that list of no-no’s… {co-sleeping}

I was familiar with the term co-sleeping before our daughter was born, but it was one of those things that my husband and I decided would not work for us. You know 1 of the things on that list of preconceived ideas, things that ‘we would never do’. We all have this list and of course once your child is born it gets shorter and shorter as time passes by…as we grow into parenthood and move further and further away from the unrealistic ideals we had set for ourselves. I am all for setting a few ground rules. Yes, some things are supposed to be non-negotiable, but seriously most of the ‘rules’ on the ‘list’ was just a serious case of what I like to call pre-parenthood IQ! And so here is how co-sleeping vanished off our ‘list’…

We soon learnt that having S in bed with us made the world of difference. I basically fed her in my sleep (although I don’t believe breastfeeding mommies really reach that deep stages of sleep) and she did not really wake up either. Keeping the room dark meant that my husband woke up the next morning completely unaware if she drank once or 10 times! In those first few weeks I would simply prep myself up with pillows and let her sleep on my chest. They are so tiny and fragile when they are born, why wouldn’t we want to keep them as close as possible?! Oh and if you are worried that daddy might roll over baby, get an extra pillow between them…easy as that!

We are now 5 and a half months down the line. At some stage (I think at 3.5 months) we naturally got into the habit of letting her sleep in her own room, although there are still nights where she does not want to be alone and then I do not mind having her back in bed with us. I actually treasure those moments, apart from the occasional kick in the stomach! Whatever baby wants, baby gets! Anything for a few hours of sleep, hey?!

Moral of my story: do not make any rules when it comes to your unborn baby. Chances are that those rules are just not realistic. Take each situation as it comes. Children are 1-of-a-kind…each and every one different…each uniquely beautiful and by no means predictable, so save yourself the trouble. Keep an open mind…♥

Our happy place…♥

Some informative websites to check out:

http://www.cosleeping.org/

http://neuroanthropology.net/2008/12/21/cosleeping-and-biological-imperatives-why-human-babies-do-not-and-should-not-sleep-alone/