. THANK YOU for posting this. I have so many questions about this topic because I see moms who can't get their newborns to sleep and try this and it works. Ryan and I just talked about it and I know if its what we need when the baby comes we will do it...but I want to have a cut off for when they move to the crib or their own bed...I don't need a 3 year old sleeping with us!!

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