So I want to hear all of your opinions on co-sleeping. I'm just curious.
Cameron has never spent more than about 10 minutes in our bed with us. First of all, when he was 5 months, we let him start crying it out. It took about 3-4 days and he was awesome. He has been sleeping 12-13 hours a night ever since. BUT he has to be put in his bed and left alone. He won't fall asleep in our arms or anywhere else (unless he's sick, or in the car). When he was a new newborn, he slept in his carseat, mostly. Or his bouncy chair. But even then, we kept him in his own bedroom. I knew if he was in our room, I would wake up at every single noise he made, and I wanted every morsel of sleep I could get!
Nate and I were always against sleeping with our kids. We aren't against other people doing it, but for us, personally, we've always wanted our bed to ourselves!!!! I've always wanted my kids to sleep in their own beds. And they always will!!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Co-Sleeping
Posted by Becca Jane at 8:39 AM
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11 comments:
I don't think babies should sleep in the same bed with their parents... never have.
We've had both of our boys sleep in the same room with us in a bassinet... but this was not our first choice. When Cam was born we were living with my grandma and only had ONE room to live it... so we all three were in the same room... it was miserable! Cameron always grunted all night long and we missed out on a lot of sleep! With Carsen, we didn't want to disturb Cameron's sleeping habits, so we put him in our room until he was sleeping through the night (about 4 months old)... This time it wasn't so bad sharing our room with the baby... Carsen slept pretty soundly... no grunts or babbling in the middle of the night. It wasn't bad at all. But we were excited to have them sharing a room finally. It's been great ever since.
First of all, I couldn't vote on your poll. It kept telling me the page had expired. But I don't believe in co-sleeping. I knew someone who co-slept with their kid for about a year then put him in a crib when baby #2 came and same with #2 until #3. (Baby #2 and 3 were conceived with older siblings co-sleeping with Mom and Dad) Not for me.
I don't even like my kids in the same room as me. They have their own rooms and should sleep there! Gavin and Parker both slept in our room for the first month. They went to their room after they were blessed. By then we didn't have guests sleeping in their room. They sleep better in their room so staying in hotels is rough because we're all together.
But just to throw a wrench in my belief system Gwen was born! I wanted her out of our room by 2-3 weeks. But she had colic at night and screamed until 2 am every night. There was no putting her in her room. She would eventually fall asleep in Heath's arms in our bed. I didn't care because at least we all got some sleep.
She stayed in our room for about 2 months, sleeping in our bed a lot of the time and the rest of the time she slept in her carseat in the pack and play. I wanted that pack and play taken down but it's still up because she sometimes naps in it and stays asleep longer than in her room where her brothers are so close and noisy.
Around 2 months she slept for 6-8 hours a night. A month later she slept for 8-12 hours a night. Except for the fluke week we had last week she still sleeps for 10-12 hours a night in her own bed.
Becca, you still seem nervous to get Cam out of a crib. And you read my sleeping woes on my blog and thought that would happen to you. It won't. Gwen was not sleeping because she was uncomfortable for some reason and every once in a while Parker just doesn't nap. My experience is if your kid can fall asleep on their own in a crib they can fall asleep in a bed. And if they turn upside down in a crib they stop doing that once they're in a bed. Does Cam sleep with a pillow? That may get him used to the idea of a bed.
And if you're worried about having Cam share a room with a new baby, don't be. Gavin never woke up when Parker cried and Parker never woke up if Gavin had a bad dream. They're still that way. I say take a deep breath and just take the next step with Cameron.
I think it's fine for other people to co-sleep if they want to, but it's not for me. I'm too selfish with my sleep. We did keep McKenzie in bed with us until she was 4 months because she was preemie and had a hard time keeping her body temp up. I just don't sleep well with my kids in bed with me, but I know people that love it.
I don't agree that if a baby can sleep in a crib they can sleep in a bed. They may be able to sleep in it, but that doesn't mean they will stay in bed. Some kids may do great, but my boys were way too active to stay in bed once they realized they could get out. Joshua will be two in a few weeks and he will be staying in his bed at least for the upcoming future. But you could try putting Cameron in a bed to see how he does. It won't hurt to put him back in the crib if he doesn't do well.
Sorry, when I said Joshua will be staying in his bed I meant in his crib.
Bethany, When is Joshua's birthday? Cam will be 2 on July 9, they must be close! Hopefully they will meet one day! I hope we can make it to Oregon again soon. I've already dragged Nate there quite a few times, trying to convince him that it's where we should end up!!
Anyway, the earliest we plan on moving Cam to a bed is probably Oct/Nov. Unless he starts trying to climb out. Why fix something that isn't broken? His naptimes/nighttimes are SO easy right now, and I need my rest!
I never wanted my kids to sleep in my bed with me but they both ended up sleeping in my bed. They would start out in the bassinet and when they would make the slightest noise I would put them in my bed, start nursing and fall asleep. You're so right with every squeal I woke up and put them in my bed. I am going to try to get the next baby in his/her own room early with the and maybe I won't have that problem. When they were tiny I could sleep with them in my bed, as long as they were quiet, without a problem, but when they started moving around they would kick and slap me... that is when they started going in their own bed. Both of my kids were back in their own beds and going to bed early around 12 months. Love early bedtimes!!!
Joshua's birthday is on the 22nd. I think everyone should end up here! I'm a little biased though and it seems like all my friends move to Utah. We can always use more friends that live closer!
You should never sleep with your baby in your bed! I know there are people who will re-buttle that statement, but it's true. You aren't alert enough to know if they baby's not getting enough oxygen or there are other problems that may be silent problems caused by sleeping with you. If you use a separate co-sleeper and the baby stays in the co-sleeper and not curled up next to you it might be safer, but as a parent wouldn't you hate yourself if something happened to your child and you could have prevented it. We had both of our kids sleeping in the other room by 2-3 months and both were sleeping thru the night by about 3 months. Kids learn by 3 months of age that if they cry mom comes running really fast. If mom doesn't always come running really fast because she doesn't hear you then they start to learn that they only cry and keep crying when they need something. I think kids should be in their own rooms and own beds.
"You should never sleep with your baby in your bed! I know there are people who will re-buttle that statement, but it's true."
Definitely not true. If you co-sleep, you just need to make sure you take precautions...it can be perfectly safe, and even beneficial to a child's health. I don't want to get into any arguments here, but I think most of you just think co-sleeping is a bad idea only because of the way our culture is.
Thanks for your opinion Missy, my blog has NEVER been intended to start arguements! EVERY mom is entitled to her own opinion, and I want this blog to a place for each woman to express themselves. We should all respect each other's opinions and experiences. So please, ALWAYS feel free to express your personal opinions on here. Nobody is "right" or "wrong" when it comes to parenting.
Like I said, with co-sleeping, Nate and I are just selfish. We like our kids being in their own rooms so that we have our evenings and space to ourselves. But some people enjoy the added closeness and bonding that I would assume comes with snuggling with your kids in bed.
For the first 5 weeks there were plenty of times where I had wyatt sleep with me. I was staying with my mom and sleeping on a queen bed, so there was plenty of room. I woke up to every sound he made. On the other hand, I think if I had a husband co-sleeping wouldn't be an option. It would crowd me too much and I definately like my space!
And this is so sad, but Wyatt will be one next week and I just barely got him into his own room. Living with my mom for a few months because of remodeling my place and with all that he's always just been with me. I was really nervous about him being in his own room, but I absolutely love it. Good thing I have the easiest child on earth because the transition was super easy.
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