Where does baby sleep best? One answer is certain to be true most of the time, for most human babies, and that is that babies sleep best near a loved one's chest (especially their nursing mother). Renowned physicians and health professionals who spend their professional lives studying baby sleep consistently advocate for conscious, safe, non-drugged/non-smoking, breastfeeding and cosleeping mother/baby couplings. Research is conclusive that sleeping within an arm's reach of your baby is best for baby, and best for mom, and even best for the long-term health of the family and society, for many well documented reasons.
Note that cosleeping is not necessarily the same as bed sharing. A cosleeping mother and her infant may bed share (i.e. sleep on the same safe, flat surface) or they may cosleep in another fashion - such as with two mattresses together on the floor, in a side-car arrangement, a cosleeper by the bed, or a crib that has been turned into a co-sleeper. Depending on one's needs and resources, families may choose to cosleep by bedsharing, or by merely cosleeping within an arm's reach of their baby on separate surfaces. Both offer the physiological, hormonal, neurological, social and developmental benefits for baby and mom.
Join in further conversations about baby sleep with others at: FB.com/CoSleeping and if you are already a cosleeping family, you're welcome to join the CoSleeping Discussion group: FB.com/groups/CoSleeping.
Articles:
How the Stats Really Stack Up: Cosleeping Twice as Safe
Babies: Not Designed To Sleep Alone
The Science of Sleep Sharing
CoSleeping and Biological Imperatives: Why Human Babies Do Not and Should Not Sleep Alone
The Family Bed: It's Safe and Here's Why *article needs updated link
Where Should Babies Sleep At Night?
Breastfeeding & Bedsharing: Still Useful and Important after all these Years
Ask the Experts: CoSleeping & SIDS
The No-Cry Sleep Solution (excerpt from Pantley's, The No-Cry Sleep Solution)
Seven Benefits of CoSleeping
Sleeping With Your Baby
Attachment Parenting: CoSleeping
Sleeping: Babies Need Mom Beside Them
Time to Abolish Cribs?
Three in a Bed: Why You Should Sleep with Your Baby (Three in a Bed Book Link Here)
Sleep with Me: A Trans-cultural Look at the Power and Protection of Sharing a Bed
Sleeping Like a Baby: How Bedsharing Soothes Infants
Who Wants to Sleep Alone?
The Complexity of Parent-Child CoSleeping: Researching Cultural Beliefs *article needs updated link
A Foot in Your Face: Or, 10 Other Reasons to Family Bed *article needs updated link
Bed of Roses: Overcoming 9 Obstacles to Happy CoSleeping
Hospital CoSleeping After A Cesarean
Solitary or Shared Sleep: What Is Safe?
Bedsharing Research in Britain
Bedsharing Among Maoris: An Indigenous Tradition
UK Study shows children sleep safest with parents
Confessions of an Accidental Bed Sharer
10 Reasons to Sleep by Your Child
Night Waking Protects Against SIDS
Solo Sleep Training: Higher Stress, Lower Serotonin May Increase SIDS
Family Bed Safety
Getting Ready for Baby (excerpt from Having a Baby Naturally) *article needs updated link
Turn Your Crib into a Co-Sleeper
Co-Sleeping vs. Crib Fact and Statistic Sheet
Baby Sleep Institute and McKenna Library of Research
To connect with other parents and get in on Sleep Forums:
SafeBedSharing.Org
Books:
A collection of useful baby sleep books, as well as those that specifically pertain to sleep sharing can be found here. Books with related information include:
The Attachment Connection: Parenting A Secure and Confident Child
Attachment Parenting: A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby
Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child
The Baby Bond
The Baby Book
The Baby Sleep Book
The Biology of Love
The Continuum Concept: In Search of Happiness Lost
The Family Bed: An Age Old Concept in Child Rearing
The Fussy Baby Book
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering
Good Nights: The Happy Parents' Guide to the Family Bed (And a Peaceful Night's Sleep!)
Nighttime Parenting
The No-Cry Sleep Solution
The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers
The No-Cry Nap Solution
The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart
Natural Family Living
Our Babies, Ourselves
The Premature Baby Book
Primal Health: Understanding the Critical Period Between Conception and the First Birthday
The Science of Parenting
Sleeping With Your Baby: A Parent's Guide to CoSleeping
The Vital Touch
Why Love Matters
Subscriptions:
Compleat Mother Magazine
The Mother Magazine
Mothering Magazine
Pathways to Family Wellness
Whole Woman Magazine
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My daughter is 2 1/2 and she still sleeps in my bed most nights :)
ReplyDeleteI raised 4 of my own children and never allowed children in our bed. Now we have custody of our 2 1/2 year old grandson
Deletewho I cant imagine him not being in our bed with us. Just the sound of his breathing and the touch of his little arm around my neck is priceless. Who would want to give that up? My husband feels the same as I do. Cherish it!
I wake up with three in the bed! I'm having another in three months...I think it's time for the older ones to transition to their own beds. :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe this page should be renamed "cosleeping resources"? I love co-sleeping and fully intend to do it with my own babies someday, but right now I need sleep resources with other options! I'm working as a home care provider for a new mom who wants to be able to sleep at night, so three nights per week I essentially co-sleep with her baby. However, lacking the maternal and hormonal connection, I'm terrified to fall asleep while holding him, and my health is suffering! Are there any resources you know of to help a baby sleep more peacefully when his mom wants 2-3 hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time? Or is there no way other than staying up with him bouncing on a birth ball for hours and singing?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I've spoken up gently to her, but my role is not to dictate mothering philosophies to her. The baby is thriving and the mom is incredibly grateful, since she is still recovering from her c-section and her husband works out of town for several days each week. It's just not an ideal situation. I say that in case I'm accused of compromising my principles or something. I need the money, since my husband is out of work, and she needs the help. I just wish I could make it easier on myself and the baby.
I was disappointed not to see "The Family Bed" on your book list. It affirmed my natural inclination and gave me the courage to stand up to my mom's criticism. It also helped convince my hubby.
ReplyDeleteprevious poster:
ReplyDeleteNote above under "BOOKS" it is mentioned that, "A collection of useful baby sleep books, as well as those that specifically pertain to sleep sharing can be found here" and includes a link back to books such as "The Family Bed" (great book!) and others in our sleep sharing collection:
http://astore.amazon.com/peacefparent-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=29
Cosleep certainly creates the natural bond between infant and parent, and the safe feelings that helps infant sleep well.
ReplyDeleteI am pregnant and we plan on cosleeping with our little one. I wanted to know if there are any special considerations for sleeping with a newborn in specific, or if these guidelines are meant for sleeping with any baby in general. Thank you :]
ReplyDeleteMy baby use to sleep with me but somewhere along the line she outgrew it... :(.. sigh but every once in ahwile when she is really tired we take naps together... it's the best!
ReplyDeleteloved co-sleeping with my husband and two daughters for 7 years. Miss it, but now they're 21 and 16. Still snuggles!
ReplyDeleteI Have 4 children and love Co-sleeping ., my twins are now 3 and we all have a great night sleep , they are only little for such a short time , my older two out grew co-sleeping by the age of 4 .
ReplyDeleteI think it important to mention that your resources do not present a balanced perspective. I have learned a great deal from this website/blog, but on the sleeping issue you clearly only advocate for cosleeping. Not all babies do well with cosleeping. It is not always the most restful option for babies and parents. It would be wonderful to see you provide resources that you respect on promoting healthy sleep for those families who do not cosleep.
ReplyDeleteCosleeping merely means sleeping within an arm's reach of a care giver. It does not automatically equate to bedsharing (sleeping on the same surface). And all human babies (almost all mammals, actually) benefit from sleeping in the same room as a non-drugged, non-smoking mother for regulation of respiration, cardiovascular, and hormones, not to mention mom's milk supply (also hormone related) if she is a nursing mother. This is simply how mammals are designed (the mother/baby unit). Not everyone will be comfortable or able to safely bedshare, but sleep sharing (sleeping in the same room as baby) is achievable by virtually all. The exceptions to this are those who smoke, because the carcinogens exhaled through the night increase the risk of problems for a developing baby's lungs. Research demonstrates that the benefits of sleep sharing (and the risks of baby sleeping in a room apart from his/her mother) may not overweigh the risks of sleeping in a room where a smoking parent is exhaling through the night.
DeleteIf you have questions specific to baby sleep that we can assist in finding solutions/ideas/answers for, please feel free to write any time. DrMomma.org@gmail.com There are several clinicians who study sleep in their professional fields that volunteer time in responding to questions that come in.